"Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini" began in late 1962 in Sant'Agata Bolognese, not too far from Modena, the birthplace of Ferrari, and Maranello, where his great cars are manufactured. By May the energetic Lamborghini had developed a factory in which the manufacturing facility and the office complex were adjacent. He and his team could develop the prototypes and watch the cars being built, each a mobile Mona Lisa. The creator could tweak them if he needed to.These were just high-torque tractors with tire-squealing horsepower and head-spinning curves like those of Sophia Loren, right?
Vittorio De Sica's favorite leading lady couldn't have chosen a better team to prepare a prototype, the one-off 350 GTV for the Turin Auto Show of 1963. For its superb 3.5-litre V-12, he tabbed Giotto Bizzarrini, who had designed for Ferrari; young, inspired engineers Giampaolo Dallara and Giampaolo Stanzani; and, for body design, Franco Scaglione, who had worked for the legendary Carrozzeria Bertone.
With eventual design changes by his Milan-based Carrozzeria Touring, the first production Lamborghini, the 350 GT, a two-seater Berlinetta, was born; you can see one of the 135 built at the Lamborghini Museum in Sant'Agata, recently built by the Audi Group, current owners of the company. Henry Manney III extolled the vehicle in the July 1965 issue of Car magazine, calling it “the most desirable sports car I've ever driven." This was checkered-flag praise: Manney owned one of Enzo's 250 GTOs.
Lamborghini followed with the four-liter 400 GT and, after this, the 400 GT 2+2 with two rear seats for those who wanted to enjoy the thrill of a great sports vehicle. Everywhere, elite motoring buyers, who spoke Ferrari and Masserati, were beginning to hear, and understand, the throaty, macho Lamborghini message: Production moved to 273 units for the 400 GT. |
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Miura Magic
Through 1966, more creativity caravaned out of Sant'Agata: prototypes such as the 3500 GTZ, the 350 Spyder, and the Monza 400. Passing them all (inspired by the Ford GT40), was the low-slung Miura, with a mid-rear engine for balanced weight distribution and structural soundness. Lamborghini engineers sat the 4- litre 12-cylinder engine, from the 400 GT, transversely behind the cockpit and drilled the sheet metal chassis to make the new vehicle more lightweight.
Nuccio Bertone, with his new designer Marcello Gandini, created the body for the Bologna-built chassis. It was strong and graceful, powerful but not overally exotic: exactly to Lamborghini's specifications. The Taurus-born Lamborghini searched for a name befitting his beautiful beast, aggressive but smart, always poised for battle: Miura, the greatest line of fighting bulls, raised near Seville by Don Antonio Miura.
The 1966 Geneva Motor Show had its showpiece in this car, an orange version of which Lamborghini took to the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, parked it in front of the Hotel de Paris, and waited for the rumble of the crowd. Playboys and film stars wanted a Miura: It was buff and carnal and sexy, just like their rippling images. Industrialists wanted them because they expressed in metal and horsepower mettle and power. Not expecting to soon be without a country, let alone garage space, the Shah of Persia ordered one, and Miuras made Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin sing, too.
By October 1967, at the Turin show, the question was not whether Lamborghini could do it but how well, how successfully could he re-create the luxury sports-car market and with how many new cars. Another prototype followed, the four-seater Marzal, chosen by Prince Rainier of Monaco, with Princess Grace at his side, to open the Monte Carlo Grand Prix that year. |
