Many people know the story of the founder of Lamborghini, who was angry with the boss of Ferrari and started a car company to compete with his rival. But not everyone has heard the details of how this confrontation took place.

Ferruccio Lamborghini and his car model to… “revenge” Enzo Ferrari.

Part of the Car Legends series , this article will convey to readers the story of the birth of Lamborghini, told by famous test driver Valentino Balboni and published in Car and Driver magazine.

Valentino Balboni is the head of test driving at Automobili Lamborghini SpA. He has dedicated more than 40 years of his life to Lamborghini and is considered one of the world’s leading Lamborghini experts. During his time at Lamborghini, Valentino Balboni has worked directly with Ferruccio Lamborghini – the founder of Lamborghini – on many occasions.

The story below is told by Valentino Balboni, a famous long-time Lamborghini test driver. “I will tell the real story told by Ferruccio Lamborghini himself.”

Founder Ferruccio Lamborghini (standing in the middle, dark blue shirt) was born into a family of grape growers. Photo: Lamborghini

According to Valentino Balboni, he heard many times about the feud between Ferruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari  – the founder of Ferrari. Their conflicts originated from… tractors bearing the Lamborghini brand.

That’s because before building the world’s most famous supercar company, Ferruccio Lamborghini built for himself an “empire” of Lamborghini tractors. To this day, people can still own a tractor bearing this brand.

Lamborghini-branded tractor and 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. Photo: Autocar

Valentino Balboni recalled: “When Ferruccio Lamborghini became rich, he bought two Ferraris: a white one for himself and a black one for his wife. Every time big customers and partners came to sign a tractor contract, he personally drove his Ferrari to take them to the restaurant to treat them.”

Valentino Balboni (left) and Ferruccio Lamborghini (right). Photo: Car Throttle

Balboni continued, jokingly, that Ferruccio was “flashy” and not really a good driver. ” He would burn out the clutch all the time .” So the car had to be regularly taken to the nearby Ferrari factory for repairs and replacements.

After about 3 or 4 times like that, Ferruccio decided to fix it himself at his own tractor workshop with the head mechanic [Ferruccio himself was also very passionate about machinery and mechanics].

After disassembling the engine and gearbox, the Lamborghini mechanic discovered that the clutch on the Ferrari was identical to one installed on a small Lamborghini tractor.

Ferruccio Lamborghini once owned a Ferrari 250 GT. Photo: Barry Ritholtz

“It was actually a common clutch, found on Maseratis, Ferraris and other sports cars of the time,” explains Valentino Balboni . The clutch was also found on a Lamborghini tractor.

So, Ferruccio Lamborghini was very surprised and displeased with this.

“Ferruccio Lamborghini started screaming, he was really angry and said: I only paid 10 lire [for this clutch], and Ferrari charges 1000 lire for the same thing!” 

Then one day, Ferruccio Lamborghini met Enzo Ferrari – the founder of Ferrari. During the conversation, Ferruccio had a bad idea, which was to talk about something that had been bothering him for a long time: the clutch.

He told Enzo Ferrari: “You use my tractor parts to put in your beautiful cars.”

Founder Enzo Ferrari. Photo: Getty Images

If you imagine that what Valentino Balboni is about to tell next will be a burst of laughter or a friendly pat on the back from the notoriously ill-spoken founder Enzo Ferrari, you are wrong!

Enzo Ferrari also once “broke the deal” with Ford and ignited a feud, resulting in Ford creating the Ford GT40, breaking Ferrari’s winning streak at the 24 hours of Le Mans, even Ford winning for 4 consecutive years.

Enzo Ferrari replied to Ferruccio Lamborghini:

“You’re just a tractor driver, an old farmer. Don’t complain about my cars, because they are the best cars in the world!”

Obviously this is also a very… bad answer, like adding fuel to the “Lamborghini fire”.

Ferruccio Lamborghini replied:

“Oh, well, I’m just an old farmer! But I’ll show you how to build a sports car, and I’ll do it myself. Let you see what a sports car should be like!”

Ferruccio Lamborghini holding a model of the Lamborghini Miura. Photo: La Taille

Valentino Balboni continued: “This is a true story. He told it hundreds of times .  “

Valentino Balboni’s colleague, a tractor mechanic, told a similar story, in every detail.

This conversation is often said to have taken place in Enzo Ferrari’s office in Maranello. In reality, it probably did not.

Valentino Balboni said: “No, no. I don’t remember it being in Enzo’s office . “

Ferruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari knew each other before, and the setting was most likely some kind of auto show or mechanical exhibition or something. The exact location is now lost to Valentino, and it will probably remain in history.

According to Lamborghini “historians”, the car manufacturing division was established in 1962 and produced a prototype that was displayed at an auto show in 1963.

Lamborghini’s first model – the 1964 Lamborghini 350 GT. Photo: Secret Classic

So it is clear that it was Ferruccio Lamborghini comparing his tractor to Enzo Ferrari’s sports car that sparked a confrontation that lasted for more than half a century, since the first Lamborghini 350GT was delivered to customers in 1964.

And car lovers around the world… benefit from the unique argument between these two “geniuses”, with the two most famous sports car brands!