"It was the perfect moment when I finally decided to create the perfect car."
Ferruccio Lamborghini
Here at Grange, we are privileged to be able to stock a fantastic range of amazing new Lamborghini cars. However, we'd like to take a moment to honour the man who made this luxury Italian brand a reality - Ferruccio Lamborghini.
Born on April 28th 1916, Ferruccio Elio Arturo Lamborghini was a capable, impetuous and strong-willed individual who worked with transport and vehicles from a young age. Due to his parents being farmers, Mr Lamborghini had the opportunity to work on his father's tractor from an early age.
Ferruccio Lamborghini would extend his knowledge in the motoring world further by first attending a technical school in Bologna, before enrolling into the Italian Air Force during the Second World War and working for the transport divisions. Even after becoming a prisoner of war in the British military forces after 1944, Mr Lamborghini still got to build on his skills by being put to work in their motoring department - a situation where the Italian learnt how to keep cars on the road even when there were limited part supplies available.
After the Second World War, Mr Lamborghini took his first venture into the world of business by setting up a company in Bologna which made tractors from reconfigured surplus military machines. He wasn't content to settle on just one venture though, as he soon also began manufacturing air-conditioning and heating systems and started to build his wealth.
Mr Lamborghini used some of the money he made to purchase a collection of luxury sports cars - an interest which would lead him to set up his most iconic company. This is because the Italian took the decision to create a rival sports car company to Ferrari after he experienced mechanical difficulties with one of the Ferrari cars he owned. Work on the project got underway in late 1962, with Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini founded by May 1963 complete with a bull on its logo - a reference to Mr Lamborghini's zodiac sign, Taurus the bull.
Not looking to slow down his efforts, Mr Lamborghini quickly bought a large plot of land in Sant'Agata Bolognese - the site of a new and ultramodern factory for the Lamborghini brand - and unveiled the brand's first car, the two-seater Lamborghini 350 GTV coupe prototype, during the remaining months of 1963. This prototype car paved the way for the 350 GT production vehicle to be created in 1964, with the 400 GT following shortly after. Many more cutting-edge sports cars followed, with Mr Lamborghini's engineers and mechanics spurred on by the company founder's enthralling enthusiasm.
After retiring from a successful career in the motoring industry, Mr Lamborghini passed away on February 20th 1993 in Perugia, Italy, at the age of 76. However, his legacy has long lived on and been celebrated - most recently with the release of the Lamborghini Centenario hypercar to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth.
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