# The History of Lamborghini | Otto Explains | AutoTronix **Section:** Otto Explains **Canonical:** https://autotronix.om/otto/lamborghini-history **Language:** English **Arabic version:** https://autotronix.om/ar/otto/lamborghini-history --- ## Short Answer Lamborghini was founded on 7 May 1963 in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy, by Ferruccio Lamborghini, who had already made his fortune building tractors. After Ferruccio sold control in 1972 the company went bankrupt and passed through several owners, including Chrysler, until Audi bought it in July 1998. Today Automobili Lamborghini is managed by AUDI AG within the Volkswagen Group and sells a range made up entirely of plug-in hybrids. --- ## Who was Ferruccio Lamborghini? Ferruccio Lamborghini trained as a mechanic. His first business converted combat vehicles into tractors, and by the time he turned to cars the Volkswagen Group describes him as one of Italy’s major tractor manufacturers. In the 1950s he added heating and cooling systems, which made the car company his third business venture. Lamborghini’s own history connects the move to the sports cars he kept in his garage at the time. --- ## When and where was Lamborghini founded? Automobili Lamborghini was established on 7 May 1963 in Sant’Agata Bolognese. While the factory was still being built on a green-field site, the first prototype took shape at Ferruccio’s tractor plant. That car, the 350 GTV, appeared at the Turin Motor Show in October 1963 with a V12 by the engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, and the first production model, the 350 GT, followed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1964. The charging-bull badge dates from the founding year: Ferruccio asked a local typographer, Paolo Rambaldi, to design it around his zodiac sign. --- ## How did the company grow in its first decade? Ferruccio’s first cars were grand tourers, and he did not believe in racing as a way to promote road cars. The 400 GT and the mid-engined Miura arrived in 1966, the four-seat Espada in 1968, and the Countach was shown as a prototype at Geneva in 1971. From 1973 a second, smaller line powered by a V8 began with the Urraco, alongside the V12 cars that made the brand’s name. Why the Miura and the Countach mattered so much is a story of its own, told in Otto’s article on the legendary Lamborghinis. --- ## Why did Ferruccio Lamborghini sell his company? In 1972, to strengthen the company financially, Ferruccio sold 51 per cent of it to Georges-Henri Rossetti. In 1974 he left his industrial activities and retired to private life, and Rossetti and Leimer took over the management. The founder’s era therefore lasted about a decade. --- ## What went wrong for Lamborghini after Ferruccio left? Under the Swiss owners the Urraco and the Countach went into production, but neither was homologated for the United States, which severely limited sales, and the oil crisis hurt demand. To use its engineering expertise, the company took on development work for other carmakers, but the first project, the BMW M1, only deepened its financial problems. At the end of 1978 Lamborghini went bankrupt, and a court-appointed administrator ran the company while searching for a buyer for two years. --- ## Who owned Lamborghini between 1981 and 1998? In 1981 the Mimran Group acquired the company, which by 1982 was known as Nuova Automobili Lamborghini. Under Mimran, Lamborghini was highly successful with marine engines and developed the Jalpa and the LM002 off-roader, the ancestor of today’s Urus. In 1987 Chrysler, led by its chief executive Lee Iacocca, bought Lamborghini from Mimran: the Diablo was completed under American management, and Lamborghini supplied Formula 1 engines from the 1989 to the 1993 seasons. In 1994 Chrysler sold the company to the Indonesian investment fund Megatech, which held the majority of the shares until 1998. --- ## How did Audi come to own Lamborghini? When Megatech could no longer provide the capital Lamborghini needed, company representatives looking for an engine for a prototype called the Aerosa contacted Audi, and the Volkswagen Group learnt that the brand was for sale. After lengthy negotiations, Audi AG acquired Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. in July 1998; that year the Group also brought in Bentley and Bugatti to build its luxury range. In November 1998 the new Audi subsidiary became a holding company for the car business, a company making speedboat engines and an accessories company. The first product of the new era was the third series of the Diablo, with a 6.0-litre engine. How Audi itself grew is explained in Otto’s [history of Audi](https://autotronix.om/otto/audi-history). --- ## What changed under Audi and Volkswagen? The Murciélago of 2001 was the first all-new car of the Audi era, and that year Lamborghini began its first expansion. In February 2003, for the company’s 40th anniversary, the Gallardo opened a second model line with a V10 developed jointly by engineers in Ingolstadt and Sant’Agata, and the in-house design department, Centro Stile, opened the same year. The Volkswagen Group credits the Gallardo with returning Lamborghini to profitability: in its first year overall sales tripled to 1,305 cars. A composites development centre followed in 2007, the Squadra Corse motorsport department in 2013 and Polo Storico, for classic cars, in 2015. In 2012 Lamborghini itself bought the motorcycle maker Ducati. --- ## What have been the turning points since 2018? In 2018 Lamborghini presented the Urus, which it calls the world’s first Super Sport Utility Vehicle, and its sales success led to an enlarged factory. In 2023 the Revuelto became Lamborghini’s first hybrid production car, the first of what the company calls High Performance Electrified Vehicles (HPEV). In 2024 came the plug-in hybrid Urus SE and the hybrid V8 Temerario, which replaced the Huracán, and the same year a Lamborghini raced in the top class at Le Mans for the first time, with the SC63 hybrid prototype. --- ## Who owns Lamborghini today? Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. has a single shareholder and is managed and coordinated by AUDI AG. With Audi, Bentley and Ducati it forms the Progressive Brand Group within Volkswagen AG, whose own story Otto tells in the [history of Volkswagen](https://autotronix.om/otto/volkswagen-history). The company is still based in Sant’Agata Bolognese and, according to the Volkswagen Group, has about 3,000 employees and 186 dealers in 56 countries. Its chairman and chief executive, Stephan Winkelmann, led Lamborghini from 2005 to 2016 and returned on 1 December 2020. The current range is fully electrified: the Revuelto, the Temerario and the Urus SE are all plug-in hybrids. --- ## Common Questions **Did Ferruccio Lamborghini build tractors before cars?** Yes. His first business converted combat vehicles into tractors, and the Volkswagen Group describes him as one of Italy’s major tractor manufacturers before he founded Automobili Lamborghini in 1963. **Why is the Lamborghini badge a bull?** The bull comes from Ferruccio Lamborghini’s zodiac sign and from a dialect expression of his for being as strong as a bull. The emblem was designed in 1963 by Paolo Rambaldi, a local typographer, and has been redrawn several times since, most recently in 2024. **Does Lamborghini own Ducati?** In 2012 Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. bought 100 per cent of Ducati Motor Holding. Audi lists Lamborghini and Ducati as brands of the Audi Group, which belongs to Volkswagen AG. **Did Lamborghini ever compete in Formula 1?** As an engine supplier. A separate company, Lamborghini Engineering, led by Mauro Forghieri, built naturally aspirated 12-cylinder engines for the 1989 to 1993 seasons and supplied Larousse, Lotus, Minardi, Ligier and Modena Team. --- ## Related Otto Explanations - Why You Need a Pre-Purchase Inspection Before Buying a Used Car: https://autotronix.om/otto/pre-purchase-inspection --- ## Related Services - AutoTronix PERFORMANCE: https://autotronix.om/performance - Performance Car Pre-Purchase Inspection: https://autotronix.om/performance/performance-pre-purchase - Performance Vehicle Maintenance: https://autotronix.om/performance/performance-maintenance --- ## Book a Service WhatsApp: +968 9966 8600 https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=96899668600&type=phone_number&app_absent=0 Location: Mabellah Industrial, Street 7, Muscat — Saturday to Thursday, 9 AM to 9 PM