The Beef between Ferrari and Lamborghini

 

A long-standing story says that Enzo Ferrari made fun of Ferruccio Lamborghini to get him to make automobiles. But did it actually happen? People tell the legend in many different ways, but the common narrative goes as follows:

Ferruccio Lamborghini's Ferraris experienced problems with their clutches. He went to Maranello many times to get them replaced, and then he asked to meet Enzo Ferrari. Some people think Ferrari turned him down, but Lamborghini said he told Ferrari in person, "Your car is rubbish!"

There are several reports of what Ferrari said in response. Lamborghini says it was, "You may be able to drive a tractor, but you will never be able to handle a Ferrari properly."

"This," Lamborghini later stated, "was the moment when I finally decided to build a perfect car."

The fact is much more complicated than the story, which is a terrific one.

Ferruccio Lamborghini was born in 1916 into a family of farmers, although he was more interested in farm machines. He went to technical school and worked as a mechanic for the Italian army during World War II, coming up with mechanical solutions to keep the army's trucks working. After the war, Lamborghini used old military equipment to make farm tools. He quickly started Lamborghini Trattori, which made strong, cheap tractors.

Lamborghini started another business in 1960 called Bruciatori, which made heating and air conditioning systems for homes and businesses. After the war, there was a lot of demand for tractors in Italy, but heating and cooling was a much more competitive sector, so Lamborghini focused on after-sales service. The facility had 150 workers, but Lamborghini sent almost 2,000 experts all throughout Italy to help customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Lamborghini had been tuning Fiats since the conclusion of World War II, and now that he was rich, he could buy high-end automobiles from Alfa-Romeo, Jaguar, Lancia, Maserati, Mercedes, and Ferrari. The tale of the Ferrari taunt may not hold true—we will delve into the evidence supporting and refuting it shortly—but it is undeniable that Lamborghini's experience with these automobiles inspired him to initiate a car business.

"I have bought some of the most famous Gran Turismo cars," he would later explain, "and in each of these great cars, I have found some problems." Too hot, or uncomfortable, or not fast enough, or not well done enough. "I want to build a GT car that has no flaws... a perfect car."

Ferruccio started Automobili Lamborghini in 1963. He hired a talented team that comprised Giampaolo Dallara, Paolo Stanzani, and Bob Wallace from New Zealand, with Giotto Bizzarrini as a consultant. Lamborghini built his factory on farmland in Sant'Agata Bolognese, which was close to Modena, where Ferrari and Maserati hired skilled labor.

Lamborghini didn't want to race like his local rival did. He only entered one of his modified cars in the 1947 Mille Miglia open-road race, which was his only time racing. He crashed into a café two-thirds of the way through the race and said he had ordered a glass of wine, maybe to celebrate the end of his racing career. Now, Lamborghini would be making grand touring cars.

Lamborghini debuted the 350 GTV, their first prototype, at the 1963 Turin Auto Show. While getting the car ready, the team found that the Bizzarrini-designed V-12 wouldn't fit beneath the hood. Without the weight of the engine, the car's nose didn't sit at the appropriate height. The answer was to fill the engine bay with floor tiles from the factory and keep the hood closed during the presentation. Lamborghini has preserved a portion of the original factory floor from which they sourced the tiles.

Lamborghini's first production model, the V-12-powered 350 GT, emerged from the prototype. Other models followed, including the upgraded 400 GT, the Miura (Lamborghini's first mid-engine supercar), and the Espada, Islero, and Jarama (four-seat variants). Ferruccio knew that happy customers made good news, just like at Brucatori. If a Lamborghini broke down, the firm would send a mechanic and pay for it, even by plane if necessary, along with a letter of apology.

Lamborghini had a lot of success in the 1960s, but the 1970s were not as good. The plant had problems with the union, the cars couldn't meet new emissions and safety rules in the profitable U.S. market, and the American press didn't like how well they fit and finished.

The Countach LP500 prototype shocked everyone at the 1971 Geneva exhibition, but it took almost three years to make the commercial version. The Urraco, a much-needed low-cost rival to the Porsche 911 and Ferrari Dino, had to wait just as long. Lamborghini Trattori had a lot of unsold inventory after an agreement to construct 5,000 tractors for Bolivia fell through after a coup in the government.

Ferruccio was in danger of losing his own money. In 1972, Lamborghini sold 51% of the automobile firm, but he still worked there. He sold the tractor company in 1973, then quickly sold the rest of his shares in Automobili Lamborghini and retired.

When the Countach went on sale in 1974, the globe was in a recession and an energy crisis. When Automobili Lamborghini's commercial negotiations with BMW (to make the M1) and Mobility Technology International (to make the Cheetah military off-roader) went bad, the company lost money. New safety rules in Europe eliminated the Espada, Urraco, and Silhouette. The Countach was the only one left, but it still couldn't be sold in the U.S. Lamborghini filed for bankruptcy in 1978.

During a two-year receivership, Lamborghini made the Jalpa, a low-cost (and U.S.-compliant) car, from the Silhouette, which was no longer being made. The Swiss Mimram brothers bought the company in 1980. As the U.S. economy was going from bad to good, the Countach was approved for sale in the U.S. Lamborghini used the parts from the unsuccessful Cheetah project to make its first SUV, the LM002. The revival caught the eye of the Chrysler Corporation, who had just gotten a lot of money, and they bought Lamborghini in 1987.

The new Diablo made a lot of money for Chrysler for five years, but interest in the company dropped once CEO Lee Iacocca retired. Indonesian investors bought Lamborghini and let the line of products stay the same. Volkswagen Group bought Lamborghini in 1998 as part of a buying frenzy that also encompassed Bentley and Bugatti. Innovation came back: Lamborghini made the Murciélago and the Gallardo, then the Aventador, Huracán, the Urus SUV, and most recently the Revuelto, which runs on both gas and electricity.

So what about the legendary Ferrari insult? Did it actually happen?

Valentino Balboni, a retired Lamborghini test driver, told Car & Driver that he had heard it from the boss many times. Balboni said that Lambo's head mechanic found out that Ferrari was charging 1,000 lire for the identical 10-lire clutch that Lamborghini used in tractors. But Bob Wallace, who was Balboni's boss before him and is depicted here with the Urraco, wasn't sure.

Wallace remarked in the book Lamborghini: Supercar Supreme, "That's all BS, which Lamborghini himself helped to keep alive." He started the company because he wanted to be famous and thought he could make money doing it.

We asked Massimo Delbo, an automobile historian who took us on a tour of Lamborghini's famous history, if he thinks the exchange truly transpired. He thinks that both men would have known how good it would be for their reputations if there was a dispute between Italy's supercar heirs, whether it was true or not. Delbo informed us, "They said something to each other, but only Enzo and Ferruccio knew what it was." I'm sure we'd still be hearing different versions of the story if they were living today. Even we have been perplexed by it in the past.

Lamborghini still makes and develops automobiles at the original facility in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, 60 years after the firm was founded. The factory has grown a lot since then. Ferruccio Lamborghini's statement that "A Lamborghini has to be beautiful, fast, comfortable, luxurious, and fun to drive; it has to be the best GT ever made" is still true today. We may never know for sure if Enzo pushed Ferruccio into the automotive business, but we do know that Lamborghini is still looking for the perfect car.

Ahmad Daniel Bin Anuar
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