THE BATTLE OF ITALIA
There have been many great 20th-century rivalries, but this particularly was a clash of two men who refused to give an inch. It was the embodiment of the preservation of ferociously guarded Italian pride.
Rivalries.
There have been many great 20th century rivalries – Coca-Cola vs Pepsi, Burger King vs McDonald’s, Adidas vs Puma and Microsoft vs Apple, to name a few.
But this particualrly was a clash of two men who refused to give an inch. It was the embodiment of the preservation of ferociously guarded Italian pride.
To understand the this rivalry, we must first understand the two men behind them as with many great rivalries, there is more that unites them than divides them. Both men were from the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, both grew up with an interest in mechanics and both went on to make some of the world’s most memorable and famous cars.
This, is the tale of
Ferrari vs Lamborghini.
The
'Maranello Magician'
Enzo Ferrari
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.
His complaint was simple, and it even came with a solution. Placing a clutch from his own tractors in place of Ferrari's. But Enzo was a man that did not like his cars tampered, or in his eyes, ridiculed.
"Let me make cars, you stick to tractors"
- Enzo Ferrari
Fuming on his return trip, this one line forever changed the landscape of the sports car, marking the beginning of the raging bull.
The
'Matador of Sant'Agata'
Ferruccio Lamborghini
Four Months.
That's all it took to bring life into the raging bull. 120 days. 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 GTV.
How was it possible? Turns out it was a little help from Enzo's ego again. Five gentleman, two of them being Ferrari's Chief Engineer, and Development Manager respectively, were fired after they complained about Enzo's wife pestering the production floor.
In pure spite, Lamborghini didn't have to ask twice when they were approached to work in Sant'Agata.
More often than not, when the word “supercar” is brought up, two automakers are the first to come to mind: Lamborghini and Ferrari. Through the next five decades, the two companies went head-to-head.
In the 1960s Ferrari gave the world the magnificent 250 GTO and Lamborghini countered with the game-changing Miura. The 70s saw the Ferrari 308 GTS battle with the insanely-styled Lamborghini Countach. While the 1980s was a lean spell for Lamborghini (Ferrari unleashed the Testarossa and the F40), come the 1990s Lamborghini was back with the poster car worthy Diablo, and so was the Ferrari versus Lamborghini battle.
Come the 2000s and beyond, it’s like watching a tennis match. Back and forth and back again.
Present Day battles.
Supercar after supercar – left to Maranello, right to Sant’Agata Bolognese. Each one faster, more aerodynamic, more insanely styled, more technologically advanced.
The Lamborghini vs Ferrari history is one that has played out for almost six decades and there are no signs it’s abating. Both marques have given the world some of the most exquisitely-engineered, innovative and eye-wateringly beautiful cars ever made.
And thanks to this rivalry of theirs, we are blessed with the presence of the Ferrari 488 Spider, and the Lamborghini Huracan EVO.
A sleek spider and a very verbal bullet shaped supercar still eagerly spirited in their never-ending duel.
The two iconic Italian brands have their differences, but they’ve both created some of the most striking, powerful, and drool-worthy vehicles on the planet. And it's definitely a battle we hope to never see it end.