Lamborghini was originally formed to produce
tractors after
World War II. Their experience in the early days was with absurdly powerful
long-stroke engines designed to propel tractors over the rough Italian landscape, haul out
tree stumps, etc. etc. The
sportscar business came about from the realization that the search for power in engines, when mated with an appropriate
transmission, meant
speed.
It is said that Mr. Lamborghini purchased a Ferrari (having made money off his tractors) and found that there were several things about it he didn't like. As was the custom for well-heeled European sports car buyers at the time, he went to the factory to request some custom modifications; however, Enzo Ferrari took a disliking to him. It seems plausible that the combination of an implied insult to the car's design and two famously powerful and ego-driven personalities made this inevitable. In any case, Enzo told Mr. Lamborghini, essentially, "Buzz off. We make a perfect car, and I don't like you." Mr. Lamborghini, at this challenge, decided that Ferrari didn't make the perfect car; he could do better. So he would.
Thus began a series of some of the most powerful, exotic and expensive sportscars ever made - destined to be objects of lust for boys young and old everywhere (and not a few girls, too). The first real Lambo 'supercar' was the Lamborghini Miura; it was followed by its descendant the Countach which ruled the 1970s and 1980s, synonymous with 'supercar.' After the Countach came the Diablo and the most recent Murcielago; there have been many other models and a slew of concept cars along the way including the production Lamborghini LM002, a four-wheel-drive high-end competitor to the Land Rover.