The Legendary Rivalry Between Lamborghini & Ferrari: How It All Started...
This is a story of how poor customer service created one of the biggest rivalries..
Happy New Week,
Let me tell you a story about how poor customer service created one of the biggest car rivalries today. Lamborghini vs Ferrari.
Ferruccio Lamborghini was born into a family of grape farmers. He was more interested in farming machines than farming itself. Ferruccio Lamborghini studied mechanical engineering and then took those skills into the Italian RAF during World War II. In World War II he learned more about cars and mechanics.
When Ferrucio returned home from the War, he started a tractor company called Lamborghini Trattori. The business was a success for Lamborghini and he became very wealthy. He became obsessed with supercars and bought a bunch of them, including two Ferraris, a white one for him and a black one for his wife. Ferrucio was constantly burning the clutch, which you use to switch gears and change speed. He had to keep bringing the car back to Ferrari to get it fixed.
Ferrucio decided to take his criticism directly to the top of the ladder, he went to speak to the founder and CEO of Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari. Enzo made him wait for hours and when he finally met him, he said to Ferrucio, let me make cars and you stick to making tractors. Lamborghini took it personally.
Lamborghini decided that he was going to start his own car company to make the perfect car that nobody else in the world can make for him. He took five of Enzo Ferrari’s most talented engineers and started Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. Just four months later he was ready to introduce the first-ever Lamborghini to the world. The ‘Lamborghini 3 50 GTV’.
In 1965 Lamborghini created the car that would shake up the world of supercars completely. The Lamborghini Miura. It became the first production car with the engine in the centre of the car.
The two brands still rival each other 60+ years later. Ferrari has dominated the Formula 1 circuit. They have 240 wins in F1, the most all-time. They are undoubtedly the most successful engine manufacturer and overall team in the history of the sport. Whilst Lamborghini has made some of the most luxurious and high-performance cars. Ferrucio eventually sold Lamborghini to the Volkswagen Group, which continues to innovate and keep Lamborghini at the top of the luxury and performance car industry.
Moral of the story: be careful how you treat your customers because you might create a rival.