History of Lamborghini supercars

 When one sees the Lamborghini supercars go blurring past his/her vision, a tractor is not the first image that comes to mind. But Ferruccio Lamborghini got his start successfully building tractors after World War II. In 1963, with the help of a former Ferrari employee, he built his first car, the 350 GT coupe. With a head-busting V12 engine, Lamborghini's goal was to create a race car for everyday street use. He used his zodiac symbol, the bull, as the company logo and in naming subsequent cars.  The 350 GT was followed memorably in 1966 with the Miura, Lamborghini's first real supercar. A steeply sloped nose gave it aggressive looks, and it was the first time a mid-mounted V12 engine was put in anything but a Formula One race car. The Miura was an immediate hit and helped get Lamborghini through some tough times in the 1970s during the gas crisis and bankruptcy filing. In the 1970s, Lamborghini went through a series of owners and added four-seat cars such as the Espada and Urraco, as well as an all-terrain Cheetah but its sales were disappointing. By the end of the decade, the automaker had declared bankruptcy. The company got back on its feet in the 1980s. The key was Lamborghini's over-the-top Countach. Though introduced way back in 1974, the Countach, now fully styled with angles and vents, was the perfect exotic sports car for that's decade's mentality. Perhaps hoping to cash in on the firm's revived popularity, the company's managers sold Lamborghini to Chrysler in 1987. Another change of ownership took place in 1994, when Lamborghini was acquired by three Far Eastern companies. Megatech was the largest of the trio and the primary shareholder. By the late 1990s, Lamborghini was in financial hot water once again. As before, the lack of a diversified product lineup was hurting the company's ability to compete globally. It was acquired by Volkswagen (which also owns other luxury marques such as Audi and Bentley) in 1998. Lamborghini has rolled out models such as the four-seat Espada and various V8 sports cars, but it is the midengine supercars that identify the marque. Models like the wild Countach and the Diablo of the 1990s are instantly recognizable as Lamborghini cars, with their sinister styling by Marcello Gandini promising equally outlandish performance. Though some may question the current German/Italian marriage, the products of this merger, the 200-mph Murcielago (the Diablo's successor) and the equally breathtaking Gallardo, leave no doubt as to its benefit.

Lamborghini's name is synonymous with wealth and power, exemplified in the bold lines, fierce stance, and growling engines in its sports cars. The automaker has never had a vast lineup, perhaps because its cars are so intense and extreme in both performance and style - too many would be just too much.