Feed your need for speed
BY Robin Esrock
Published: August 21, 2009, 22:50
The Italian sports car introduced the world to a combination of speed and luxury — and defining this are its two most famous sons: Lamborghini and Ferrari.
As people say, there would be no Lamborghini had it not been for Ferrari. Ferruccio Lamborghini had made a fortune selling tractors and appliances.
A car enthusiast and collector, among Ferruccio’s favourites were Ferraris, although he found them mechanically temperamental.
A recurring clutch issue led him to contact Enzo Ferrari, the founder and the namesake of the company, a man driven by the pursuit of car racing.
To Enzo, the manufacture of sports cars was only a means to fund racing initiatives. He had a dismissive attitude towards sports cars.
When he ticked off Ferruccio, saying a tractor manufacturer had no right to criticise his cars, Ferruccio took it upon himself to repair the models he owned — and in 1963, Automobili Lamborghini was born. With the help of former Ferrari engineers, his first model — a 350 GTV — was rolled out, built in a factory set up not far from Ferrari’s own.
Taurean grit
Just a few minutes across the municipal border of Modena, into Bologna, is the headquarters and the factory of Lamborghini.
The bull logo, taken from Ferruccio’s star sign, Taurus, appears on the walls. The parking lot has dozens of Audis, which belong to the staff — the German company now owns the brand.
Since the 1970s, the company has suffered bankruptcy, sale to Chrysler, ownership by an Indonesian consortium and years of economic uncertainty.
Despite such hurdles, Lamborghini has continued to produce vehicles — the Murciélago, the Diablo and its predecessor the Countach — that define design and luxury.
Generations of the Countach, along with one-of-a-kind prototypes and concept cars, are on display in a gallery open daily to the public.
The Concept S car has adjacent seat booths protected by windows, giving it the look of a jet fighter; the LM002 looks a lot like a Hummer, an SUV built in the mid-1980s; and a green Countach sits so low it barely reaches my thigh.
On show is also a Lamborghini police car, one of two donated to the Italian police department for emergencies.
No short cut to quality
Behind the gallery is the Lamborghini factory, where each car is carefully hand-assembled. The Murciélago, one of two lines manufactured by the company at present, is crafted on a long U-shaped production line.
Every 190 minutes, the cars move to the next work station, where a team of engineers set to work installing the electronics, the interiors, the wheels and the dashboard.
Each model is customised according to the specifications set out by the buyer. The company keeps no stocks.
Tours at the Lamborghini factory have opened to the public, although certain areas are off-limits, as is photography. At the final station, the electronics are tested, the lights flicker on, spark plugs get their first ignition and the car emits its first roar.
To its incredible credit
It takes leather made from the hides of five Austrian cows to furnish the interiors of a Lamborghini, stitched by hand.
Valentino Balboni, a 60-year-old test driver hired by Ferruccio Lamborghini, pulls up in a silver Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder.
A car journalist may tell you the Gallardo Spyder has a new 5.2-litre V10 engine with an output of 560 horsepower, a power-to-weight ratio of 2.77kg, an 18 per cent reduction in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from previous models and a top speed of 324km/h — but all I can say is stepping into the Spyder made my knees tremble and my throat dry.
Balboni presses a button, the Spyder growls to life and we pull on to the road. At the first intersection, I receive eight nods of envy and three photographs — and I am not even driving the car!
Thrills around the bend
Balboni shoots ahead, demonstrating the power (0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds) and stop-on-a-penny all-wheel-drive braking.
The sudden lurch of speed catapulted us forward as we negotiated corners that would make most cars flip. We find a quiet stretch and Balboni invites me to take the wheel.
He reassures me I cannot go wrong, as the car is designed to automatically adjust itself. Being so low to the tarmac, I can feel the heat radiating from the ground.
The temperate reads an incredible 50C in the relentless summer sun. I hesitantly pull forward, realising I am piloting a vehicle worth more than I can ever afford. But Balboni was right.
The Spyder is beautifully forgiving, guiding my paddle presses, injecting fuel when needed and gliding smoothly around corners. It doesn’t take long for me to be confident enough to make this silver bullet fly.
Maranello is not so much a small town as a Ferrari theme park. There are Ferrari stores, schools, restaurants and hotels, painted red to underline the Ferrari theme. Images of the prancing horse — adopted as a logo by Enzo in 1923 from a famed Italian fighter pilot — are everywhere.
Ferrari is a fast, bright-red world unto itself. Enzo, who died in 1988, did not live to see Ferrari dominate Formula 1 but it was always his dream.
Initially working for Alfa Romeo, Enzo left the company to start his own stable of race cars — Scuderia Ferrari, which literally means “Stable Ferrari”.
A road rage
Founded in 1947, Ferrari’s impact on the world of automobile racing was immediate, if somewhat turbulent.
As Ferrari road cars became the sought-after toys of wealthy car enthusiasts, it seemed as if it had more success off the track. Yet, Enzo poured in millions into racing development, till in the 1960s, financial trouble forced him to sell a large stake to Fiat, which today owns 90 per cent of Ferrari.
Yet Enzo’s tenacity, power and racing mentality, along with the stylish design of his cars, ensured that Ferrari became the most sought-after brand in sports cars.
At the Galleria Ferrari, many of the most famous styles are on display — from the original cars built by Enzo to the F1 triumphs of Michael Schumacher.
A pitstop inside the museum emphasises the importance racing still has in the company. A computer simulator even allows you to race on a circuit.
Upstairs are the sports cars — the Testa Rossa, the F40, the Enzo Ferrari, named in tribute, and the only road-licensed Formula 1 vehicle.
A red 308GTS represents my first experience of a Ferrari.
There is a marked shift from the sleekness and almost minimalistic lines of Lamborghini’s showcase.
These cars exude brute strength — more muscle than finesse. A showcase houses a black 1957 250 Testa Rossa, an antique car that is also the most expensive vehicle sold at an auction — at $12.1 million (Dh44.45 million)!
Painting the town red
Just about every car in the Galleria Ferrari is red, a colour associated with the company. But the 430 Scuderia waiting for me outside is a light metallic blue, with two silver stripes down the middle.
Launched in 2007, this model was created to compete with the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, with a lighter body, more power and better speed.
With 508 horsepower at 8,500rpm, a power-to-rate ratio of 2.5kk/hp, an F1-trac system, an E-Diff stability control, a pick-up of 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 320km/h, this is a purebred race car.
Sheer speed
The interiors are basic and the seats practical. A metal footplate helps me find some grip as Gabriel, my test driver, manoeuvres the car with lightning speed around the bend of a road, the engine snarling as he shifts the transmission with the paddles.
After screeching past a chicane, I ask Gabriel how fast he is going. With a wry grin he tells me he has no idea. Well, you would need a Lamborghini police car to catch us anyway.
BY Robin Esrock
Published: August 21, 2009, 22:50
The Italian sports car introduced the world to a combination of speed and luxury — and defining this are its two most famous sons: Lamborghini and Ferrari.
As people say, there would be no Lamborghini had it not been for Ferrari. Ferruccio Lamborghini had made a fortune selling tractors and appliances.
A car enthusiast and collector, among Ferruccio’s favourites were Ferraris, although he found them mechanically temperamental.
A recurring clutch issue led him to contact Enzo Ferrari, the founder and the namesake of the company, a man driven by the pursuit of car racing.
To Enzo, the manufacture of sports cars was only a means to fund racing initiatives. He had a dismissive attitude towards sports cars.
When he ticked off Ferruccio, saying a tractor manufacturer had no right to criticise his cars, Ferruccio took it upon himself to repair the models he owned — and in 1963, Automobili Lamborghini was born. With the help of former Ferrari engineers, his first model — a 350 GTV — was rolled out, built in a factory set up not far from Ferrari’s own.
Taurean grit
Just a few minutes across the municipal border of Modena, into Bologna, is the headquarters and the factory of Lamborghini.
The bull logo, taken from Ferruccio’s star sign, Taurus, appears on the walls. The parking lot has dozens of Audis, which belong to the staff — the German company now owns the brand.
Since the 1970s, the company has suffered bankruptcy, sale to Chrysler, ownership by an Indonesian consortium and years of economic uncertainty.
Despite such hurdles, Lamborghini has continued to produce vehicles — the Murciélago, the Diablo and its predecessor the Countach — that define design and luxury.
Generations of the Countach, along with one-of-a-kind prototypes and concept cars, are on display in a gallery open daily to the public.
The Concept S car has adjacent seat booths protected by windows, giving it the look of a jet fighter; the LM002 looks a lot like a Hummer, an SUV built in the mid-1980s; and a green Countach sits so low it barely reaches my thigh.
On show is also a Lamborghini police car, one of two donated to the Italian police department for emergencies.
No short cut to quality
Behind the gallery is the Lamborghini factory, where each car is carefully hand-assembled. The Murciélago, one of two lines manufactured by the company at present, is crafted on a long U-shaped production line.
Every 190 minutes, the cars move to the next work station, where a team of engineers set to work installing the electronics, the interiors, the wheels and the dashboard.
Each model is customised according to the specifications set out by the buyer. The company keeps no stocks.
Tours at the Lamborghini factory have opened to the public, although certain areas are off-limits, as is photography. At the final station, the electronics are tested, the lights flicker on, spark plugs get their first ignition and the car emits its first roar.
To its incredible credit
It takes leather made from the hides of five Austrian cows to furnish the interiors of a Lamborghini, stitched by hand.
Valentino Balboni, a 60-year-old test driver hired by Ferruccio Lamborghini, pulls up in a silver Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder.
A car journalist may tell you the Gallardo Spyder has a new 5.2-litre V10 engine with an output of 560 horsepower, a power-to-weight ratio of 2.77kg, an 18 per cent reduction in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from previous models and a top speed of 324km/h — but all I can say is stepping into the Spyder made my knees tremble and my throat dry.
Balboni presses a button, the Spyder growls to life and we pull on to the road. At the first intersection, I receive eight nods of envy and three photographs — and I am not even driving the car!
Thrills around the bend
Balboni shoots ahead, demonstrating the power (0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds) and stop-on-a-penny all-wheel-drive braking.
The sudden lurch of speed catapulted us forward as we negotiated corners that would make most cars flip. We find a quiet stretch and Balboni invites me to take the wheel.
He reassures me I cannot go wrong, as the car is designed to automatically adjust itself. Being so low to the tarmac, I can feel the heat radiating from the ground.
The temperate reads an incredible 50C in the relentless summer sun. I hesitantly pull forward, realising I am piloting a vehicle worth more than I can ever afford. But Balboni was right.
The Spyder is beautifully forgiving, guiding my paddle presses, injecting fuel when needed and gliding smoothly around corners. It doesn’t take long for me to be confident enough to make this silver bullet fly.
Maranello is not so much a small town as a Ferrari theme park. There are Ferrari stores, schools, restaurants and hotels, painted red to underline the Ferrari theme. Images of the prancing horse — adopted as a logo by Enzo in 1923 from a famed Italian fighter pilot — are everywhere.
Ferrari is a fast, bright-red world unto itself. Enzo, who died in 1988, did not live to see Ferrari dominate Formula 1 but it was always his dream.
Initially working for Alfa Romeo, Enzo left the company to start his own stable of race cars — Scuderia Ferrari, which literally means “Stable Ferrari”.
A road rage
Founded in 1947, Ferrari’s impact on the world of automobile racing was immediate, if somewhat turbulent.
As Ferrari road cars became the sought-after toys of wealthy car enthusiasts, it seemed as if it had more success off the track. Yet, Enzo poured in millions into racing development, till in the 1960s, financial trouble forced him to sell a large stake to Fiat, which today owns 90 per cent of Ferrari.
Yet Enzo’s tenacity, power and racing mentality, along with the stylish design of his cars, ensured that Ferrari became the most sought-after brand in sports cars.
At the Galleria Ferrari, many of the most famous styles are on display — from the original cars built by Enzo to the F1 triumphs of Michael Schumacher.
A pitstop inside the museum emphasises the importance racing still has in the company. A computer simulator even allows you to race on a circuit.
Upstairs are the sports cars — the Testa Rossa, the F40, the Enzo Ferrari, named in tribute, and the only road-licensed Formula 1 vehicle.
A red 308GTS represents my first experience of a Ferrari.
There is a marked shift from the sleekness and almost minimalistic lines of Lamborghini’s showcase.
These cars exude brute strength — more muscle than finesse. A showcase houses a black 1957 250 Testa Rossa, an antique car that is also the most expensive vehicle sold at an auction — at $12.1 million (Dh44.45 million)!
Painting the town red
Just about every car in the Galleria Ferrari is red, a colour associated with the company. But the 430 Scuderia waiting for me outside is a light metallic blue, with two silver stripes down the middle.
Launched in 2007, this model was created to compete with the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, with a lighter body, more power and better speed.
With 508 horsepower at 8,500rpm, a power-to-rate ratio of 2.5kk/hp, an F1-trac system, an E-Diff stability control, a pick-up of 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 320km/h, this is a purebred race car.
Sheer speed
The interiors are basic and the seats practical. A metal footplate helps me find some grip as Gabriel, my test driver, manoeuvres the car with lightning speed around the bend of a road, the engine snarling as he shifts the transmission with the paddles.
After screeching past a chicane, I ask Gabriel how fast he is going. With a wry grin he tells me he has no idea. Well, you would need a Lamborghini police car to catch us anyway.