idrivemyself
08-06-2004, 04:40 PM
http://www.fourtitude.com/news/uploads/Features/sant_agata.jpg
It must be something in the water. Exposure to years of ingestion to the liquid, innocent Italians living in the region must certainly become infused. Certainly that must be the reason, as how else can you explain so much significant output of exotic motorcars from such a small geographic region. Along with nearby factories for no less than Ferrari, Ducati, Pagani and a defunct Artioli-era Bugatti plant, you’ll also find the home of Lamborghini Automobili just outside the little town of Sant Agata Bolognese.
When Ferruccio Lamborghini set up shop here 41 years ago, this area was farmland, though probably the key reason for it being chosen was also that it was cheap. Still small, and not as built up as the nearby Maranello home of Ferrari, Sant Agata seems somewhat slow paced… until a Murcielago blows past you amidst its very first test run.
For a time, things looked bleak at Lamborghini. It’s been a rollercoaster ride since Ferruccio began selling stock. Ownership by Chrysler, an Indonesian-Malaysian consortium, and more recently by Audi has left the car company in truly varied states of existence.
http://www.fourtitude.com/news/uploads/Features/001__scaled_600_009.jpg
The German cash infusion that followed the 1998 purchase of Lamborghini by Audi AG has done wonders for attitudes and architecture alike. The historic main factory is still there, though a new museum and receiving building has been built, and a new restoration center almost complete during our visit last summer.
Unlike Maranello, the factory isn’t surrounded by automotive-interest shops or a test track like Fiorano, though the new Lamborghini museum holds a significant collection of historical and more modern offerings from the brand of the raging bull. The two floor museum located in the newer end of the building features polished wood floors, white walls and large front glass façade that all offer a bright background for display of these wonderful machines.
We hear the display rotates to some degree, so cars we saw during our visit may not be the same exact collection future museum visitors might encounter. During the opening of the museum, the Japanese collector who owns the prototye 350 GTV shipped the car over for a period of time. Unfortunately, the car had returned to Japan, we presume, by the time we arrived for our visit.
Other more regular cars on exhibit span the company’s history. Perhaps one of the most immediately identifiable of the Lamborghini lineage is the Countach. The museum literally has the first and last of the cars produced during an entire production run of only 657 units spanning over 25 years. The first Countach produced, a ’73 LP400 in green and the last a silver ‘89 25th Anniversary Edition built during the Chrysler era are great examples of the cars evolution. Perhaps iconic, the successful Countach kept Lamborghini in business during some financially tumultuous years. In fact, several larger local distributors of the cars prepaid for the cars they ordered, helping cash-strapped Lamborghini afford to actually make the cars while in receivership.
ttp://www.fourtitude.com/news/uploads/Features/001__scaled_600_010.jpg
Elsewhere on the ground floor of the museum were an eclectic mix of production Lamborghinis over the years. A Gold Miura S is perhaps the second most iconic of the Lamborghini line. A black Jarama, gray 350 GT and dark red Islero are great examples of some of Lamborghini’s front-engined GT cars from the 1960’s, while a black LM002 and second LM002 rolling frame are great examples of the “ahead of its time” super-luxury SUV.
Walk up the open stairway to the second floor of the museum and you’ll find some less traditional models. A prototype Diablo Roadster sits among a host of racecars including a Prototype Diablo GT2 racecar, a 1991 Lambo F1 car, Minardi F1 car, a Lamborghini-powered Lotus F1 car from 1990, and an ’89 Larrousse F1 car. More production oriented, on the second floor we also found a late-model Diablo 6.0, a Jalpa 3500 and Silhouette.
http://www.fourtitude.com/news/uploads/Features/004__scaled_600_003.jpg
Besides the large collection of bulls under the museum’s roof, you’ll also find a wide mix of Lamborghini parts, drawings, toys and more. Immediately inside the door is a wall of model cars and another wall of historic photographs and design drawings of models from throughout the company’s history. Elsewhere in the museum you’ll find components such as a Countach frame, design models, Lamborghini automobile engines, racecar engines and even a marine engine from Lamborghini’s boat racing days.
http://www.fourtitude.com/news/uploads/Features/041__scaled_600_001.jpg
Besides the museum and other new construction going on, there are other outward signs of German ownership. Parking our car in the visitor lot, we passed multiple pre-production Volkswagen Phaetons, several Touaregs, and another executive arrived as we walked to the front door in a pre-production Audi S4 Avant.
While there’s evidence of modern German engineering and German organization, it’s comforting to see that the relaxed yet passionate Italian spirit wholeheartedly remains.
Behind the museum is the old production facility, and it is in production that you see a clear difference from the Germans. Audi’s miles and miles of factory at facilities like Ingolstadt, featuring the latest in premium mass-production is starkly different compared to Lamborghini’s three lines of vehicle production, which you can spot from the second floor of the museum behind the F1 cars through an observation window. Or, if you’re lucky enough, perhaps a tour can be pre-arranged before your visit.
The first line of production, that of the Murcielago, has been up and running for some time, though seeing the current baddest of the bulls in production is truly impressive. Looking at them as they go together, it becomes easier to appreciate just how much light-weight carbon-fiber is utilized in the car’s production. Only 2.3 Murcielagos leave the production line per day, assuring the car will remain one of the most exclusive cars in the world.
To the side of the production line, a woman with highly specialized talents assembles the seats. One can choose almost any color leather and thread combination. In this league of car purchasing, a customer can have the car tailored exactly as they want it. An interesting note, we’re told that, in particular, cars going to the Persian Gulf states are often ordered with intricate multiple-colored stitching. Such orders are no problem for the tailors in Sant Agata.
Next to the Murcielago area, we were shown the first of the Gallardo production lines. Though not yet on sale at the time of our visit, the Gallardo had been publicly shown. Painted aluminum bodies of the Gallardo are assembled in Germany and shipped to Italy where the remainder of production takes place. Like the Murcielago, the cars can be tailor-made, though the new process allows for a more rapid production rate of 8 cars per day with both this line and the new second Gallardo production line up and running.
http://www.fourtitude.com/news/uploads/Features/008__scaled_600_004.jpg
While we were there for our visit, the second Gallardo line was being prepared to supplement production in order to meet expected demand. With not enough room in the current facility for a straight line of production, we were told the new Gallardo line would go to the wall and turn back in the other direction so as to fit it within the facility.
For any automotive enthusiast, visiting such hallowed ground is a spectacle to behold. With so many Lamborghinis in one place, the overwhelming feeling of awe and excitement hits you as you drive toward the factory and doesn’t seem to evaporate until hours after your departure.
Though Ferrari’s facility in Maranello has most assuredly become a tourist attraction with its factory store, museum and numbers of automotive interest businesses, Sant Agata Bolognese and Lamborghini remain quiet and somewhat undisturbed. Though starkly different, both are well worth the trip if you are in the regioni, though we prefer the quiet and lest tourist saturated Sant Agata Bolognese. If you’re planning a visit to Lamborghini, contacting Lamborghini North America or your Lamborghini dealer ahead of time is probably worth the effort.
http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/generated//Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum/016__scaled_600.jpg
http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/generated//Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum/022__scaled_600.jpg
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http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/generated//Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum/029__scaled_600.jpg
http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/generated//Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum/037__scaled_600.jpg
http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/generated//Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum/039__scaled_600.jpg
The rest of the photos can be found here: http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/gallery2.php?mode=album&album=/Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum#
*Fourtitude
It must be something in the water. Exposure to years of ingestion to the liquid, innocent Italians living in the region must certainly become infused. Certainly that must be the reason, as how else can you explain so much significant output of exotic motorcars from such a small geographic region. Along with nearby factories for no less than Ferrari, Ducati, Pagani and a defunct Artioli-era Bugatti plant, you’ll also find the home of Lamborghini Automobili just outside the little town of Sant Agata Bolognese.
When Ferruccio Lamborghini set up shop here 41 years ago, this area was farmland, though probably the key reason for it being chosen was also that it was cheap. Still small, and not as built up as the nearby Maranello home of Ferrari, Sant Agata seems somewhat slow paced… until a Murcielago blows past you amidst its very first test run.
For a time, things looked bleak at Lamborghini. It’s been a rollercoaster ride since Ferruccio began selling stock. Ownership by Chrysler, an Indonesian-Malaysian consortium, and more recently by Audi has left the car company in truly varied states of existence.
http://www.fourtitude.com/news/uploads/Features/001__scaled_600_009.jpg
The German cash infusion that followed the 1998 purchase of Lamborghini by Audi AG has done wonders for attitudes and architecture alike. The historic main factory is still there, though a new museum and receiving building has been built, and a new restoration center almost complete during our visit last summer.
Unlike Maranello, the factory isn’t surrounded by automotive-interest shops or a test track like Fiorano, though the new Lamborghini museum holds a significant collection of historical and more modern offerings from the brand of the raging bull. The two floor museum located in the newer end of the building features polished wood floors, white walls and large front glass façade that all offer a bright background for display of these wonderful machines.
We hear the display rotates to some degree, so cars we saw during our visit may not be the same exact collection future museum visitors might encounter. During the opening of the museum, the Japanese collector who owns the prototye 350 GTV shipped the car over for a period of time. Unfortunately, the car had returned to Japan, we presume, by the time we arrived for our visit.
Other more regular cars on exhibit span the company’s history. Perhaps one of the most immediately identifiable of the Lamborghini lineage is the Countach. The museum literally has the first and last of the cars produced during an entire production run of only 657 units spanning over 25 years. The first Countach produced, a ’73 LP400 in green and the last a silver ‘89 25th Anniversary Edition built during the Chrysler era are great examples of the cars evolution. Perhaps iconic, the successful Countach kept Lamborghini in business during some financially tumultuous years. In fact, several larger local distributors of the cars prepaid for the cars they ordered, helping cash-strapped Lamborghini afford to actually make the cars while in receivership.
ttp://www.fourtitude.com/news/uploads/Features/001__scaled_600_010.jpg
Elsewhere on the ground floor of the museum were an eclectic mix of production Lamborghinis over the years. A Gold Miura S is perhaps the second most iconic of the Lamborghini line. A black Jarama, gray 350 GT and dark red Islero are great examples of some of Lamborghini’s front-engined GT cars from the 1960’s, while a black LM002 and second LM002 rolling frame are great examples of the “ahead of its time” super-luxury SUV.
Walk up the open stairway to the second floor of the museum and you’ll find some less traditional models. A prototype Diablo Roadster sits among a host of racecars including a Prototype Diablo GT2 racecar, a 1991 Lambo F1 car, Minardi F1 car, a Lamborghini-powered Lotus F1 car from 1990, and an ’89 Larrousse F1 car. More production oriented, on the second floor we also found a late-model Diablo 6.0, a Jalpa 3500 and Silhouette.
http://www.fourtitude.com/news/uploads/Features/004__scaled_600_003.jpg
Besides the large collection of bulls under the museum’s roof, you’ll also find a wide mix of Lamborghini parts, drawings, toys and more. Immediately inside the door is a wall of model cars and another wall of historic photographs and design drawings of models from throughout the company’s history. Elsewhere in the museum you’ll find components such as a Countach frame, design models, Lamborghini automobile engines, racecar engines and even a marine engine from Lamborghini’s boat racing days.
http://www.fourtitude.com/news/uploads/Features/041__scaled_600_001.jpg
Besides the museum and other new construction going on, there are other outward signs of German ownership. Parking our car in the visitor lot, we passed multiple pre-production Volkswagen Phaetons, several Touaregs, and another executive arrived as we walked to the front door in a pre-production Audi S4 Avant.
While there’s evidence of modern German engineering and German organization, it’s comforting to see that the relaxed yet passionate Italian spirit wholeheartedly remains.
Behind the museum is the old production facility, and it is in production that you see a clear difference from the Germans. Audi’s miles and miles of factory at facilities like Ingolstadt, featuring the latest in premium mass-production is starkly different compared to Lamborghini’s three lines of vehicle production, which you can spot from the second floor of the museum behind the F1 cars through an observation window. Or, if you’re lucky enough, perhaps a tour can be pre-arranged before your visit.
The first line of production, that of the Murcielago, has been up and running for some time, though seeing the current baddest of the bulls in production is truly impressive. Looking at them as they go together, it becomes easier to appreciate just how much light-weight carbon-fiber is utilized in the car’s production. Only 2.3 Murcielagos leave the production line per day, assuring the car will remain one of the most exclusive cars in the world.
To the side of the production line, a woman with highly specialized talents assembles the seats. One can choose almost any color leather and thread combination. In this league of car purchasing, a customer can have the car tailored exactly as they want it. An interesting note, we’re told that, in particular, cars going to the Persian Gulf states are often ordered with intricate multiple-colored stitching. Such orders are no problem for the tailors in Sant Agata.
Next to the Murcielago area, we were shown the first of the Gallardo production lines. Though not yet on sale at the time of our visit, the Gallardo had been publicly shown. Painted aluminum bodies of the Gallardo are assembled in Germany and shipped to Italy where the remainder of production takes place. Like the Murcielago, the cars can be tailor-made, though the new process allows for a more rapid production rate of 8 cars per day with both this line and the new second Gallardo production line up and running.
http://www.fourtitude.com/news/uploads/Features/008__scaled_600_004.jpg
While we were there for our visit, the second Gallardo line was being prepared to supplement production in order to meet expected demand. With not enough room in the current facility for a straight line of production, we were told the new Gallardo line would go to the wall and turn back in the other direction so as to fit it within the facility.
For any automotive enthusiast, visiting such hallowed ground is a spectacle to behold. With so many Lamborghinis in one place, the overwhelming feeling of awe and excitement hits you as you drive toward the factory and doesn’t seem to evaporate until hours after your departure.
Though Ferrari’s facility in Maranello has most assuredly become a tourist attraction with its factory store, museum and numbers of automotive interest businesses, Sant Agata Bolognese and Lamborghini remain quiet and somewhat undisturbed. Though starkly different, both are well worth the trip if you are in the regioni, though we prefer the quiet and lest tourist saturated Sant Agata Bolognese. If you’re planning a visit to Lamborghini, contacting Lamborghini North America or your Lamborghini dealer ahead of time is probably worth the effort.
http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/generated//Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum/016__scaled_600.jpg
http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/generated//Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum/022__scaled_600.jpg
http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/generated//Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum/021__scaled_600.jpg
http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/generated//Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum/040__scaled_600.jpg
http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/generated//Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum/029__scaled_600.jpg
http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/generated//Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum/037__scaled_600.jpg
http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/generated//Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum/039__scaled_600.jpg
The rest of the photos can be found here: http://www.fourtitude.com/gallery/gallery2.php?mode=album&album=/Features/Travel/Lamborghini%20Factory%20-%20Sant%20Agata%20Italy/Factory%20Museum#
*Fourtitude