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The History Of Lamborghini And An Overview Of Popular Models Of Lamborghini

Lamborghini is one of the most popular sport cars in the world and it is perhaps the only true rival of the prestigious Ferrari. In fact, although Ferrari had long established itself long before the first Lamborghini came on the road, the Lamborghini still ranks higher in many aspects; a lot of credit goes to the quality and performance that has been put into the Lamborghini. The success of this car is also owing to the supercar models which include Murcielago, Diablo, Miura and Countach.

Let’s look at the brief history of Lamborghini to see how this beautiful car came into being. We are also going to look at some of the popular models of Lamborghini.

History of Lamborghini

History of Lamborghini cannot be complete without talking about the background of the legendary person who made this luxurious rival of Ferrari. Read further to find out more about the man who became the biggest worry to Enzo Ferrari. Ferruccio Lamborghini was only a mechanic during World War II working for the Italian Royal Air Force. After the war was over, he decided to start a business of building agricultural equipment and his main focus remained on the production of tractors which became immensely popular. He used his skills and the surplus military hardware that was abandoned after the war to build his line-up of these heavy-duty vehicles.

LamborghiniBorn and raised in the family of viticulturists, he understood the value of right agricultural equipment in proper farming. His custom built tractors brought him a lot of popularity and fame and he was thus able to make his mark in the vehicle industry. Around the mid of 1950, Lamborghini had become so successful that his tractor company held one of the most prominent positions in the field of agricultural equipment. He then branched out his business and was again successful as an air conditioner and gas heater manufacturer.

By then, Lamborghini was able to accumulate a lot of wealth and fame and this further made it possible for him to acquire some of the most luxurious automobiles that he had dreamed of owning; Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeos, Maseratis, Lancias and Ferrari 250 GT were also one of them. Lamborghini always felt that Ferraris were special cars and he respected Enzo Ferrari a lot, yet he believed that there was something missing or something extra in Ferraris that made them less than perfect to be driven on the road.

While in business, Lamborghini developed an urge to build an automobile that would prove to be a true Grand Touring sports car and which would actually be an answer to the shortcomings of the Ferrari. In fact, had he not been rejected by Enzo Ferrari to fix a problem he was facing with his Ferrari 250 GT, he might not have taken the first step towards manufacturing his own GT car.

Lamborghini had always been famous for being a wizard with engines and mechanical motors. Realizing his inborn gift, there was really nothing stopping Lamborghini from designing a GT sports car that could be better than Ferrari. And thus began Lamborghini’s unending journey to build the best GT sports car for the road.

It was, therefore, decided that the first prototype car will also have a V12engine like the Ferraris. Lamborghini, thus contacted a very talented engineer, Giotto Bizzarrini, to design the engine; but due to some differences of opinion they could not continue their work agreement. Sometime later Lamborghini found another skilled engineer Giampaolo Dallara, who had also worked on Ferrari.

Together they developed a powerful engine which was able to produce 350 HP. The engine was completely produced with aluminium. It was called the 350 GTV prototype and Lamborghini was able to showcase it on the Turin Auto Show in 1963. The car was a stunning success, not only because of the beautiful design of its exterior but also because of its smooth drive on the road.

After the 350 GT, came 400 GT and like its predecessor it proved to be a super hit and a huge success. These models were soon followed by 400 GT 2+2. And with these beautiful cars, the name of Lamborghini became world famous. The history of Lamborghini is indeed glorious; now we will have a look at the popular models of Lamborghini.

Popular Models of Lamborghini

Everyone has their own list of popular models of Lamborghini due to personal preference; however we have listed our own choice of popular models of Lamborghini.

1. 350 GT:

The 350 GT will always hold a special place in the heart of Lamborghini lovers. This was the car that started the elongated hood trend and it made headlines as it had the ability to jump from 0 – 60 mph in just 6.7 seconds.

Lamborghini-350GT
by Georg Schwalbach (GS1311)

2. Miura:

Miura is also one of the popular models of Lamborghini. It sported a 3.9 litre V12 engine which was able to produce 385 horsepower. It was the first mid-engine design and it became famous around the world. Miura is also famous for associating the name ‘bull’ with the brand.

Lamborghini-Miura
by thompsph

3. Espada:

the name ‘Espada’ is Italian for ‘sword’ and it is symbolic of the sword used by bull fighters. This analogy would not come as a surprise to Lamborghini fans as they knew that Ferruccio Lamborghini had always been captivated by bulls and bull fighting. Besides, Lamborghini was by birth a Taurus and therefore used this symbol for the logo of the car.

Lamborghini-Espada
by jns001

4. Diablo:

Diablo came in 1990 and its production carried out till 2001. A total of 2884 vehicles had been produced during this period. Diablo was the first Lamborghini sports car to have reached the top speed of 210 mph.

Lamborghini-Diablo
by exfordy

5. Countach:

the Countach was the first Lamborghini to have an exotic, badass appeal and it was because of this reason that it was initially banned in the United States. It reached a high speed of over 200 mph and thus became one of the popular models of Lamborghini.

Lamborghini-Countach
by Wikimedia Commons

6. Murcielago:

Murcielago was an instant hit and it soon became one of the most popular models of Lamborghini because of its new body design. 4099 units of this model were produced reaching a top speed of 209 mph.

Lamborghini-Murcielago
by Wikimedia Commons

Written by

Jyotsna Ramani is a passionate writer and an avid globetrotter. She had a knack for writing since her early years, though that was mostly letters to her penpals and jotting her thoughts down in her "Dear Diary". Over the years, she realized how her hobby could turn into a full time career and she started writing web content, books and pieces for local magazines. There has been no looking back ever since. Follow Jyotsna Ramani at Google+

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