If you approach any random person on the street and ask them to name you a supercar brand, chances are they will say either “Ferrari” or “Lamborghini”. These two Italian companies are easily the most prolific supercar and race car companies that are out there, and you can definitely consider them rivals. They are kind of like Coca-Cola versus Pepsi, and have been competing with each other to produce the best automobiles around since the 1960’s. Ferrari had a head start as they established their racing division in 1929, and then began selling street-legal cars in 1947 while Lamborghini wasn’t formed until 1963. The interesting thing is that Lamborghini might have not even been a company if it weren’t Ferrari, specifically the man behind the company: Enzo Ferrari.
Anyone that knows even the slightest bit about Ferrari and Enzo Ferrari will know just how “particular” of a company they are. When you buy a Ferrari, you’re only allowed to take it to particular Ferrari garages or use their specific oil, and sometimes you have to be “invited” to purchase some of their cars. They also really dislike when people modify their cars. For example, Ferrari even sent electronic-musician Deadmau5 a cease-and-desist letter over his modified Ferrari 458. I mean sure, that car looks ridiculous, but he still bought it. Shouldn’t you be allowed to do whatever you want to a car after you buy it? Well Ferrari doesn’t really see it that way. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ferrari and their cars, however they can be very difficult to deal with. But really, all of that seems to have come from their founder and the man behind it all.
It wasn’t unknown that Enzo Ferrari had a big ego, and he definitely did. In his early days he was an extremely successful race car driver. He then took his knowledge of racing and automobiles, and founded his own racing team and then eventually the company of Ferrari as a whole. That can get to your head. He often had an aggressive approach to management and would regularly pit drivers against each other often pushing them past their limits, sometimes even leading to their deaths, even though they both drove for Ferrari. He lived a largely secluded life and rarely ever took interviews with reporters. His company dominated the racing scene for many years, and produced some of the finest road cars around.
The story of Lamborghini’s founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini is a bit different. He was born on a farm and grew up learning how to fix and ride tractors. His mechanical interest and expertise would lead him to forming his own tractor company; a stark difference from forming a race car team. After World War II, his tractor company became quite successful and he made a considerable amount of money. Since he was a fan of tinkering with motors and what not, Lamborghini quickly developed a passion for automobiles. He owned Fiats, tinkered with Alfa Romeos, drove a Mercedes-Benz, had a Jaguar E-Type, bought a few Maseratis, and many other vehicles.
Then in 1958, he bought his first Ferrari, a 250GT which was at the time, one of the best cars around. Ferruccio would go on to owning a few more Ferrari’s, however he had one gripe with the vehicle: the clutch. He brought in one of his cars to be fixed, at a specific Ferrari garage, and he was fairly alarmed that he could not watch his car being mended as the Ferrari team wouldn’t let him. After numerous repairs, the clutch was still broken so he wanted to talk to the man in charge, Enzo Ferrari. He waited and waited and finally got to meet the man behind it all. Lamborghini explained his issues and difficulties with the car and what was Enzo Ferrari’s response? “Lamborghini, you may be able to drive a tractor, but you will never be able to handle a Ferrari properly”, Enzo said. Obviously this did not sit well with Ferruccio, as the man just insulted him gravely. It was at that point, that Ferruccio Lamborghini decided he wanted to make a car company. He decided to stop tinkering and modifying existing cars, and began to build his own. If it wasn’t for Enzo Ferraris massive ego, Lamborghini might have just remained a tractor company. I’m glad that they didn’t.
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