The world of luxury sports cars is one of competition both off and on the road. Cars designed for high speeds and good looks are a niche market, and that means companies that sell such high-end vehicles need every advantage they can to stay competitive since every sale counts. Sometimes, that drive for competition creates rivals, as longstanding leaders in any industry tend to get complacent. That complacency can be their undoing, but it can also spur further advances and change.

One of the more famous sports car rivalries is the one between Ferrari and Lamborghini. Both companies produce excellent vehicles in their own right, but, as with any brand, some people are loyal to one over the other. Of the two, Ferrari has a longer history, the Coke to Lamborghini’s Pepsi, as it were.

Ferrari, the automotive company, started in 1947, but the founder himself spent much more time involved in the automotive industry beforehand.

Born in 1898 in Modena, Italy, Ferrari started his career as a racecar driver. In the 1920s, he was a driver for Alfa Romeo and won many awards like the 2nd Circuito di Modena.

By 1929, Ferrari started Scuderia Ferrari, which later became Ferrari’s official race car division, a division of Alfa Romeo that provided race cars for gentleman drivers. This was a period when car racing was taking off, particularly for the rich and famous, who were some of the few who could afford it.

Ferrari entered another race in 1931, which proved to be his last one. After that, he decided to focus on automotive construction. Until 1939 he worked for Alfa, but he decided to create his own car company.

He wasn’t the first one with a vision in the automotive industry who did so, either. Much like automotive giants of earlier generations, Ferrari set out to build a new kind of car, or at least a better one. He formed the Auto Avio Costruzioni Company in Modena, Italy, his hometown.

Due to an agreement with Alfa when he left, the name changed to Auto Costruzioni Ferrari in 1957. The first Ferrari, the Ferrari 125 S, was the first car to bear his name.

The car quickly proved its worth as a sports car, winning first in the Piacenza Circuit and Rome Grand Prix. From such early success, the Ferrari name quickly spread as a fast, reliable, luxury sports car worth the price for those willing to pay for the quality of such a renowned automotive racing name.

Not everyone was thrilled with the quality of the Ferrari, though. Ferruccio Lamborghini was born in 1916 and amassed a fortune after World War II in tractor manufacturing.

He wasn’t the only automotive designer and builder immersed in agriculture. Henry Ford built tractors at a loss because he believed in rural America.

As for Lamborghini, by the early sixties, he was a rich and powerful man. He knew what he wanted to do: build the “best super sports car ever.”

Many thought he had gone mad, and rightfully so. Coming into such a competitive space with only tractor experience seemed crazy. Many thought he’d squander his fortune in a failed venture.

Ferruccio had never thought to shift his business from farm vehicles to supercars, but his destiny had found a way to draw him into this business. There lies another story, origins of rivalry between Ferrari and Lamborghini. Will post a different story.

to be continued...