LAMBORGHINI
Check Engine is here to help you find your way through the dozens of sporty models that the Italian manufacturer Lamborghini offers or has offered since 1963.
We also invite you to discover a page in the history of Lamborghini and its factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy.
THE FERRUCCIO LAMBORGHINI ERA 1963-1972
A car mechanic, Ferruccio opened a small garage in his home town of Renazzo di Cento and began producing agricultural tractors. He made his fortune in less than ten years by founding the Lamborghini Trattori company. Having made his fortune, he indulged his passion for prestigious sports cars with Jaguars, Maseratis, Aston Martins and Ferraris, whose fragility and weaknesses he openly complained about. He decided to challenge Ferrari by building his own V12-powered Gran Turismo. On 1 July 1963, he founded Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini in Sant’Agata, on the outskirts of Modena, and set up what was then one of the most modern factories in Europe. The company enjoyed several commercial successes with the Miura, Espada and Countach, but the oil crisis killed off Ferruccio Lamborghini, who sold his company.
1972-1978 Rosetti & Leimer
Swiss friends of Ferruccio Lamborghini, take over the reins of the company, “Automobili Lamborghini”, then in receivership. The Countach was not enough to turn the company around, the oil crisis was still the worst, and Lamborghini was placed under safeguard proceedings by the Italian courts in August 1978.
1978-1979
Alessandro Arteses tries his luck…
1979-1980
Raymond Noima and Hubert Hahne, Lamborghini’s German importers, finally took over the management of the company, but to no avail, as it eventually went bankrupt and was placed into receivership at the beginning of 1980.
1981-1987 Les Frères Mimran
Entrepreneurs in the food industry and enthusiasts of prestigious sports cars, were in turn appointed directors of Lamborghini. They set up a vast restructuring programme and injected massive amounts of capital, while the Sant’Agata factory was refurbished. The Mimran brothers also launched an international call for new engineers and designers. Although the investments produced fairly good results in the short term, they were not enough to turn the company around. In their search for a stable investor, the Mimran brothers met one of the American “Big Three”, Chrysler. Chrysler took control of Lamborghini in April 1987 after investing 33 million dollars.
1987-1994 Chrysler
In 1992, Lamborghini sales plummeted, particularly those of the Diablo, whose price ($239,000) had become too exorbitant for American enthusiasts. Chrysler also decided that the Italian manufacturer was no longer selling enough cars to justify its investment.
1994-1998 Megatech
In February 1994, the Indonesian group MegaTech, headed by businessman Setiawan Djody and the son of Indonesian President Suharto, Tommy Suharto, acquired the entire Lamborghini group, the Italian company, the American subsidiary and the F1 division for 40 million dollars. But as Lamborghini sales rose, the company was restructured; Tommy Suharto’s V’Power holding company retained a 60% stake, while Mycom Sedtco, a Malaysian company owned by Jeff Yap, acquired the remaining 40%. The economic crisis that hit Asia in 1997 forced the Indonesian group to sell Lamborghini.
1998- …
Audi (Volkswagen Group), Volkswagen’s new chairman, Ferdinand Piëch, goes on a buying spree in 1998 and plans to acquire Lamborghini for around $110 million. Lamborghini was bought thanks to Volkswagen’s luxury division, the German manufacturer Audi.