Great Cars: LAMBORGHINI

[Music] sandwich between the mighty Alps is Sant'Agata a town that's home to the land rockets created by Ferruccio Lamborghini [Music] he returned from World War two with a desire to use his love of machines to make his mark [Music] whatever Lamborghini touched turned to gold [Music] a Lamborghini could only come from Italy it's bold combination of style engineering and high power is what epitomizes the Italian concept of a true sports car these cars are best appreciated here in Santa gotta wear the Lamborghinis were born enthusiasts came here to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the company founded in 1963 this was an event to remember an anniversary some thought the cars would never see they chose me to celebrate because it's the month of Taurus the ball the astrological sign of the founder and the badge of Lamborghini some people think these bold cars have the characteristics at goals a little rough and aggressive and powerful Lamborghini fans indulged their passion for high style and fine cars they took their cars out on the track and opened them up their performance explained the world's love affair with the Lambo members of Lamborghini clubs from around the world came here to join in the celebration they came from Italy the US Japan the UK Germany and many other countries [Music] after time on the track the enthusiasts invaded the surrounding city with their Lamborghinis all models filled the streets and spilled over the sidewalks creating a stunning display of Italian color and style after allowing everyone some time for viewing the spectacular array of cars a group of over 250 vehicles started a procession to the birthplace that Ferruccio Lamborghini [Music] this two-hour Cruise was the largest rally ever held of the supercars with the tourists badge [Music] these distinctive cars were born of one man's vision of what he wanted to drive their creator Ferruccio Lamborghini had studied engineering in Bologna and during the Second World War served as a mechanic with the Italian army his division came under allied control in the latter stages of the war and he began to work on British and American vehicles his knowledge of Allied engines gave the young entrepreneur his break afterward on returning home he heard that some ex British Army Moorish truck engines were for sale he bought them and modified them for use in tractors that he built the tractors worked and sold well within three years the company was designing and building a new line of tractors his engineering and innovative designs made them the standard by which others were measured in Italy as his company grew Lamborghini became rich this allowed him to buy the best of course he had to have a Ferrari but the cars didn't live up to his high engineering standards Ferruccio Lamborghini was a customer of Ferrari and had some complaints about his personal car and when attempting to explain his problems to mr. Ferrari was told what do you know about manufacturing cars you make tractors for a living and I guess the gauntlet was thrown down he decided if Ferrari wouldn't listen to his ideas about cars he'd build his own he disassembled his Ferraris to see what made them tick he discovered that some of the parts on these cars were the same ones that he used on his tractors of course they tripled in price when caught on an expensive car he realized there were enormous profit margins in luxury cars he could earn both money and prestige with his new venture he set up an ultra-modern factory and began work on his first car in 1963 he showed an engine 'less prototype GT car at the Turin Motor Show it was not well received but by the Geneva show in 1964 Lamborghini had built his first production model the 350gt the 350gt was again a retort to Ferraris claim that Lamborghini knew nothing about building cars but in fact the 350gt was a very sophisticated design it was in every way superior to two Ferraris the cars beautiful body was created by touring of Milan it was an immediate success [Music] finally there was a car that challenged Ferrari both in style and performance [Music] what really put Lamborghini on the map of course was the motor which was a fascinating engine design that had held lots of promise in terms of output and smoothness using the roads around Lamborghinis Factory as a test track drivers were able to push the car to its limits they could cruise at over a hundred and forty miles per hour the locals cheered as the cars buzzed by Lamborghini had a critical hit on his hands the Reyes Lamborghinis made a real splash with the press they were immediately recognized as being a fantastic gran turismo car that addressed all the needs of the wealthy clientele who wanted something fast quiet and extremely distinctive Lamborghini knew he had to keep improving the cars to be taken seriously soon there was a 400 GT in the Lamborghini staple it had a larger 4 liter engine and a gear box designed the factory [Music] these were cars for people who wanted to make a statement it was the perfect car for a weekend trip to Monaco just enough room for a little luggage the 400 GT gave discriminating buyers what they wanted but Lamborghini was confident he could do better his two young engineers were inspired by the Ford gt40 this car was breaking the tradition of front engine sports cars the gt40 was also designed to challenge Ferrari it's mid rear engine housed in a lightweight chassis gave it exceptional weight distribution and road handling while Ford wanted to beat Ferrari on the track Lamborghini challenged him on the street with inspiration from the gt40 his engineers built a mid-engine chassis which was mated to a body by a young designer at bertone the result was a classic the Miura this was the name of a breed of powerful balls made famous in Spanish bullfighting legends Lamborghini was proud of his new strong bull naming them after the most intelligent and fiercest fighters let the world know what he thought at the nura [Music] the new model was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966 the introduction of the Miura was the most flamboyant introduction in the history of the motorcar would it hit the stands library ne was flooded with orders for the car and frankly it overshadowed every other effort they were making it at the time fortunately the factory were ready to swing into production and soon after the Geneva show bureaus started to appear on the road the company still offered the 350gt and the 400 GT but it was the Miura that was getting most of the attention it's success pumped new cash into the company and gave unprecedented recognition to a company that was only three years old this was a young company building cars for the world's beautiful people this high-speed fashion statement became a symbol of the good life like the many on one end of the car spectrum the bureau epitomized the fun and freedom of the era [Music] it wasn't without its troubles but the roar of its 12-cylinder engine as a tour of the road was exhilarating any minor mechanical fault could be forgiven as this revolutionary car left everything else on the road behind the Miura attracted industrialists Playboy's film stars musicians and royalty around the world Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin joined the Miura ranks the Miura was putting Lamborghini at the forefront of the sports car world but there was a new model being developed the 2+2 is Leo coupe a was introduced in March of 1968 this was the logical successor to the 400 GT it was expensive but it's powerful 300 horsepower engine comfortable and well finished interior gave it the aura of an elegant and timeless Road car unfortunately sales were rather modest compared to the more exciting Miura 1968 also saw another new Lamborghini the Espada this was a car with a completely original style it was a four-seater inside a two-door body sitting on a very long chassis it's large rear window was balanced by its long hood it had a low and tapered through line that gave it an overall sleek appearance the Espada won critical acclaim for styling but adding another model to the already overtaxed Factory created a nightmare production bottlenecks meant they were only able to turn out 37 s batters 187 euros and a few is Laros in 1968 Lamborghini insisted on improving the cars but by 1970 he realized he needed to concentrate on just the mirror and the Espada this helped to stabilize the company and production increased Lamborghini had created the symbol of excess in excessive times his were the cars for those on the edge his next breakthrough prototype stole the Geneva show in 1971 this was the debut of the Countach once again bertone and Lamborghinis engineers conspired to create a truly revolutionary car it was sleek with an aggressive drop nose it's flat windshield connected seamlessly to the front hood the roofline extended over its 5 litre 12 cylinder rear-mounted engine this formed a continuous curve from front to rear its scissor like doors that opened on a well-appointed interior dazzled the crowd Ferruccio let the Geneva show with a full order book but Italy was experiencing a period of labor unrest that would unsettle the company Lamborghini found it too difficult to continue and sold his interest in the company in 1972 there's no question the Lamborghini was not having fun by the time he had left the company again in part from social struggles and strikes and the profitability which just was not there in low volume automotive manufacturer new owners took over that went to work preparing production versions of the Countach it started to roll out in 1973 as the arab-israeli war sent to gas prices soaring around the world this sparked a backlash against the era of excess fast gas guzzling sports cars fell out of favour Lamborghini was no longer flying high by 1979 only the Countach remained in the lineup this was not enough and the company slid into bankruptcy the flamboyant cars attracted Alejandro De Tomaso and the wealthy owners of a sugar Empire in Senegal they decided to buy and rebuild the company the Countach remained the company's staple and a new engineer who directed Maseratis Golden Age increased the size of the engine sales started to pick up they also finalized work on off-road Lamborghini for military use the lm0 for it had the same massive 7 liter v12 as the Countach Pirelli created new tires for the vehicle that was able to conquer any terrain from asphalt to the sands of the African deserts sales were climbing when a surprise announcement was made Chrysler a company that had also teetered on the brink bought Lamborghini in April 1987 it's larger than life Italian American Chairman Lee Iacocca couldn't resist having the flashy sports car company under his corporate umbrella the takeover gave the Detroit executives something more interesting to drive than Chrysler k-car but it didn't do very much for Lamborghini they dabbled in Formula One racing supplying engines to Lotus and others but lack of financing allowed these promising efforts to flounder their road cars were still the real story in 1990 a successor to the Countach was finally ready to Diablo the name of a fierce fighting ball for the 19th century defiantly burst into the ring it had been reportedly delayed by Chrysler's engineers but fans felt that Diablo was worth the wait it had been almost 20 years since the company had launched its last new supercar the Countach its lines were reminiscent to the Countach but it was a thoroughly modern machine it's fast 492 horsepower v12 cylinder engine was clocked at over 200 miles per hour unfortunately the diabla arrived just as the market for exotic sports cars was ready to take another dive while the devilish Diablo was hot Chrysler sensed the pending downturn and began tiring of its Italian toy its sole Lamborghini in 1994 the Diablo caught the attention of a group of Indonesian investors they installed a new management team and kept the factory open the new managers had struggled along with the Diablo and worked to develop new vehicles but were always short of funds they turned to Aldi for help in 1996 after a thorough review howdy engineers were impressed with what they saw at Lamborghini they reported back to Ferdinand pH the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche the inventor of the Volkswagen piak was now the chairman of out his parent company the Volkswagen Group [Music] he was intrigued by what he heard and decided on a bold move by July of 1998 the company belonged to the Germans this gave Lamborghini the technical and financial resources needed to develop build and sell an exotic sports car a new era had begun the first new car after the takeover was ready in 2001 the Murcielago replaced the Diablo once again this car was named for a fierce fighting bull it's 580 horsepower engine gave it a tremendous top speed and secured Lamborghinis image the company's reputation as the builder of high-powered exclusive and uncompromising cars were secured it sold as many Murcielago x' as he could build but wanted to broaden the product lineup with a so-called baby Lambo this was a car that Lamborghini never had the money to build without his help they were finally able to sire a second bull the guy Otto roared onto the world stage in 2003 this all-new creation was smaller than the Murcielago but his 500 horsepower 50 valve b10 engine didn't remind to many of a baby the Guyardo for me was striking because not only of its superb performance but because it seemed like such a balanced manageable car it was an important addition that gave the company a broad a range of cars to sell howdy executives hoped the Giotto would provide the basis for growth that would allow them to keep introducing new models in its 40-year history Lamborghini had only built about 10,000 cars they now planned to build 3,000 a year to keep customers happy and attract new ones the company created events that showed off the strengths of his cars [Music] these get-togethers combined that summit product promotion with the trappings of the good life the Lamborghini murciélago Road in the summer of 2004 Lamborghinis of special guests witnessed the unveiling of a new convertible Murcielago it hopes the $275,000 Murcielago and the $165,000 Gallardo will allow it to compete with Porsches and Ferraris if Lamborghini reaches its sales targets it will finance new product development I think Lamborghini has really placed itself back on the map under the aegis of outing and has nothing but a bright future ahead of it some great projects coming up and finally since for the first time since 1964 Ferrari has a competitor on its hands a legitimate competitor [Music] for years it had looked like Lamborghini would become a historical curiosity like some other Italian cars but its rescue and revitalization by Audi appears to assure that there will be more and more raging balls that will ignite the passions of auto lovers for years to come [Music]

Channel: King Rose Archives

Views: 56,888

Keywords: Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., Ferruccio Lamborghini, Lee Iacocca, Itallian sports cars, V12 engine, Volkswagen, Diablo, Audi division, Volkswagen Group, Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, 350GT, Miura, Sports Coupe

Id: Fuhq8qGz7u0

Length: 25min 5sec (1505 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 01 2017