Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant’Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi.
| Website | lamborghini.com |
|---|
Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993), an Italian manufacturing magnate, founded Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini S.p.A. in 1963 to compete with Ferrari. The company was noted for using a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. Lamborghini grew rapidly during its first decade, but sales plunged in the wake of the 1973 worldwide financial downturn and the oil crisis. The firm’s ownership changed three times after 1973, including a bankruptcy in 1978. American Chrysler Corporation took control of Lamborghini in 1987 and sold it to Malaysian investment group Mycom Setdco and Indonesian group V’Power Corporation in 1994. In 1998, Mycom Setdco and V’Power sold Lamborghini to the Volkswagen Group where it was placed under the control of the group’s Audi division.
| Years | Owner |
|---|---|
| 1963–1972 | Ferruccio Lamborghini |
| 1972–1977 | Georges-Henri Rossetti and René Leimer |
| 1977–1984 | Receivership |
| 1984–1987 | Patrick Mimran |
| 1987–1994 | Chrysler Corporation |
| 1994–1995 | MegaTech |
| 1995–1998 | V’Power and Mycom Sedtco |
| 1998–present | Audi AG |
New products and model lines were introduced to the brand’s portfolio and brought to the market and saw an increased productivity for the brand. In the late 2000s, during the worldwide financial crisis and the subsequent economic crisis, Lamborghini’s sales saw a drop of nearly 50 per cent.
Lamborghini currently produces the V12-powered Aventador and the V10-powered Huracán, along with the Urus SUV powered by a twin-turbo V8 engine. In addition, the company produces V12 engines for offshore powerboat racing.
Lamborghini Trattori, founded in 1948 by Ferruccio Lamborghini, is headquartered in Pieve di Cento, Italy and continues to produce tractors. Since 1973, Lamborghini Trattori has been a separate entity from the automobile manufacturer.
Lamborghini history and history video
“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 business 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 the best super sports car ever, 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.
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.”
*Information from Lamborghini.com
**Video published on YouTube by “Business Casual“
