It’s safe to assume agricultural machines are not the first that comes to mind when you hear the name Ferruccio Lamborghini. After all, that name is far more synonymous with super-fast, low-profile sports cars that are equipped with those iconic scissor doors, not to mention an infamous feud with fellow Italian automaker Enzo Ferrari. But even as the Lamborghini name will no doubt forever be tied to the high-end sports car realm, it’s worth noting that the legendary brand would likely not exist without its founder’s ties to the agricultural industry.
After all, before he made his name in the auto game, Ferruccio Lamborghini spent his formative years toiling away on his parent’s farm, learning all about the agricultural life and the machines that powered it. After serving in World War II, the soon-to-be automaker returned to Italy and founded Lamborghini Trattori, which was indeed dedicated to building powerful tractors that Italian farmers could actually afford rather than the expensive high-octane automobiles he’d come to be known for.
Lamborghini’s first manufacturing venture proved a success, with the entrepreneur soon branching out into other markets, including, of course, sports cars. Despite the fact that the Lamborghini name is almost solely equated with those cars today, the Automobil Lamborghini came into being solely on the back of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s success in the tractor biz. Though Ferruccio passed away in 1993, years after leaving the manufacturing biz in his rearview, tractors bearing the Lamborghini name are still working fields all across Europe today.
