'Lamborghini'

if enzo ferrari hadn't been so crass, we might not have the lamborghini supercars we enjoy seeing today. it's the only time i know of when being a pompous jerk actually had good results
 
cheezyflier said:
if enzo ferrari hadn't been so crass, we might not have the lamborghini supercars we enjoy seeing today. it's the only time i know of when being a pompous jerk actually had good results
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How true CF.

Ferruccio Lamborghini found that he could make tractors from tons of the surplus left over from World War II. His genius in business and manufacturing quickly made him a huge Tractor manufacturer in Europe, ever growing. Ferruccio was able to afford several Ferraris, (I think 6). This was back in the 60's.

Once, on a fun mountain drive in his latest Ferrari, Ferruccio wanted to stop in at Maranello and say hello to Enzo (Ferrari) and talk with him about a thought for an improvement on his Ferraris suspensions and brakes. Ferruccio had thought they were lacking and just needed some slight improvements and Ferruccio's approach was with friendship and concern via his love for Ferraris.

Well, Enzo was quite a bit taken back and insulted that a 'Tractor' maker would be telling the great "Ferrari" how to make his cars! Ferruccio, embarrassed, decided he would make his own sports GT cars from now on.

Ferruccio hired a stylist who came up with the first 'Lamborghini'. A Formula One Engine Designer was hired that Ferrari had fired. He (the engine designer) had gone to Ferrari with an elaborate V-12 design and Enzo said he didnt want it. Ferruccio did! That became the heart of all the cars for the next decade or so, (originally destined to be a Ferrari Formula One engine!)

Meanwhile, 7 people are hired to make the prototype. A space in the back corner of the huge 'Lamoborghini Tratorri SpA' is created for the team to work and assemble the first GT.

From there, history was made......


The Countach story is just as good... (Countach in Italian is untranslatable except that it basically means 'Awesome' ).


Below are some pics of the first 350 GTV. Note the resemblance to both Ferrari and Masserati of that era in Italian car design.



Bill
 
There's a guy not far from here who has a silver Countach....has it from new from around '84...not afraid to test it's performance neither.:)
Same guy has a Mercedes Vito van with a 6lt Lambo engine mid mounted in it.:wiggle:
 
kilo delta said:
There's a guy not far from here who has a silver Countach....has it from new from around '84...not afraid to test it's performance neither.:)
Same guy has a Mercedes Vito van with a 6lt Lambo engine mid mounted in it.:wiggle:
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Goodness!


I love the early Countach's, before they were loaded up with addons.. What a beauty that thing is/was..


Bill
 
...the one that defined a new motoring genre, named for the breed of Spanish fighting bull: Miura.
Looks better now than it did 44 years ago.
Even the headlight "eyelashes" don't look as naff.
 
kilo delta said:
I reckon that they'd have good stealth qualities too, what with all of the sharp angles :costumes:
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Actually you are very right. Sloped panels deflect the radar. Only light bazels, license plate brackets and plates themselves will usually reflect back to a radar unit. Attaching wrinkled foil 'should' scramble the waves though.

:d



Bill
 
Back last spring, I took my Grand Am GT to the dealership to have the A/C fixed (thank goodness for the bumper to bumper warranty coverage) and they had a Lambo in the garage. I was surprised how small the car was. Very low, very short...wide as all get out though. It was smaller than my GT overall....but it had much much more power. It was an older model, from the 70s, but was in pristine condition with only 20 thousand miles on it.

OBIO
 
OBIO said:
Back last spring, I took my Grand Am GT to the dealership to have the A/C fixed (thank goodness for the bumper to bumper warranty coverage) and they had a Lambo in the garage. I was surprised how small the car was. Very low, very short...wide as all get out though. It was smaller than my GT overall....but it had much much more power. It was an older model, from the 70s, but was in pristine condition with only 20 thousand miles on it.

OBIO
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Yep.. They are not huge at all... The Countach is about 40 inches give or take an inch and has no front end, just a wedge that barely makes it over the front tires and continues straight up the windscreen.


Nice pic Wing_Z!

The Miura was a rare breed, its own shape. Nothing else looked like her that was manufactured..

It also sported something that even today is very rare. A cross mounted V-12.

Getting into it was about the same in 'difficulty level' as a GT-40, lol.... (Except the GT-40 has cutouts for your heads to get in.. The Mirua didnt).


Did you know; All Lamborghinis came with Air Conditioning! Stock, not an added option. Ferruccio felt that AC in such an expensive car should be standard equipment.




Bill
 
Here´s your stealth inspiration! (1 and 2)

And my favourite Lambo!!!:applause: (2 - 4)

I happend to notice that collective carcomponent-sharing didn´t go around manufacturing of Lambos either. They use pretty much the same manually adjustable air-outlet-units for the heating as other italian carmakers:rolleyes:

Alex
 
obio,


low mileage on supercars like lambos and ferraris is common. not just because they suck as grocery getters, but because they are very maintenance intensive. consider the stoke on the v-12 is about 1/4".
the piston goes 0-60+ -0 again all in a fraction of an inch. huge titanium valves open and close with phenominal speed and precision.

1 quart of oil (i think the enzo holds 12, i forget now) costs $60, and if you don't use the factory approved oil you void the engine warranty.
replacement costs on an engine can be over $200k.
i won't even get started on the trannies.
the ceramic brakepads on the enzo are also mega big bux expensive, and so are the rotors. they routinely have a service life much lower than the average toyota or ford.

also, because they are rarely driven, they often have problems with low battery, and gummed up fuel lines.
 
Love the look of Lambos - heres me in the "Cool Wall" (yep I met Clarkson) Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder at the Top Gear Live show in Auckland ...b..er of a thing to get into and out & I would imgaine the visibilty from the drivers seat woulnt be too hot with the roof up

DSCN2661.jpg
 
Lamborghinis of the 60s, 70s and early 80s are akin to Sophia Loren and Gina Lolabrigeda.... they were the dream of dreams.

If I could ever own a Lamborghini, it would either be a Mura or an early Countach. The only Ferrari I've ever wished I could have was the 365 GTB/4 Daytona coupe. I've been lucky enough to sit in one only once. What a sweet sports car. The guy that owned it raced it at Laconia, NH back in the 80s.
 
GT182 said:
Lamborghinis of the 60s, 70s and early 80s are akin to Sophia Loren and Gina Lolabrigeda.... they were the dream of dreams.

If I could ever own a Lamborghini, it would either be a Mura or an early Countach. The only Ferrari I've ever wished I could have was the 365 GTB/4 Daytona coupe. I've been lucky enough to sit in one only once. What a sweet sports car. The guy that owned it raced it at Laconia, NH back in the 80s.
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I agree... They were like art.. Something so 'not' like a normal car.

The Ferrari Boxer BB512 was another wild classic, with rear back-tilting cowling over the flat 12 boxer engine. The front bonnet wrapped over the sides to the belt line and hinged at the front bumper. Very tool to see one with the hoods up and doors open. like a big unfolded clam thing, lol.

The first time I had seen a Countach, we followed it to a small shop near Sky Harbour airport here in Phoenix. It was metallic blue. I remember he was showing the mechanic who worked there how the engine sounded, and he gets in and starts it up, and before it fires up, I remember hearing this cresendo of all these electric fans throughout the hull of this beast come to life, like one of Harleymans super computers with 10 fans in it. Fans from the back shoulder scoop boxes came on, fans under the front bonnet cover spooled up. Different fan sounds were echoing out the NACA ducts of the sides near the backs of the doors.

What a wild vehicle..

EDIT: Come to find out, after many trips to that shop on Saturdays and hanging out like it was a car museum for tourists, I learned who this guy was. A skinny tall fellow from New Zealand. He had run away from home at perhaps 16 years of age. He made it as far as Europe and wanted to work for Ferrari. But Ferrari wouldnt hire him. He later got a job with about 6 other guys. His first day at work was to show up near the back corner of a huge tractor factory to begin assembling a prototype GT. His name, Bob Wallace. The factory of course was Lamborghini SpA. Bob was one of the first 7, and he was the one who put some of the extra cooling ports in the Countach. He was the primary driver for Lambo and also did all the work on the Miura. His big project and baby though was the Jota. A wild variant of the Miura.

His shop was incredible.... Always a Countach or Boxer or other rare Italian specimen in there... One guy had his Countach brought all the way from New York for Bob to work on it, lol... Now thats customer relations..



Bill
 
GT182 said:
Lamborghinis of the 60s, 70s and early 80s are akin to Sophia Loren and Gina Lolabrigeda.... they were the dream of dreams...
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Yeah...Sophia and Miura...'course they were all penned by one man: Marcello Gandini: Miura, Uracco, Espada, Jarama, Countach, Diablo.
Trivia: did you know the Diablo's indicator switchgear came from a Morris Marina?

Naki: did the switchgear look like an Audi??

Lionheart: I wonder if there wasn't something in 60's Kiwi water that tasted like motor oil?
You may remember another quite well-known name from the era: Bruce McLaren.
 
Wing_Z said:
Yeah...Sophia and Miura...'course they were all penned by one man: Marcello Gandini: Miura, Uracco, Espada, Jarama, Countach, Diablo.
Trivia: did you know the Diablo's indicator switchgear came from a Morris Marina?

Naki: did the switchgear look like an Audi??

Lionheart: I wonder if there wasn't something in 60's Kiwi water that tasted like motor oil?
You may remember another quite well-known name from the era: Bruce McLaren.
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Oh yes...!

Bruce is a monumental historic icon! His cars were amazing! At the Ferrari dealership I worked at, we had a retired Mcclarren Indy Car (or was it F1, cant remember). His wing car (Can Am racing) was brilliant.


Bruce is like Ferruccio or Enzo.. Iconic..




Bill
 
Bob Wallace - you learn something everyday! - heard of the name and knew he was connected to motor sport but didn't know exactly what he did.

..and then there is Chris Amon (Enzo reckon he was the best F1 test driver for Ferrari) and Denny Hulme..I wonder if we (Kiwis) are heading into another great era of motor sport stars .. Scott Dixon for starters and a few upcoming guys on the verge of F1.

Didnt notice the Audi switch gear in the Lambo but I guess its there...actually I would prefer a Audi R8 with the V10 engine.........
 
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