As with so many supercar companies, Lamborghini was the vision of one man: Ferruccio Lamborghini. He founded it in 1962 after a successful career making tractors. The Sant’Agata Bolognese birthplace remains the company’s home – and it has produced some of the greatest and most outrageous supercars of all time, giving this company equal rights with Ferrari to claim to be the world’s best loved supercar brand. Now owned by Audi, and hence part of the sprawling Volkswagen empire.
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Make and model
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Year
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Price
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Engine
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0-60mph
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Top speed
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Lamborghini Muira
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1967
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£8050
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3929cc V12, 350bhp, 286lb ft
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6.3sec
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163mph
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For
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Gandini’s styling: arguably the most beautiful car ever made
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Against
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Ergonomics and reliability: this will become a theme
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Verdict
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Its engineering was as impressive as its looks: changed the
motoring world
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The steel monocoque chassis with its tranverse, mid-mounted V12 got the ’65 Turin motor show so excited that the reluctant Ferruccio was persuaded to put a body on it and build it. The supercar was born
Related Articles: Other Lamborghini stories
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Make and model
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Year
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Price
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Engine
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0-60mph
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Top speed
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Lamborghini Countach
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1974
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£16,134
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3929cc V12, 375bhp, 286lb ft
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5.6sec
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174mph
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For
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In production for 16 years, and still gob-smacking now
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Against
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It took them most of that time to make it driveable and reliable
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Verdict
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Say supercar and you picture a Countach
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How did Lambo top the revolutionary Miura? By slotting the engine and gearbox not just transversely, but backwards into its successor, and getting Gandini to produce an even more extraordinary shape
Related Articles: Other Lamborghini stories
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Make and model
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Year
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Price
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Engine
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0-60mph
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Top speed
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Lamborghini Diablo
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1990
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£156,000
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5707cc V12, 492bhp, 428lb ft
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4.1sec
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202mph
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For
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The Audi-fettled 6.0 VT was the last, and best
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Against
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A playboy’s plaything; never gained real credibility
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Verdict
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Lambo’s thinking looked slow after the F40 and 959
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Lamborghini’s third mid-engined V12 supercar lacked the impact of the first two. A series of lightweight, race-derived special editions delivered the full supercar terror, but the Diablo didn’t shock or innovate like its forebears
Related Articles: Other Lamborghini stories
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Make and model
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Year
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Price
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Engine
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0-60mph
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Top speed
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Lamborghini Murcielago
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2001
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£170,228
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6200cc V12, 580bhp, 479lb ft
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3.7sec
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205mph
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For
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With scissor doors and a mad cabin, it’s a proper old-school supercar
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Against
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We call it character but it’s crude compared to newer rivals
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Verdict
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New owner Audi produced the best Lambo in years
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Same basic layout as the underwhelming Diablo – but so much sexier and better to drive. Amazingly, the latest 640bhp V12 engine is derived from Lambo’s first back in 1963
Related Articles: News | Car reviews | Other Lamborghini stories
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Make and model
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Year
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Price
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Engine
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0-60mph
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Top speed
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Lamborghini LP560-4
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2008
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£147,330
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5204cc V10, 552bhp, 398lb ft
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3.7 sec
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202mph
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For:
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Visual drama, barmy performance. Our favourite junior supercar
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Against:
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We’re nitpicking, but those Audi parts still grate… |
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Verdict:
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Cleaner, meaner, leaner… what’s not to like? |
German/Italian interbreeding shouldn’t work, but it does – so you get the old-school supercar experience without the bad bits. But a Ferrari is more intuitive to drive hard
Related Articles: News | Car reviews | Other Lamborghini stories