It was 1962. Ferrucio Lamborghini
had some complains about his Ferrari. He did not like the noise his 250GT made
and the fact that its clutch needed attention every other day. So he personally
took up the matter to Mr. Enzo Ferrari. Enzo did not like being criticized by a
tractor maker and remarked “Go make your tractors...you know nothing about
sports cars”. God bless him for saying so, as these words are the reason why
Italy’s Sant’Agata is the home of the noisiest and the fastest bulls in the
world.
350 GTV- The beginning |
Four months after the confrontation, Ferrucio
gave the world “350 GTV”, which was later named 350 GT. The “raging bull”
started an unending war with the “prancing horse” with this car. Lamborghini
regularly updated the car till 1966. It housed a 3464 cc V12 engine producing
around 400 bhp. The car could go up to 254 kph and only 120 of these were
built.
Game changer- Miura |
In 1966, Lamborghini revealed
“Miura”. Costing U.S. $ 20,000 then, this car had a 3929 cc V12 engine. The
engine was neither mounted on the front nor back, but in the middle of the
chassis. This was probably world’s first mid-engine sports car. It produced 350
bhp and went on till 265 kph. Miura P400 was followed by P400 S in 1968 and
P400 SV in 1971. The last one produced 380 bhp and 388 Nm of torque. It weighed
just short of 1300 Kg and was able to hit the 280 kph mark. 763 of the
mentioned versions of the car were ever made.
Countach- Difficult to get in and out of this one |
Miura had established the company
in the sports car business. Later they launched “Countach” in 1974, followed by
“Diablo” in 1990. These two cars had a very successful run and are icons of the
sports car world. Lamborghini produced a special version of the former in 1988.
It was called 5000S QV and it marked the company’s 25th anniversary.
A fire breathing 5167 cc engine spewing 445 bhp and 500 Nm of torque pushed the
car from standstill to 100 kph in 4.9 seconds and kept pushing it till 295 kph.
It was a creation of legendary car designer Horacio Pagani. He now has his own
supercar company by his surname in Italy.
The beautiful Diablo |
Diablo raised the bar even
further. It looked stunning and will always be one of the most beautiful cars
ever built. Scissor doors and fixed rear spoiler were its distinct features.
A standard Diablo churned out 492 bhp along with 580 Nm of torque from a 5700
cc V12 engine. Top speed was in excess of 320 kph but it failed to be the
fastest car. A Ferrari F40 had managed 326 kph in 1987 and when the Diablo was
being upgraded to surpass that, a Bugatti EB110 shot 336 kph in 1991. Miura is
the only Lamborghini which was once the fastest.
A Murcielago 670-4 SV |
Murcielago came out in 2001.
Equipped with a monstrous 6200 cc V12 engine producing 572 bhp, it was a car
that could kill if not handled with care.
It hit 100 kph in 3.3 seconds and went on till 335 kph. Including all
its special versions, the production was limited to 4099 units. LP 670-4 SV was
the last, most expensive and most powerful version of the car. Only 186 SVs
were produced with each costing U.S. $
400,000. Producing 661 bhp from an
upgraded 6500 cc V12 engine, this car could go up to 345 kph and managed
0-100kph acceleration in 2.8 seconds.
Aventador replaced Murcielago in
2011. The car is the closest thing to a stealth fighter jet on road. For the
first time in its history, the company built an all new V12 engine. A 6500 cc V12
is fitted in the car which produces 690 bhp. 0-100 kph takes mere 2.9 seconds
and 350 kph is possible in this one. A one-off version called “Aventador J” was
built in 2012. This one cost U.S. $ 2.8 million and did not have any radio or
air conditioning and surprisingly any roof. All these essentials were removed
to save weight. Another unit of the car was specially made for a Sheikh in UAE.
A SV version of the car was revealed at recently concluded Geneva Motor Show. LP
750-4 Super Veloce delivers similar performance but comes with a fixed rear
spoiler.
U.S. $ 2.8 million Aventador J |
The company is currently under
the ownership of Audi and is a part of the Volkswagen Group. It has still not
switched to hybrid technology like its rivals and massive V12 engines are a
distinct feature of its flagship cars. I’ll end with a popular saying, “Boys
drive a Ferrari, Men drive a Lamborghini”.
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