Relentless Force: The history of Lamborghini

The history of Lamborghini is characterized by tensions between visionary cars and profitability. Today, Lamborghini stands for uncompromising sports cars

Lamborghini’s history begins without sports cars

Today, the name Lamborghini is closely associated with top-class sports cars. However, the brand’s beginnings lay in a different sector.

• In 1948, Ferruccio Lamborghini founded the company Lamborghini Trattori in Italy. The company manufactures tractors, initially also from redundant military vehicles. A decade later, air conditioning systems are added to the range.

• In 1963, Lamborghini founded the company Automobili Lamborghini. The trademark, the bull, remains unchanged to this day and is known worldwide. The Lamborghini 350 GTV, Lamborghini’s first sports car, is presented in the same year

• 1966 Lamborghini positions itself: with the Miura, the company launches a sports car that comes closer to the 300 km/h mark than any car before it. The naming of the cars after famous bulls is already evident in the Miura. The tradition continues to this day and has only been discontinued for four cars

Lamborghini as part of Volkswagen

Lamborghini is one of the major Italian car brands. However, the company has changed hands several times and is now part of the Volkswagen Group.

• In the 1970s, Lamborghini’s economic situation became increasingly dire. On the one hand, this was due to the oil crisis. On the other hand, Lamborghini had tried to produce more affordable sports cars with the Urraco model. However, the necessary sales fail to materialize.

• Since 1972, Lamborghini has gone through a series of owners. Nevertheless, the Diablo caused a sensation in 1990: Lamborghini put the fastest production car of the time on the road, with a top speed of 325 km/h.

• 1998 then the takeover by Audi and thus the affiliation to the Volkswagen Group. After the takeover, the range is expanded: more models, lower unit numbers

• Models such as the Murciélago, Aventador and Huracán follow. Lamborghini has also been represented among the SUVs since 2018 with the Urus. Since 2019, the Sîan model has reached a top speed of 350 km/h.