To understand a Lamborghini, you must understand the land that generated it. You need to think of a tree and examine its roots. And in this case, they are firmly embedded in the land that, more than any other place in the world, has an instinctive love for high-class, spirited engines. This is a stretch of the Po valley that is shaped like the perfect ‘golden triangle’, touching Sant’Agata, Modena and Maranello, and it is where the finest cars in the world are made. It’s a matter of blood, experience and sensitivity, or perhaps it’s pure and simple passion. It is no accident that revolutionary concepts in style and form were spawned here, and they are concepts that elsewhere, even within enormous companies, were never even imagined.
Everything stems from the hot-blooded nature of these people, from this grassy, fertile terrain and the long secondary roads that cut through farmland. In the silence of hot summer days, these engines rend the air of the lower Po valley like sirens, and everyone turns around to see what’s passing through. These roads, these long, straight secondary roads that shoot like arrows across the Emilia plains, are what have formed the DNA of these formidable engines. For these cars seem to have been crafted simply to entice you to floor the accelerator and delight in the sound of the loveliest, most musical twelve cylinders in the world: the ones from Sant’Agata Bolognese.
The Lamborghini Museum is a natural expression of this love. Established by the new owners of this glorious make, the German Audi Group, it was built in a matter of months. It is distinguished by a daring architectural design that nevertheless respects the building that houses the museum, the historic first block where the great adventure of the bold little automotive company began. The itinerary that winds its way through the two floors of this museum fully illustrates the complex, sometimes intricate and often extraordinary story of Lamborghini. All the main models are here, neatly lined up and in perfect condition. Above all, this is a very rich and modern museum. When you consider the number of models produced at Sant’Agata and the number of cars exhibited in the museum, it dawns on you that this is truly one of the most representative and complete factory museums in the world. All the cars that have made Lamborghini great are here, either permanently or on a rotating basis, but there are also many other important aspects, alongside a large number of the secondary or lesser-known ones. Everything that is significant to the devotees of the ‘Lamborghini world’ is exquisitely represented here. The passion that inspired those who set up the museum is meaningfully reflected by the number of illustrative panels, photographs, engines, small-scale models and even historic shop equipment. Directly or indirectly, all of this testifies to the long path that Lamborghini has travelled in these forty difficult, glorious years.
The history of ‘Lamborghini Automobili’ officially starts in 1963. Nevertheless, we must consider the far-off roots of this event, and they are the roots of Ferruccio Lamborghini. Born in 1916, this capable, impetuous, strong-willed Taurus was the leading character in the foundation of the company and the early phases of its extraordinary history.
By the time he decided to build a factory of luxury sports cars, Ferruccio was already a very wealthy man. In the period following World War II, he founded his tractor factory, which he launched with energy and determination, creating a major point of reference in this industry. Other businesses followed, and he amassed his fortune at the perfect time, before his fiftieth birthday. By the early Sixties, Lamborghini was a powerful and successful man who knew exactly what he wanted, but when he said he would build a super sports car to compete with Ferrari, many people thought he was mad. Constructing that kind of car was viewed as an unexplainable extravagance, a hazardous leap in the dark, and something that would squander his fortune without ever turning a profit.
In reality, Lamborghini had already done his homework and, as usual, he had done it quite well. He had taken apart his own prestigious cars and discovered that some of the spare parts on these cars were exactly the same ones he used for his tractors, except for the fact that when they were mounted on those cars they tripled in price. The manufacturer’s mark-up was obviously enormous. While Ferruccio – the man – was stubborn enough to argue with Ferrari, Lamborghini – the industrialist – was already pondering these enormous profit margins and what could be earned with this business, aside from pure and simple prestige.
He started working on this project in late 1962, and by May 1963 he had already founded ‘Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini’, buying a large plot of land in Sant’Agata Bolognese, about 25 kilometres from Bologna, to build a new large and ultramodern factory. Because of the experience he had gained with his other companies, he was in a position to set up the best facilities for his purpose: a very functional structure that, at the time, was unrivalled in its field. The enormous and well-lit central building was adjacent to the office building, so that the management could constantly monitor the production situation. This was ideal for Lamborghini, who would often roll up his shirtsleeves and go to work on the cars personally when he saw something that wasn’t done just the way he wanted.
The first model was naturally put out quickly, given that Lamborghini had only a few months between the time he decided to build the factory and the date set for its official presentation. The event that was chosen for this was the era’s traditional rendezvous, the Turin Auto Show scheduled for the beginning of November 1963. Since Lamborghini had a very clear idea of what he wanted, he didn’t waste any time looking for the right people. For the engine, which had to be the best V12 made in the area – and thus in the world – he immediately turned to Giotto Bizzarrini, who had designed some of Ferrari’s most recent engines. For the rest of the car and to start up production, he hired two promising young engineers, Giampaolo Dallara and Giampaolo Stanzani. Their combined age was barely fifty at the time, but they were talented and enthusiastic, and they had a natural instinct when it came to thoroughbred cars. They needed it, because their boss was a man who was almost brutally honest, and from the very start he clearly detailed exactly what he expected from his new car. In a 1963 statement given to Italian journalist Athos Evangelisti, he observed: “… in the past, I bought some of the most famous Gran Turismo cars, and found several flaws. Too hot, not very comfortable or not fast enough, or not finished to perfection. Now I want to make a flawless GT. Not a technical marvel. A very normal, very conventional but perfect car.”
This was a considerable endeavour and time was short. Nevertheless, when the 350 GTV was presented it was already a masterpiece. It responded perfectly to what the company founder had declared, at least as far as the mechanical side was concerned. From a practical standpoint, however, the body by Franco Scaglione, a widely admired designer who had also worked for Carrozzeria Bertone, was not as well conceived. The line was indubitably dramatic, but it was more worthy of a Batmobile than a GT, flaunting an incredible pointed snout, enormous glassarea, the very long rear window, which was one of the trademarks of this designer but that illogically reduced the opening of the boot, and an overall surface treatment and detailing more appropriate for a show prototype than a car to be put into production. On the testbench, however, the 3.5-litre engine proved it could easily put out 360 hp, with a roar worthy of the top racing V12. The independent suspensions of the GTV were an innovation for the GTs of the era, and all the components, from the gearbox to the brakes, were selected from outside suppliers with the sole intention of obtaining the very best on the market
The debut of the Lamborghini in a narrow but fiercely competitive market – shared until then by Ferrari, Maserati, Aston Martin, Jaguar and just a handful of others – certainly created a stir. Sceptics seriously doubted Lamborghini’s ability to go ahead with this project without any specific experience in this difficult field. But those who knew him well simply commented: wait and see, because Lamborghini knows what he’s doing.
In retrospect, 1964 was an extraordinary year. As soon as he realised that the body designed by Scaglione had been received rather coldly, Lamborghini’s first move was to have the design redone completely to make it more attractive to the public, and he thus turned to the famous Milan-based Carrozzeria Touring. The changes that Felice Bianchi Anderloni made to the original design created a line that became a classic: original but without being extreme. The 350 GT was born, and the Lamborghini Museum has an absolutely perfect specimen on exhibit.