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I N T R O D U C T I O N

Such an individual was Ferruccio Lamborghini. Son of a farmer who made his fortune manufacturing tractors, Lamborghini had a

particular appreciation for the durability of his products, and little patience when the fruits of his considerable income failed him. According to legend, it was a failed Ferrari clutch that launched Lamborghini into the car business in 1963. The gran turismo car was Lamborghini’s specialty and his passion. His ideal GT “must be beautiful to look at, as fast as a Formula One car, as well-built as a Swiss watch and as robust as my tractors,” he once said. For more than thir- ty years, despite economic upheavals and labor unrest, Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini S.p.A. has held remarkably true to that vision, producing cars that define the spirit of the GT like no other. Ferruccio Lamborghini also had a passion for fighting bulls. A bull is found on the badge of every Lamborghini, and the uninitiated driver will soon dis- cover that the bull is a fitting mascot, for driving the company’s GTs has his- torically required considerable strength. Only recently were power-assisted controls added to the top-of-the-line Diablo, for it was feared (without reason, as it turned out) that such controls would dilute the spirit of the car. With power steering and speed-actuated, automatically variable shock resistance helping to keep its new four-wheel-drive on the ground, today’s Diablo VT has become a civilized daily driver. Technology has a tendency to become more accessible over time, and this has certainly been the case with high-performance automobiles. The fact that they must be driven with a tolerable margin for safety at speed led to the development of independent suspensions, fuel injection, and radial tires— basic components of today’s safe, clean-running, and fuel-efficient economy car. Even cars as exotic as the Lamborghini play an important role in advanc- ing the state of the automobile for all of its users. The Lamborghini remains, both in style and temperament, a singularly aggressive beast. It has, for better or worse, developed a reputation in both the popular and motoring press as being the single most macho automobile one can buy. It is, more than any other marque, a “bad” car for “bad” boys, transcending everyday convention and fueling the dreams of enthusiasts throughout the world.

FOLLOWING PAGE: The four-wheel-drive Diablo VT is a mir- acle of mechanical engineering. Fully predictable and graceful in traffic, its power is now accessible to any- one who has the nerve to utilize it.

This 1976 LP400 Countach is one of the last built. Sporadic production could not keep pace with demand, and soon the design was upgraded into the Countach “S” model, with its relatively macho personality.

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