Lamborghini, as a car company, was founded in 1963, but only started building cars the following year, meaning its first car is now 60 years old.
That first car was the 350 GT, which made its formal debut in March at the 1964 Geneva Motor Show, when Lamborghini began accepting its first orders. A unique prototype known as the 350 GTV it was shown a year earlier at a motor show in Turin.
According to history, it was a dispute between Ferruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari who was responsible for the creation of the 350 GT. Lamborghini, who already had a successful company building tractors, had a problem with the clutch of a Ferrari he owned and complained to Enzo himself that better parts should have been used. After being rejected by Ferrari, Lamborghini decided to go out and build its own cars.
The 350 GT’s aluminum bodywork was designed by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera bodywork, and initially featured on the 350 GTV, which featured a slightly different design to the 350 GT. The chassis was developed by the young Giampaolo Dallara, who would begin his career with the Dallara racing car manufacturer a decade later.
As for the engine, a 3.5-liter V-12 that formed the basis from Lamborghini V-12 engines to the launch of the Aventador, Giotto Bizzarrini was developed, who helped develop the Ferrari 250 GTO and also attempted to launch his own Bizzarrini sports car brand, a brand that is currently going through a renaissance.
Bizzarrini developed the engine for use in motorsport, and fellow engineer Paolo Stanzani was tasked with taming it for road use. The engine, which featured a four-cam design, had 350 hp and was blessed with a stratospheric (for the period, at least) rev limit of 7,000 rpm.
The first 350 GT in the range, the car with chassis number 101, was finished in green and had a white interior. It was the car on display at the premiere in Geneva. It was maintained by Lamborghini and later used as a test model for endurance testing, although it was destroyed after being rear-ended at a traffic light.
The second 350 GT built, finished in silver with a red interior, was delivered to a customer in Geneva in August 1964. The car, shown here, is now the oldest production Lamborghini. The original 350 GTV prototype is still considered the oldest Lamborghini.