30 Facts About Ferruccio Lamborghini

Ferruccio Lamborghini sold off many of his interests by the late 1970s and retired to an estate in Umbria, where he pursued winemaking.

Ferruccio Lamborghini was born on 28 April 1916 to viticulturists Antonio and Evelina Lamborghini in house number 22 in Renazzo di Cento, in the Province of Ferrara, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy.

Ferruccio Lamborghini initially escaped capture but later returned to his former workplace in civilian clothes working several odd jobs and with the permission of the German forces opened a small vehicle workshop.

In 1948, Ferruccio Lamborghini met Annita Borgatti, a 24-year-old teacher and daughter of the owners of the Fontana Hotel in Cento, who would accompany him in running his businesses for over thirty years.

In 1946, the growing demand for tractors in the Italian market, combined with the experience gained in repairs, pushed Ferruccio Lamborghini to pursue a career as an entrepreneur in the production of tractors.

Ferruccio Lamborghini bought surplus military vehicles from the war and transformed them into agricultural machines.

Ferruccio Lamborghini made use of his mechanical abilities to transform the homely city car into a roaring 750-cc open-top two-seater and entered the car in the 1948 Mille Miglia.

Ferruccio Lamborghini's participation ended after 1,100 kilometres when he ran the car into the side of a restaurant in the town of Fiano, in Turin.

In 1947 Ferruccio Lamborghini recognized an emerging market in post-War Italy devoted to agricultural and industrial revitalization.

Ferruccio Lamborghini owned the boat for over 20 years until July 1988, when he sold it to Angelo Merli, a close friend.

Ferruccio Lamborghini's increasing wealth allowed him to purchase faster, more expensive cars than the tiny Fiats he had tinkered with during his youth.

Ferruccio Lamborghini owned cars such as Alfa Romeos and Lancias during the early 1950s and at one point he had enough cars to use a different one every day of the week, adding a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, a Jaguar E-Type coupe, and two Maserati 3500 GTs.

In 1958, Ferruccio Lamborghini traveled to Maranello to buy a Ferrari 250 GT: a two-seat coupe with a body designed by coachbuilder Pininfarina.

Ferruccio Lamborghini went on to own several more over the years, including a Scaglietti-designed 250 GT SWB Berlinetta and a 250 GT 2+2 four-seater.

Ferruccio Lamborghini thought Ferrari's cars were good, but too noisy and rough to be proper road cars.

Ferruccio Lamborghini categorized them as repurposed track cars with poorly built interiors.

Ferruccio Lamborghini found that Ferrari's cars were equipped with inferior clutches, and required continuous trips to Maranello for rebuilds; technicians would secret the car away for several hours to perform the work, much to Ferruccio Lamborghini's annoyance.

Ferruccio Lamborghini had previously expressed dissatisfaction with Ferrari's after sales service, which he perceived to be substandard.

Ferruccio Lamborghini brought his misgivings to Enzo Ferrari's attention, but was dismissed by Ferrari.

Ferruccio Lamborghini believed that a grand tourer should have attributes that were lacking in Ferrari's offerings, namely high performance without compromising tractability, ride quality, and interior appointments.

In 1972, Ferruccio Lamborghini sold his entire holding in the company to rival tractor builder SAME.

Soon, the entire Ferruccio Lamborghini group found itself in financial trouble.

Ferruccio Lamborghini began courting buyers for Automobili and Trattori, entering negotiations with Georges-Henri Rossetti, a wealthy Swiss businessman and friend.

Ferruccio Lamborghini continued to work at the Sant'Agata factory; Rossetti rarely involved himself in Automobili's affairs.

Ferruccio Lamborghini even designed his own golf course, all the while continuing to manage several business interests.

At 76 years of age, on 20 February 1993, Ferruccio Lamborghini died at Silvestrini Hospital in Perugia after suffering a heart attack 15 days earlier.

In 1962, Ferruccio Lamborghini visited the Seville ranch of Don Eduardo Miura, a renowned breeder of Spanish fighting bulls.

Don Eduardo was filled with pride when he learned that Ferruccio Lamborghini had named a car for his family and their line of bulls; the fourth Miura to be produced was unveiled to him at his ranch in Seville.

The Jarama's name carried a special double meaning; intended to refer only to the historic bullfighting region in Spain, Ferruccio Lamborghini was concerned about confusion with the historic Jarama motor racing track.

All of Ferruccio Lamborghini's companies continue to operate today in one form or another.