The year is 1963. Ferruccio Lamborghini, a successful tractor manufacturer, is unhappy with his Ferrari. He thinks the car's clutch breaks too easily. He drives to the neighbouring village of Maranello and knocks on the door of none other than Enzo Ferrari.
The meeting, which was quite short, would change the fate of supercars forever. It would be a textbook example of how to not treat your customers. Mr Lamborghini explained that the clutch was bad. He also made a suggestion on what Mr Ferrari, with simple means, could do for the clutch to last much longer.
Enzo Ferrari had a very hard time accepting constructive criticism. Instead of listening to the proposal, he rejects Ferruccio with the now-famous words:
“Let me make cars. You stick to making tractors.” - Enzo Ferrari
Ferruccio drove home. Furious. Instead of being well received for his ideas, he had been rejected in the worst possible way. The insult was painful. Really bad. He was also an engineer. His tractors were the best in Italy.
On the way home, he made a fateful decision. He would also build sports cars. And – they would be faster and better than Enzo Ferrari's. Lamborghini, as we know it, was born.
The work started immediately. In just four months, a small factory was built – in Sant'Agata – and the first car model saw the light of day. The car was presented at the annual car show in Turin 1964 and was called the Lamborghini 350 GT.
How could Lamborghini build and finish a car in just four months? There was an explanation. Two years earlier, something important happened in Maranello. Something that would be absolutely crucial to Ferruccio Lamborghini's success. Five gentlemen had stepped into Enzo Ferrari's office in Maranello. Among others, Carlo Chiti who was the chief engineer, and legendary development manager Giotto Bizzarrini.
They were unhappy that Enzo's wife, Laura Ferrari, was making important decisions on the factory floor. They wanted Laura to stop messing about in the production.
Enzo Ferrari was furious. Instead of correcting his wife's behaviour, all five key people got fired on the spot. These five immediately started a competing business in Bologna – a design agency for racing and sports cars called ATS.
When Ferrari asked Lamborghini to stick to building tractors, and not try to give him any suggestions on how to improve Ferrari's products, Lamborghini approached these five gentlemen. The five former key people at Ferrari could then, very quickly, build a car for Lamborghini.
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