Monday, November 06, 2023

Automotif CDXXXIII...


Tractor manufacturer and HVAC magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini was a mechanic in the Italian army during World War Two. After the war he got his start in business by opening a garage, where he had a sideline in hot-rodding Fiat 500 "Topolinos".

As he branched out into manufacturing and became a wealthy businessman, he bought a series of Ferraris and, being something of an opinionated gearhead himself, he quickly was at loggerheads with that notorious iron tower of ego, Enzo Ferrari himself.

Dr Bean Dixon GIF - Dr Bean Dixon Dr Coffee GIFs

So Ferruccio said "Fine! I'll just go make my own supercar company! With blackjack and hookers!" or words to that effect.

Lamborghini sold off his stake in the car company during the fuel crisis years of the early Seventies, and it wandered in and out of bankruptcy before being bought by Chrysler in 1987, which brought an influx of cash. (That's right, the Lambo Diablo was technically a Mopar.)

Chrysler sold the company to some Malaysian and Indonesian investors in 1994, who in turn passed it off to Volkswagen AG in 1998, who nestled it under the umbrella of their Audi subsidiary.

And that's why this vicious-looking Lamborghini Huracán, sporting the deep, dark Nero Noctis paint, is riding on the same basic chassis as the Audi R8 supercar.