Why a Lambo is a Lambo afterall...

I was out in the market one evening to get the latest issue of Overdrive. Just as I was flipping through the magazine’s pages after paying for it, this strange looking green colored “3000 bhp issue” of TopGear lying on the stands caught my attention. Being a fan of Jeremy Clarkson already, I couldn’t resist shelling out another 60 bucks for this issue which promised Veyron vs. Koenigsegg and Ferrari vs. Lambo shootouts apart from a road test of the Gallardo LP 560-4.



While exploring the psychology behind two of Italy’s great car makers Ferrari and Lamborghini, I came across some very interesting “expressions” by the writer Michael Harvey concerning Lambo’s heritage. I present here a few excerpts from this article. Talking about the contrast between the two companies, the writer has to say…

Racing provides the contrast. Ferrari has to race. Because racing ties Ferrari history together, the company takes its heritage more seriously than most.

Lamborghini on the other hand are impelled not to race. Lamborghini, you see, don’t measure itself. There is only one absolute about Lambo, which is the mantra to be ‘the most politically incorrect car company in the world’. Lambo’s cars aren’t really about performance, not in the measurable sense of ability to corner or steer faster than the others. They are about sensation and drama. Lambos exist to make a fuss. And if the fuss - noise, rumble, visual drama, acceleration- adds to the weight and detracts from the ability to function as a sports car, then so be it.

Lamborghini’s participation in power boating makes more sense than it would for them to enter F1, because the boats are more brutal, and the people who surround them more a bunch of playboys than technocrats. The ‘sport’ to which Lambo attaches itself is bullfighting. Something to with the noble, the brave, the (that word again) dramatic.

Lamborghini’s brand message remains determinedly at odds with any visible attempt to make the world a better place, other than for the car’s owner. A supercar anyway has to leave you, in a good way, all shook up, and that’s Lambo’s simple message.


Text courtesy: BBC TopGear Vol.3 Issue 10 July 2008