The History of Ferrari vs. Lamborghini
“No one remembers who took second place and that will never be me.”
-Enzo Ferrari
“No one messes with a farmer”
-Ferruccio Lamborghini
When you think of luxury cars, I am sure that the first two brands that come to mind are Ferrari and Lamborghini. The two have a rich history and rivalry, all starting with an insult from Enzo Ferrari to Ferruccio Lamborghini.
History of Ferrari:
Via WTF1
Enzo Ferrari originally started racing under Alfa Romeo. His racing career was short-lived (winning only 13 of the 47 races he entered). After World War II Enzo took Scuderia Ferrari (the racing team) and founded his own car company in Maranello, Italy where they are still manufactured today. Their first car released to the public was in 1947. The sale of road cars was meant to fund the racing operation, which reflects Ferrari’s focus on high performance racing (a value they still hold today, and is marked by having the most Formula 1 World championships of any manufacturer). Ferrari has, and always been, a racing brand at heart. Now, this is where things get interesting.
History of Lamborghini
Via Lamborghini
Ferruccio Lamborghini came from a family of grape farmers. He was drafted in World War II by the Italian air force (even taken as prisoner of war by the British) where his interest in mechanics proved to be a useful skill. Afterwards, he started his own tractor company which was successful enough to allow him to purchase two Ferraris. However, Ferruccio knew a thing or two about mechanics because of his history, and felt that the clutch on his Ferrari was not performing well. In fact, he knew the mechanics so well, he knew how he could fix it to improve the clutch. He headed over the Maranello to talk to Enzo Ferrari and share his suggestions.
Enzo Ferrari, known for his pride and short temper, did not receive the critique well. Instead, he insisted there was nothing wrong with his precious Ferraris and that Ferruccio just didn’t know how to drive a Ferrari. He famously said to Ferruccio Lamborghini, “let me make cars. You stick to making tractors.” A proud man himself, Lamborghini left furious and determined to make a car better than Ferrari.
The Lamborghini 350 GTV, from Lambo Cars
Ferruccio Lamborghini officially established Automobili Lamborghini in 1963 in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy. In 1964, within a year of the fateful conversion between the two men, the company released its first car in Turin, the Lamborghini 350 GTV, which seated two people and had a V12 engine. The car was well received, with 13 cars being bought on the spot, and 120 being built overall. You might be thinking, that was quite a quick turnaround to build a car entirely from scratch, right? Luckily, Lamborghini wasn’t alone. Enzo Ferrari had fired five loyal employees, including head engineer Carlo Chiti, a year prior after they had brought up grievances about his wife being too involved in production on the floor. These five immediately founded their own racing company called ATS, which is when Ferruccio approached them.
120 cars being built was not really a concern for Enzo Ferrari. I guess the guy had a lot of enemies and was used to revenge ploys. That was until 1965, at the same car show in Turin, when Lamborghini introduced the Lamborghini Miura. This car redefined how sports cars were designed. It was the first car to put the engine behind the driver, making it in the center and allowing the car to be more balanced, therefore driving faster. At its debut, it was the fastest car in the world at 280 km/h and accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.7 seconds. It was officially put into production in 1967, where 764 cars were built. Now, a Lamborghini Miura would be valued at over $4 million. This was enough to get Ferrari’s attention.
The Lamborghini Miura, from Carscoops
Modern Day
Nowadays, both brands are easily recognizable and iconic in terms of performance, luxury, and desirability. After the oil crisis in the 80’s and many owner turnovers, Lamborghini got bought by Audi, which eventually got bought by Volkswagon group, where it remains part of the Volkswagon family today. Ferrari was never bought out by another company, famously turning down Ford at the last minute (so famous, they made a movie about it: Ford v. Ferrari). However, Fiat bought a large amount of shares in Ferrari, at one point owning 90% of the company. Now, Ferrari is publicly traded, with about 67% being owned by the public and a notable 10% being owned by Piero Ferrari (Enzo’s second son) and 23% being owned by Exor N.V., a Dutch holding company.
A questionable Enzo Ferrari quote I came across was: “If I am unable to see the defects in the machines I create myself, how can I see properly into myself?” After reading up more about the Lamborghini versus Ferrari argument, it very much seems like Enzo is unable to see the defects. No matter your opinion on the brands, it is undeniable that they produce some of the most desired cars in the market, and for good reason.
