It is actually amazing that the company was shaped by a man who actually only owned it from 1962/63 to 1973/74, so he was only able to exert influence during this time. So soon Lamborghini will exist for 50 years without Ferruccio Lamborghini, who finally sold the remaining shares in the company at the age of 58. Before we get into the reasons why, let's first explore the famous legends surrounding the origins of the sports car factory.

Some say there was no conversation between Ferruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari because Ferrari didn't received him. The others, including Lamborghini's son, credibly assure that the conversation actually took place. In it, Lamborghini is said not only to have complained about the necessary repairs to his private Ferrari, but also to have presented a solution.

That can actually only have been know-how from the tractor factory. It's easy to imagine, because if there's anything that needs to be strengthened on a tractor with a more powerful diesel engine and constant acceleration, then it's the clutch. Now enough is not known about Enzo's professional knowledge, because his life's work was actually the quality of the organization. Was he perhaps right to point out the high speeds to which clutches in super sports cars are subjected?

Or did he coolly brush him off in the Italian macho style, and only said that Lamborghini should better take care of his tractors. One thing is for sure, because the story is reported again and again, the malice must have struck him deeply. However, if Lamborghini had been able to see into the near future, the factory would probably never have been founded, because in order to drive supercars you have to have a lot of money to produce them, be immeasurably rich.

The correlation between the founding of the company and another important event for it at Ferrari also remains unclear. Enzo's wife Laura is said to have always interfered very much in the company and at the end of 1961, alone or together with her husband, clashed with one or more of the managers. Multiple dismissals followed, including for the supervisor Dr. Carlo Chiti and Giotto Bizzarrini. After all, the latter was considered the creator of the twelve-cylinder, who made it from 1964 to the model change in 2011 without any major changes, so almost 50 years with about this one basic concept was produced.

At Ferrari, Gioacchino Colombo's first V12 design only lasted about 20 years before the cylinder heads were thoroughly renovated, probably also because of competition from Lamborghini. However, the first version of this engine dates back to 1947, and the mere fact that a twelve-cylinder was being considered bordered on madness. Bizzarrini also started directly with a total of 4 overhead camshafts and the usual 2 valves per cylinder. However, he exaggerated the horsepower output. More on that in the '350 GT' chapter.

Long-cherished dreams of Ferrari employees at Lamborghini also seemed to have been realized with the chassis. Bizzarrini and Gian Paolo Dallara played a major role in the independent rear suspension, unlike the Ferrari 250 GTO, on which they had last worked together in the 'Gang of Five' and which still had a rigid axle, only mitigated by coil springs and trailing arms. Even dr Carlo Chiti provided support, although he now had his own company.

How did Ferruccio Lamborghini get all these people? One, the engineer and designer Paolo Stanzani, came from his own 'Trattori,' but had only been employed there since 1961, so perhaps following the idea of building a sports car. The new chassis was tested by New Zealander Bob Wallace, chief mechanic also from Ferrari, who was appointed Lamborghini's sole test driver. Incredible road averages are credited to him, partially vouched for by independent measurement of time. He remained loyal to Lamborghini for a total of 12 years.

There were the Messrs. Giorgio Neri and Luciano Bonacini, originally from Maserati but now working in their own company. They were probably friends with Bizzarrini, among other things responsible for the frame of the 350 GT. The shape of the first Lamborghini, which was too strongly influenced by the boss, was reworked by Franco Scaglione, a designer who was chief designer at Bertone even before Giugiaro. Pininfarina was committed to Ferrari, Bertone would design Lamborghini's bodies if they would break away from conventional style. That then happened thoroughly, with the Miura through Giugiaro's successor Marcello Gandini and later even more so with the Countach. Unbelievable that only ten years of company history had passed when the Countach appeared.

It is reported that Ferruccio Lamborghini, in particular, pushed the assignment of the individual models with bull names. Certainly, the logo of the tractor factory already showed a bull. If you look into the matter, then of course the 350 and 400 GT are completely out of question. But also Miura and Jalpa, named after famous breeder families and Jarama as a place in Spain and the Espada as the sword of the bullfighter actually too. So during his time in the company he can only have had a hand in designating the Urraco and the Islero, truly bulls, the former being so named because of the color of the magpie and the latter fatally injuring a famous bullfighter.

At most two out of five or six, depending on how you count, remain only as bull names. Of the later five Veneno, Reventón, Huracán at least the Diablo because of his devilish aggressiveness, the Murciélago (bat) because he survived after 24 stabs with the sword of death. The Gallardo remains the only one, after all a bull breed. Today we know that Lamborghini has a thick volume with bull names and probably also terms from the world of bull breeding. That means it will continue, but it is still not that easy to find a suitable name for a new model.

One of the legends is that Ferruccio Lamborghini deliberately chose the site for the new factory at the point where the Ferrari test drivers passed after about 34 km and had to brake because of a curve. Either there was never a curve there or it has disappeared due to traffic planning or the expansion of the plant, in any case there is a long straight road in front of the plant today.

After all, the new company was established more than 20 km from his tractor factory. The prototype from 1947 in the picture above proves that Ferruccio Lamborghini was interested in building sporty cars much earlier. It shows a Fiat-based racing car with a tuned engine that was said to reach 160 km/h. In 1948 Lamborghini was officially registered for the Mille Miglia together with his friend Giancarlo Baglioni.

Here, also from 1947, the first tractor called 'Carioca'. After all, it already had 6 cylinders, just like the Deutz engines that are installed in Lamborghini tractors today, albeit as diesel engines. They are said to be very successful, of course vastly superior in terms of performance and especially torque.

Indeed, the first Lamborghini tractors were started with petrol, but then it was possible to switch to a much cheaper derivative that evaporated according to Lamborghini's patent. Whether that was oil or even crude oil, let's leave it unclear, but probably already in a somewhat more distilled form. With the exception of the engine, the L 33 is a complete in-house production.

The DL 30 C crawler tractor is famous for its yellow color. It and its predecessors from 1952 also marked the way to the diesel engine. Below the DL 48-52 from 1954.

Below one of the tractors no longer produced under the direction of Ferruccio Lamborghini, the C 553 from 1976.

Finally, let's explore the reasons for Lamborghini's withdrawal to his winery. The tractor factory was probably sold a year earlier. It could no longer serve as a source of finance for the sports car factory. Again another legend: An order for 5,000 tractors to Bolivia is said to have been canceled because of the unrest there, although the order was already finished. Another reason could have been the rather unrelenting labor dispute in Italy at the time and, of course, the oil price crisis.

In summary: The circumstances for founding the company were quite good, e.g. due to conflicts and adherence to 'tried and tested' at Ferrari. 10 years later, that had almost turned into the opposite. In addition, Lamborghini had hired a lot of young people. They had almost turned his initial plans upside down, e.g. in terms of design. But they also wanted to see the brand represented in racing and the boss didn't think much of it. Perhaps this latently smoldering conflict had persuaded Ferruccio Lamborghini to leave the company.