Ferruccio Lamborghini

Ferruccio Lamborghini

Italian automaker and founder of Lamborghini.
Date of Birth: 28.04.1916
Country: Italy

Biography of Ferruccio Lamborghini

Ferruccio Lamborghini was an Italian car manufacturer and the founder of the company Lamborghini. He was born in the small Italian village of Renazzo di Cento, in the province of Ferrara. After the war, Ferruccio returned to his hometown and started modifying military vehicles for agricultural purposes. He was successful in this venture and founded Lamborghini Trattori S.p.A. in 1949, manufacturing his own design of tractors. In 1960, Lamborghini established his second company, Lamborghini Bruciatori, which produced industrial cooling equipment.

Both of Lamborghini's companies were highly successful and made significant contributions to the post-war economy of Italy. As the wealthy owner of Lamborghini Trattori S.p.A., Ferruccio was a sports car enthusiast, particularly of Ferrari. He noticed that the clutches in Ferrari cars were similar to those he used in his tractors but lacked reliability. This led him to criticize Enzo Ferrari, who responded by saying that a tractor manufacturer had no right to criticize Ferrari cars. Offended by this remark, Ferruccio became determined to "create a better Ferrari than Ferrari."

In 1963, he founded his own car factory, Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini S.p.A., in the village of Sant'Agata, near the Ferrari factory. He recruited former Ferrari engineers Gianpaolo Dallara and Bob Wallace to work for him. Lamborghini had a unique approach to car racing. While other car manufacturers focused on showcasing the speed, handling, and technical excellence of their cars during races, Ferruccio made it clear that his company would not participate in or support any racing teams. This policy was in stark contrast to Ferrari, whose production cars were made to generate funds for racing.

This approach sometimes caused friction between Ferruccio and his engineers, who were former Ferrari employees and racing enthusiasts. A few engineers started designing a mid-engined car prototype for racing in their spare time. When Ferruccio saw the project at the prototype stage, he allowed them to continue but did not produce any racing versions of the car. This project later became the basis for the Lamborghini Miura.

In 1972, Lamborghini invested significant amounts of money to expand tractor production for a contract in South America. However, the contract was canceled, and financial difficulties forced Ferruccio to sell a portion of his tractor company. In the same year, Georges-Henri Rossetti became Lamborghini's partner in his car business. A year later, Ferruccio sold his share of Automobili Lamborghini to Rene Leimer. Ferruccio Lamborghini passed away in 1993 at the age of 76 in Perugia. His son, Tonino Lamborghini, is a fashion designer specializing in clothing and accessories.

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