Lamborghini: Destined To Win, From The Beginning
For automobile enthusiasts, the founding of Automobili Lamborghini in 1963 is a well-known story about a successful Italian industrialist with a mechanical knack and a passion for fast cars. Ferruccio Lamborghini owned the best of them and found that each one inspired him to make a better one. Famously quoted, he once said, “I want to make a GT car without faults. Not a technical bomb. Very normal. Very conventional. But a perfect car.”
For automobile enthusiasts, the founding of Automobili Lamborghini in 1963 is a well-known story about a successful Italian industrialist with a mechanical knack and a passion for fast cars. Ferruccio Lamborghini owned the best of them and found that each one inspired him to make a better one. Famously quoted, he once said, “I want to make a GT car without faults. Not a technical bomb. Very normal. Very conventional. But a perfect car.”
Not so well known is that the founder's vision was realized in record time - building a state-of-the-art factory on a vacant site within a year while simultaneously developing the most remarkable engine of its day - a four-cam V-12 so perfect that it became the heart of almost every Lamborghini, well into the 21st century.
If the first production Lamborghini - the 1964 350 GTcreated a sensation, the Miura, first shown in Monaco in 1966, caused a seismic shift in the sports car landscape. The V-12powered, mid-engine masterpiece cemented Lamborghini's future, and moved the goalposts for what was possible in a road-going supercar. And if the Miura predicted the future, what followed it - the Countach - was simply the most radical production automobile the world had ever seen. It was 1974, and for Lamborghini, there was no looking back.
Being a small-volume manufacturer of Italian sports cars was a challenge throughout the 1970s, but that decade and the one that followed were fertile times nonetheless, with models like the Espada, Jarama, Uracco, Silhouette and Jalpa added to the Lamborghini stable. By 1998, Lamborghini - once an upstart but by that time an international phenomenon - was acquired by the Volkswagen Group, thus assuring the future of the iconic brand.
Today, Lamborghini is experiencing a moment of transition and expansion under the leadership of Stefano Domenicali - not just in its model range and its global footprint, but with a vision that puts the brand at forefront of technology and design. Here, the Lamborghini Urus breaks new ground, but not Lamborghini tradition. Itself a true super sports car, this V-8-powered SUV combines Lamborghini performance and handling with unstoppable off-road capability. Its inspiration goes back to 1986, when Lamborghini stunned the world with the LM002. Built to be invincible, it foretold - by decades - the new chapter in Lamborghini history being written at present.
For 2019, Lamborghini showcases its supremacy among supercars with the V-12-powered Aventador, a spiritual successor of the very first Miura. The Aventador SVJ, with 770 hp on tap, is the most formidable series-production Lamborghini ever made and a benchmark achievement.
This year also sees the V-10-powered Huracán EVO and EVO Spyder. Each advances the definition of “super sports car,” breaking new performance ground with Lamborghini Integrated Vehicle Dynamics (LDVI), the vehicle's electronic nerve center that manages - and anticipates - driver input to optimize driving dynamics and safety.
In 2009, the Lamborghini factory established the Super Trofeo international racing series, a one-marque championship organized by Lamborghini Squadra Corse. Since 2018, drivers have had the most capable track tool - the Huracán EVO, factory modified to Super Trofeo specification - to take to the limit in three continental series in Europe, Asia and North America.
This year, fans worldwide have reason to celebrate Lamborghini's unprecedented victory in the GT3 race series, held on the world's most challenging circuits, where Automobili Lamborghini and more than 20 customer teams competed against one another and other constructors for the title. Again, Lamborghini has emerged victorious, with back-to-back victories at Daytona 24 Hours and 12 Hours of Sebring in 2018 and 2019 - the first Italian brand to win both Daytona and Sebring two years in a row! To celebrate this historic GT3 achievement, Lamborghini created a unique limited edition Huracán EVO vehicle to honor the notable wins unveiled during Monterey Car Week.