Lamborghini's Museum of Modern Art - Part Two

April 21, 2015
Story By
John Brooks

Driving Line readers: If you've made this far (from part 1), you might be wondering where the motorsport part of the story was hidden. This is, after all, a high performance car brand from Italy of all places, so where are the cars for the Sant'Agata Bolognese branch of the Tifosi to cheer? The simple answer is that for the first half of the company's existence there was almost no connection with motorsport, certainly none officially. Ferruccio Lamborghini maintained that the focus should be on product not chasing titles around the race tracks like his bitter rival Enzo Ferrari. If the cars were good enough there would be no need to bask in the reflected glory of competition success. Plus motorsport is expensive, just ask Enzo.

Ascending the stairs of the museum to the first floor brings an immediate contradiction to this statement, not one but three Formula One racers are on display, so what is their story?

In 1987 Lamborghini once again changed ownership and the Chrysler Corporation acquired the Italian sports car manufacturers. Lee Iacocca, the then CEO of Chrysler, set up Lamborghini Engineering, to offer specialist engineering services to interested parties. He recruited Mauro Forghieri to head up the technical side. Forghieri had been Technical Director of Ferrari's racing programs for over 20 years, winning four Formula One titles along the way. He was contacted by the Larrousse F1 team about building an engine for their 1989 Grand Prix season; this was necessary as the existing turbo-charged units were to be outlawed. In a short space of time Forghieri designed the naturally aspirated Lamborghini 3512 V12 engine, which made its racing début at the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix.

The engine was certainly powerful but there were reliability issues with the team that masked the true potential, but progress was made. The first World Championship Point was scored by Philippe Alliot when he finished 6th at the Spanish Grand Prix. For the following season Larrousse were joined by the Lotus Team and though results were difficult to come by in such a competitive field, Derek Warwick scored points for Lotus in several races. Best of all, in the Japanese Grand Prix, Auguri Suzuki grabbed third place and a podium spot in his Lola Larrousse. Things were looking promising for 1991...or so it seemed.

However this was a false dawn. Both Lotus and Larrousse swapped their Lamborghini engines for alternatives, not least of the reasons for this unexpected course from Lamborghini's perspective was the financial uncertainty that hung over both teams. The Ligier outfit adopted the V12, treading water till the anticipated arrival of Renault V10 power in 1992.

Lamborghini Engineering was commissioned by a consortium of Mexican businessmen to not only supply engines but also to design and build a chassis. No sooner had they completed this than the lead figure behind the group disappeared with the money. Making the best of things the parent company injected finds into the project and ran the cars under the Modena Team banner in a futile attempt to make it look like an independent team, probably in an effort to disguise expenditure from Chrysler's bean-counters.

The whole season was a disaster with the Modena Team failing to qualify for the races and the enterprise was completely underfunded. The team closed its doors before 1992. Ligier hardly did any better, failing to score any points, and the Lamborghini Formula One dream was done.

Except it was not, in 1992 Minardi and Larrousse prevailed upon the company to continue to supply engines, which they did though the top results were a few points finishes, the best being a fifth place in the Japanese Grand Prix for Christian Fittipaldi.

The Minardi on display in the Museum is a good example of the cars that ran in Formula One at the beginning of the 1990s with an ever increasing level of engineering sophistication that required ever increasing budgets and that, under Chrysler's management, was never going to be available.

The close of the 1993 Formula One season saw the end of Lamborghini as an engine supplier in Formula One; there is a sense of potential unfulfilled, but that is not uncommon in motor racing.

A complete contrast has been Lamborghini's role as an engine supplier for Offshore Power Boats. This L 804 V4 from 1993 took the World Class 1 Offshore Championship. An 8.2-liter V12 unit producing 1,100 hp, it is awesome in every sense.

These power boat engines are like sculptures, entirely appropriate content for a museum. Can you imagine the song of the V12, fit for Teatro alla Scala I would suggest?

Power and beauty...

After the Audi took control the competitive urges have focussed on the GT world. A one make series, the Lamborghini SuperTrofeo, caters to owners who wish to race the cars that they buy for the road. In GT3 the Gallardo and Hurácan models are competitive and successful, reinforcing the brand's credentials for high performance. An early attempt to join the scene was with this Diablo GT2 that was revealed to the world at the 1998 Bologna Motor Show but I cannot recall the car ever being entered in international GT events since.

This being Italy, one should expect anything in relation to cars, so it comes as no surprise to find a Gallardo being used by the Polizia Stradale to patrol a section of the A3 Autostrada between Salerno and Reggio Calabria.

Gallardos have also been used by the police in Panamá, Dubai and, of all places, London.

Back to the cars on show, here is the Aventador under the skin.

It affords a glimpse of the pushrod suspension, 6.5-liter V12 engine, electronically controlled ISR gearbox, all with a carbon fiber cockpit.

There is a fine selection of concept cars at the Lamborghini Museum, such as this P147 Canto 1997. It was a study from Zagato with the intention of being the replacement for the Diablo but the incoming Audi management elected to go in a different direction and cancelled the project.

Another concept built at the same time as the Canto with the same aim is the P147 Acosta. This design came from Marcello Gandini, who had created several previous Lamborghini models, including the Countach, Diablo, Espada, Jarama, Miura and the Urraco. This concept met with the same fate as the Canto when Audi took over.

The replacement for the Diablo and Murciélago, was designed by the man responsible for this Concept S. Luc Donckerwolke utilized another of his creations, the Gallardo, as the basis for the design exercise. The Concept S does not have a windscreen but what was described as a "saute-vent", which in French means a sudden change in the wind. These shaped "saute-vent" deflectors would direct the flow of air over the head of the driver and are in homage to early single-seater race cars. However, the Concept S is not a single-seater and so the decision was made to design a split cockpit, it not a fashion that I expect will catch on.

Perhaps the most radical concept car on display, at least from a Lamborghini perspective, is the Estoque, front-engined and four doors, whatever next? This concept first appeared in 2008 and was an attempt by the company to expand their brand by offering the values of their sports cars to those customers seeking a saloon. At present there are no plans to bring this kind of vehicle to production.

Back to the world of Lamborghini is the Sesto Elemento, an extreme vehicle by any standards. Only 20 examples were produced and they are not road legal; they can only be used on track.

With extensive use of carbon fiber and few creature comforts for the driver or passenger, the weight is kept down to just 999 kg (roughly 2,200 lbs). Add a 5.20-liter V10 and you get an amazing power to weight ratio, the performance must be mind blowing.

Across from the museum is a shop where all manner of goodies are to be found, at a price. Some lucky kid is going to grow up driving this.

And in the shop, the leading candidate for the maddest, baddest Lamborghini ever built is to be found. The Egoista is utterly bonkers. The front is supposed resemble a charging bull with lowered horns, while the rest of the car is styled like a jet fighter or perhaps an Apache helicopter. It was built for the Lamborghini 50th Anniversary celebrations and first shown at the 2013 Geneva Salon.

Based on a Gallardo, the bodywork and wheels have an anti-radar coating, there is only a single seat and access is through the canopy. Walter De Silva, the car's designer rationalized it thus: “Designed purely for hyper-sophisticated people who want only the most extreme and special things in the world. It represents hedonism taken to the extreme.” It certainly is different from anything else that you will find on the street, or planet Earth for that matter.

Perhaps this is where I should conclude my look at the Lamborghini Museum. There is no doubt in my mind that if you are in this part of Italy, and if you have some petrol in your veins, you must travel to Sant'Agata Bolognese and see these automotive wonders of the world.

Lamborghini's Museum of Modern Art - Part Two

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