Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.

(Italian: [lamborini] ( listen)) is an Italian brand and

manufacturer of luxury sports cars and, formerly, SUVs, which is owned by the Volkswagen
Group through its subsidiary brand division Audi. Lamborghini's production facility and
headquarters are located in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy. In 2011, Lamborghini's 831
employees produced 1,711 vehicles.
Ferruccio Lamborghini, an Italian manufacturing magnate, founded Automobili Ferruccio
Lamborghini S.p.A. in 1963 to compete with established marques, including Ferrari. The
company gained wide acclaim in 1966 for the Miura sports coup, which established rear
mid-engine, rear wheel drive as the standard layout for high-performance cars of the era.
Lamborghini grew rapidly during its first decade, but sales plunged in the wake of the 1973
worldwide financial downturn and the oil crisis. The firm's ownership changed three times
after 1973, including a bankruptcy in 1978. American Chrysler Corporation took control of
Lamborghini in 1987 and sold it to Malaysian investment group Mycom Setdco and
Indonesian group V'Power Corporation in 1994. In 1998, Mycom Setdco and V'Power sold
Lamborghini to the Volkswagen Group where it was placed under the control of the group's
Audi division.
New products and model lines were introduced to the brand's portfolio and brought to the
market and saw an increased productivity for the brand Lamborghini. In the late 2000s,
during the worldwide financial crisis and the subsequent economic crisis, Lamborghini's sales
saw a drop of nearly 50 percent.
Lamborghini produces sports cars and V12 engines for offshore powerboat racing.
Lamborghini currently produces the V12-powered Aventador and the V10-powered Huracn.

Contents

1 History
2 Products
o

2.1 Automobiles

2.2 Marine engines

2.3 Lamborghini motorcycle

2.4 Branded merchandise

3 Motorsport
o

3.1 Complete Formula One results

4 Marketing
o

4.1 Brand identity

4.2 Vehicle nomenclature

4.3 Concept vehicles

5 Corporate affairs

5.1 Structure

5.2 Sales results

6 Licensing
o

6.1 Automviles Lamborghini Latinoamrica

7 Museo Lamborghini

8 See also

9 Notes

10 Citations

11 References
o

11.1 Corporate documents

12 External links

History
Main article: History of Lamborghini

Manufacturing magnate Italian Ferruccio Lamborghini founded the company in 1963 with
the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with offerings from
established marques such as Ferrari. The company's first models were released in the mid1960s and were noted for their refinement, power and comfort. Lamborghini gained wide
acclaim in 1966 for the Miura sports coup, which established rear mid-engine, rear wheel
drive as the standard layout for high-performance cars of the era.
Lamborghini grew rapidly during its first decade, but sales plunged in the wake of the 1973
worldwide financial downturn and the oil crisis. Ferruccio Lamborghini sold ownership of
the company to Georges-Henri Rossetti and Ren Leimer and retired in 1974. The company
went bankrupt in 1978, and was placed in the receivership of brothers Jean-Claude and
Patrick Mimran in 1980. The Mimrans purchased the company out of receivership by 1984
and invested heavily in the company's expansion. Under the Mimrans' management,
Lamborghini's model line was expanded from the Countach to include the Jalpa sports car
and the LM002 high performance off-road vehicle.
The Mimrans sold Lamborghini to the Chrysler Corporation in 1987. After replacing the
Countach with the Diablo and discontinuing the Jalpa and the LM002, Chrysler sold
Lamborghini to Malaysian investment group Mycom Setdco and Indonesian group V'Power
Corporation in 1994. In 1998, Mycom Setdco and V'Power sold Lamborghini to the
Volkswagen Group where it was placed under the control of the group's Audi division. New
products and model lines were introduced to the brand's portfolio and brought to the market
and saw an increased productivity for the brand Lamborghini. In the late 2000s, during the
worldwide financial crisis and the subsequent economic crisis, Lamborghini's sales saw a
drop of nearly 50 percent.

Products
Automobiles
Main article: List of Lamborghini automobiles

Huracn

As of the 2015 model year, Lamborghini's automobile product range consists of two model
lines, both of which are mid-engine two-seat sports cars.[14] The V12-powered Aventador line
consists of the LP 7004 coup and roadster.[15] The V10-powered Huracn line currently
includes only the LP 610-4 coup.[citation needed]

Marine engines

L900 marine engine

Motori Marini Lamborghini produces a large V12 marine engine block for use in World
Offshore Series Class 1 powerboats. A Lamborghini branded marine engine displaces
approximately 8,171 cc (499 cu in) and outputs approximately 940 hp (700 kW).[16]

Lamborghini motorcycle
In the mid-1980s, Lamborghini produced a limited-production run of a 1,000 cc sports
motorcycle. UK weekly newspaper Motor Cycle News reported in 1994 when featuring an
example available through an Essex motorcycle retailer - that 24 examples were produced
with a Lamborghini alloy frame having adjustable steering head angle, Kawasaki
GPz1000RX engine/transmission unit, Ceriani front forks and Marvic wheels. The bodywork
was plastic and fully integrated with front fairing merged into fuel tank and seat cover ending
in a rear tail-fairing. The motorcycles were designed by Lamborghini stylists and produced
by French business Boxer Bikes.[17]

Branded merchandise
Lamborghini licenses its brand to manufacturers that produce a variety of Lamborghinibranded consumer goods including scale models, clothing, accessories and electronics.[18]

Motorsport

The Miura began as a clandestine prototype, a car that had racing pedigree in a
company that was entirely against motorsport.

In contrast to his rival Enzo Ferrari, Ferruccio Lamborghini had decided early on that there
would be no factory-supported racing of Lamborghinis, viewing motorsport as too expensive
and too draining on company resources.[citation needed] This was unusual for the time, as many
sports car manufacturers sought to demonstrate the speed, reliability, and technical
superiority through motorsport participation. Enzo Ferrari in particular was known for
considering his road car business mostly a source of funding for his participation in motor
racing. Ferruccio's policy led to tensions between him and his engineers, many of whom were
racing enthusiasts; some had previously worked at Ferrari. When Dallara, Stanzani, and
Wallace began dedicating their spare time to the development of the P400 prototype, they
designed it to be a road car with racing potential, one that could win on the track and also be
driven on the road by enthusiasts.[19] When Ferruccio discovered the project, he allowed them
to go ahead, seeing it as a potential marketing device for the company, while insisting that it
would not be raced. The P400 went on to become the Miura. The closest the company came
to building a true race car under Lamborghini's supervision were a few highly modified
prototypes, including those built by factory test driver Bob Wallace, such as the Miura SVbased "Jota" and the Jarama S-based "Bob Wallace Special".
In the mid-1970s, while Lamborghini was under the management of Georges-Henri Rossetti,
Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to develop, then manufacture 400 cars for
BMW in order to meet Group 4 homologation requirements. BMW lacked experience
developing a mid-engined vehicle and believed that Lamborghini's experience in that area
would make Lamborghini an ideal choice of partner. Due to Lamborghini's shaky finances,
Lamborghini fell behind schedule developing the car's structure and running gear. When
Lamborghini failed to deliver working prototypes on time, BMW took the program in house,
finishing development without Lamborghini. BMW contracted with Baur to produce the car,
which BMW named the M1, delivering the first vehicle in October 1978.[20][21]

The 1990 Lotus 102 featured a Lamborghini V12.

In 1985, Lamborghini's British importer developed the Countach QVX, in conjunction with
Spice Engineering, for the 1986 Group C championship season. One car was built, but lack of
sponsorship caused it to miss the season. The QVX competed in only one race, the nonchampionship 1986 Southern Suns 500 km race at Kyalami in South Africa, driven by Tiff
Needell. Despite the car finishing better than it started, sponsorship could once again not be
found and the programme was cancelled.[22]
Lamborghini was an engine supplier in Formula One between the 1989 and 1993 Formula
One seasons. It supplied engines to Larrousse (19891990,19921993), Lotus (1990), Ligier
(1991), Minardi (1992), and to the Modena team in 1991. While the latter is commonly
referred to as a factory team, the company saw themselves as a supplier, not a backer. The
1992 LarrousseLamborghini was largely uncompetitive but noteworthy in its tendency to
spew oil from its exhaust system. Cars following closely behind the Larrousse were
commonly coloured yellowish-brown by the end of the race.[citation needed] Lamborghini's best
result was achieved with Larrousse at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, when Aguri Suzuki
finished third on home soil.[23]
In late 1991, a Lamborghini Formula One motor was used in the Konrad KM-011 Group C
sports car, but the car only lasted a few races before the project was canceled. The same
engine, re-badged a Chrysler, Lamborghini's then-parent company, was tested by McLaren
towards the end of the 1993 season, with the intent of using it during the 1994 season.
Although driver Ayrton Senna was reportedly impressed with the engine's performance,
McLaren pulled out of negotiations, choosing a Peugeot engine instead, and Chrysler ended
the project.

A Murcielago R-GT participating in the FIA GT Championship at Silverstone in

2006.

Two racing versions of the Diablo were built for the Diablo Supertrophy, a single-model
racing series held annually from 1996 to 1999. In the first year, the model used in the series

was the Diablo SVR, while the Diablo 6.0 GTR was used for the remaining three years. [24][25]
Lamborghini developed the Murcilago R-GT as a production racing car to compete in the
FIA GT Championship, the Super GT Championship and the American Le Mans Series in
2004. The car's highest placing in any race that year was the opening round of the FIA GT
Championship at Valencia, where the car entered by Reiter Engineering finished third from a
fifth-place start.[26][27] In 2006, during the opening round of the Super GT championship at
Suzuka, a car run by the Japan Lamborghini Owners Club garnered the first victory (in class)
by an R-GT. A GT3 version of the Gallardo has been developed by Reiter Engineering.[28] A
Murcilago R-GT entered by All-Inkl.com racing, driven by Christophe Bouchut and Stefan
Mcke, won the opening round of the FIA GT Championship held at Zhuhai International
Circuit, achieving the first major international race victory for Lamborghini.[29]