‘One day I had a bit of an argument with my friend Enzo Ferrari who reckoned I wasn’t able to drive a Ferrari, only tractors. That’s what put the idea into my head…’
Everyone knows who that is talking – it’s one of the most famous stories in motoring. If you ever doubted the veracity of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s story behind the creation of the firm that bears his name – and the ‘I’ll show you!’ oneupmanship of it all does sound a tad unlikely – then you can hear the words from his own mouth in this short video clip…
Why now to remember the Italian industrialist who created not just a new supercar company, but, by common consent, the first supercar? Anniversaries of course, and two in particular: Ferruccio Lamborghini was born 100 years ago come April 28 this year; and the Geneva show on March 1st will mark 50 years since the debut of the Lamborghini Miura, mother of all supercars.
Both events are fully deserving of every enthusiast’s approbation. There might not be much new to say about either – everything that could be written about the Miura and its Ferrari-baiting, tractor-making creator has surely already been written many times over, and alas there are no pictures to unearth of Lambos at Goodwood in period – but there again no excuse is really needed to celebrate this most charismatic of cars, and people.
Plus there is always a new video to discover…
In this one (just 34 seconds, and with subtitles), you can hear Ferruccio’s theory of life and work as he is interviewed while driving one of his tractors. Cigarette in hand, his reluctance to end up with heart problems turned out to be rather ironic…
Here’s another, all in Italian, that introduces the Miura in a very evocative 1960s Italian way. What a sight the mid-engined V12 makes amid all the Fiat 500s when it leads a mini Lambo convoy to a coffee stop. There follows a lunchtime discussion with Ferruccio – GRR’s Italian speakers will know more, but part of the talk is about how Lamborghini will put a mechanic on a plane if an owner has a problem with their car; it’s ‘expensive but worth it,’ says the boss.
For us the lead video is the must-see film. It’s a segment on Lamborghini and the Countach from the American 60 Minutes documentary show in 1985. It’s very American, with lots of hyperbole, but stick with it, there’s priceless footage here – especially of test driver Valentino Balboni in the Countach on his ‘test track’ at an alleged 180mph – that’d be the public roads then. How’s this for some true Italian overtaking!
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