Lambo turns 50

Lamborghini celebrated its 50th anniversary yesterday in Italy by assembling the largest ever gathering of its supercars for a four-day drive from Milan to its headquarters in Sant’Agata Bolognese.

Just one in a number of celebrations designed to mark five decades since Lamborghini opened its doors in Emilia Romagna, the 50th Anniversary Grand Tour comprises 350 cars, 700 people from 29 countries and almost 140,000kW.

The 4km convoy left Piazza Castello in Milan yesterday and will stop in Bobbio, Forte dei Marmi, Rome, Grosseto, Orvieto, Arezzo, San Giustino Valdarno and Bologna, before finishing in Sant’Agata on May 11.

“Since our founder Ferruccio Lamborghini first founded the company, a characteristic inherent in our DNA is to address the challenge and not overcome it, but to push boundaries to achieve something even more extraordinary,” said Automobili Lamborghini President and CEO, Stephan Winkelmann.

Included in the expensive convoy are 71 cars from the UK, more than 30 each from Italy, Germany and Switzerland, 21 from the US and 17 from China.

Australia is also represented, as is Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Monaco, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, The Netherlands, Tunisia and the Ukraine.

Lamborghini, founded in 1963, says the pricey convoy comprises 320 registered participants and about 30 courtesy cars for the press and guests.

With one in four being historic models, the list of cars included 123 Gallardos, 35 Mucielagos, 21 Diablos, 17 Miuras, 15 Countachs, eight Espadas, six Urracos, five 400 GTs, three 350 GTs, two Jaramas and one LM 002.

Hailing from Kuwait, the youngest driver was born in 1991, while the oldest is a 75-year-old from France.