Ferruccio Lamborghini Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (pronounced /ˌlæm bər ˈɡiː ni/; Italian: [ferˈruttʃo lamborˈɡiːni]; April 28, 1916 – February 20, 1993) was an Italian automobile designer and business owner. He started Lamborghini Trattori in 1948 and Automobili Lamborghini in 1963, a company that makes high-end sports cars in Sant'Agata Bolognese.
He was born to grape farmers in Renazzo, a town in the Cento municipality of the Emilia-Romagna region. His mechanical skills led him to start a tractor manufacturing business in 1948, which became a major producer of agricultural equipment during Italy’s economic growth after World War II. In 1959, he opened an oil burner factory called Lamborghini Bruciatori, which later made air conditioning equipment.
In 1969, he founded a fourth company, Lamborghini Oleodinamica, after creating Automobili Lamborghini in 1963. By the late 1970s, he sold many of his business interests and retired to an estate in Umbria, where he focused on winemaking.
Early life
Ferruccio Lamborghini was born on April 28, 1916, to Antonio and Evelina Lamborghini, who were wine growers. He was born in house number 22 in Renazzo di Cento, in the Province of Ferrara, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. His baptismal certificate shows he was baptized as a Roman Catholic four days later, on May 2.
As a young man, Lamborghini was more interested in farming machines than the farming lifestyle itself. Because of his interest in mechanics, he studied at the Fratelli Taddia technical institute near Bologna. In 1940, he joined the Italian Royal Air Force and worked as a mechanic at the Italian garrison on the island of Rhodes, which had been part of the Kingdom of Italy since 1911. He became in charge of fixing vehicles for the military unit there.
In July 1943, Italy removed Mussolini from power, and in early September, Italy signed an agreement with the Allies called the Armistice of Cassibile. This agreement led to German Operation Achse, which aimed to disarm Italian forces before they could fight against Germany and Austria again, as they had done in 1915. During the Battle of Rhodes, most Italian soldiers either fled or were captured by the Germans. Lamborghini escaped capture at first but later returned to his old workplace wearing civilian clothes. He worked odd jobs and, with permission from the Germans, opened a small car repair shop.
When the British took control of Rhodes at the end of the war in 1945, Lamborghini was arrested for working with the enemy. He could not return to Italy until the next year. In 1946, he married Clelia Monti, a woman from Ferrara whom he had met in Rhodes during the war. They married in the church of Santa Maria in Vado in Ferrara. Their son, Tonino, was born on October 13, 1947, but Clelia died during childbirth. In 1948, Lamborghini met Annita Borgatti, a 24-year-old teacher and daughter of the owners of the Fontana Hotel in Cento. Annita helped him manage his businesses for over thirty years.
Lamborghini’s love for engines and machines led him to work at a company that repaired military vehicles. In 1946, the growing need for tractors in Italy, combined with his repair experience, encouraged him to start a business making tractors. He bought old military vehicles from the war and converted them into farming machines.
After World War II, Lamborghini opened a garage in Pieve di Cento. He bought an old Fiat Topolino (one of many cars he would own) and modified it in his spare time. He also built tractors, which were the first Lamborghini vehicles. He improved the car by turning it into a 750-cc open-top two-seater and entered it in the 1948 Mille Miglia race. His participation ended after 1,100 kilometers when he crashed the car into a restaurant in the town of Fiano, near Turin.
In 1947, Lamborghini saw a growing demand for agricultural and industrial machines in post-war Italy. He used parts from military vehicle engines and components from ARAR centers to build the first of his "Carioca" tractors. These tractors were based on six-cylinder engines from Morris trucks.
Because petrol in Italy was too expensive, Lamborghini created a device to help tractors switch from petrol to cheaper diesel fuel. After the success of the Carioca tractor, he started a company called Lamborghini Trattori and began making tractors.
In 1968, a Riva Aquarama boat (Hull #278) was registered and given to Lamborghini. This was the only boat ever built with two Lamborghini engines. It had a special railing for water-skiing and a modified engine compartment with an open exhaust system to meet Lamborghini’s needs. He owned the boat for over 20 years until July 1988, when he sold it to a friend named Angelo Merli.
As Lamborghini became wealthier, he began buying faster and more expensive cars than the small Fiats he had worked on as a young man. In the early 1950s, he owned cars like Alfa Romeos and Lancias. At one point, he had so many cars that he could use a different one each day of the week, including a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, a Jaguar E-Type, and two Maserati 3500 GTs. He once said, “Adolfo Orsi, the owner of Maserati, was a man I respected because he started life poor, like me. But I did not like his cars much. They felt heavy and did not go very fast.”
In 1958, Lamborghini bought a Ferrari 250 GT, a two-seat car designed by Pininfarina. He later owned other Ferraris, including a 250 GT SWB Berlinetta and a 250 GT 2+2 four-seater. He believed Ferrari’s cars were good but too noisy and uncomfortable for regular driving. He thought they were modified race cars with poor interiors.
Lamborghini found that Ferrari’s cars had weak clutches that needed frequent repairs. He had to travel to Maranello repeatedly for fixes, which annoyed him. He had already criticized Ferrari’s customer service as poor. When he shared his complaints with Enzo Ferrari, Ferrari ignored him. After modifying one of his own Ferraris to perform better than standard models, Lamborghini decided to start his own car company. He aimed to build the perfect touring car with high performance, smooth handling, good ride comfort, and quality interiors. He also realized he could make more money by using tractor parts in high-performance cars.
Automobili Lamborghini
During the 1970s, Ferruccio Lamborghini's companies began to have financial problems. In 1971, Lamborghini Trattori, which sold about half of its tractor production to other countries, faced difficulties when its South African importer canceled all its orders. In Bolivia, a new military government, which had recently taken control through a successful military takeover, canceled a large tractor order that was ready to be shipped from Genoa. Trattori’s workers, who were part of a union, could not be fired, which put a lot of pressure on the company. In 1972, Lamborghini sold all of his shares in the company to a competitor, SAME. Soon after, the entire Lamborghini group faced financial trouble. Progress at the car company slowed as costs were reduced. Ferruccio Lamborghini began looking for buyers for Automobili and Trattori, and he started talks with Georges-Henri Rossetti, a wealthy Swiss businessman and friend. Ferruccio sold Rossetti 51% of the company for US$600,000, giving up control of the car company he had started. He continued working at the Sant'Agata factory, while Rossetti rarely took part in Automobili’s business decisions.
The situation did not improve: the 1973 oil crisis hurt sales of high-performance cars made by companies worldwide. Customers preferred smaller, more practical cars that used less fuel. By 1974, Ferruccio had lost interest in his car business. He stopped all ties to the cars that bore his name and sold his remaining 49% share in the automaker. The shares were bought by René Leimer, a friend of Georges-Henri Rossetti.
After leaving the car manufacturing business, Lamborghini continued working in other areas, such as his heating and air conditioning company, Lamborghini Calor. In 1969, he started Lamborghini Oleodinamica S.p.A., a company that made hydraulic valves and equipment.
Later life
In 1974, Lamborghini left his industrial work and retired to a large estate named "La Fiorita" on the shores of Lake Trasimeno in Castiglione del Lago, a town in the Umbria region of central Italy. He returned to farming, enjoyed hunting, and made his own wines. Lamborghini also designed a golf course and continued to manage other businesses.
Lamborghini had a child named Patrizia when he was 58 years old.
On February 20, 1993, at the age of 76, Lamborghini died at Silvestrini Hospital in Perugia after a heart attack 15 days earlier. He is buried at the cemetery in Renazzo.
Fascination with bullfighting
The world of bullfighting plays an important role in the history of the Lamborghini car company. In 1962, Ferruccio Lamborghini, the founder of Lamborghini, visited the ranch of Don Eduardo Miura, a famous breeder of Spanish fighting bulls in Seville. Lamborghini, who was born under the sign of Taurus, was deeply impressed by the strong and impressive Miura bulls. He chose to use a powerful bull as the symbol for the car company he would later create.
After making two cars with names that included numbers and letters, Lamborghini again looked to the bull breeder for ideas. Don Eduardo Miura felt proud when he learned that Ferruccio had named a car after his family and their bulls. The fourth Miura car was presented to him at his ranch in Seville.
Lamborghini continued to use bullfighting themes in later years. The Islero model was named after a Miura bull that killed a famous bullfighter named Manolete in 1947. The word "Espada" means "sword" in Spanish and is sometimes used to describe a bullfighter. The name "Jarama" had two meanings: it referred to a famous bullfighting region in Spain, but Ferruccio was worried people might confuse it with a historic racing track also named Jarama.
After naming the Urraco car after a type of bull, in 1974, Lamborghini changed his approach. Instead of using a bull’s name, he named the Countach after "contacc," a word in the Piedmontese language that means "surprise." It is said that Nuccio Bertone, a designer, said "contacc" in amazement when he first saw the Countach car, called "Project 112." The LM002 sport utility vehicle and the Silhouette car were other examples that did not follow the bull tradition.
In 1982, the Jalpa car was named after a type of bull. In 1990, the Diablo car was named after a fierce bull owned by the Duke of Veragua, which was famous for fighting a long and intense battle against another bull named "El Chicorro" in Madrid in 1869.
Even after Ferruccio Lamborghini died, the tradition of naming cars after bulls continued. The Murciélago car was named after a legendary bull that survived 28 sword strikes and was allowed to live by "El Lagartijo" after its performance in 1879. The Gallardo car was named after one of the five main groups of Spanish fighting bulls. The Reventón car was named after a bull that defeated a young Mexican bullfighter named Félix Guzmán in 1943. The Estoque concept car from 2008 was named after the "estoc," a type of sword used by bullfighters. The Aventador, which replaced the Murciélago in 2011, was named after a bull bred by the sons of Don Celestino Cuadri Vides. This bull was killed in a fight, and after its death, its left ear was cut off and given to the bullfighter as a symbol of good luck.
Legacy
Ferruccio Lamborghini's companies are still active today in some way. His son, Tonino, creates clothing and accessories for the Tonino Lamborghini brand. He also designed the Town Life, an electric microcar shown at the Bologna Motor Show in 1999. Ferruccio's daughter, Patrizia Lamborghini, manages the Lamborghini winery on his estate in Umbria. In 1995, Tonino opened a museum to celebrate Ferruccio's legacy, called the Centro Studi e Ricerche Ferruccio Lamborghini in Dosso (Ferrara). The museum moved to Argelato (Bologna) in 2014 and is now named Museo Lamborghini.
- A Lamborghini 2200PS from 1951
- A C553 crawler from the 1970s
- A modern Lamborghini R6-150 tractor
- The car company named after Lamborghini still makes sports cars (Huracán Tecnica shown).