Lamborghini’s Humble Beginnings: Ferruccio and His Tractors

The 1963 Turin Auto Show was an event that saw the realisation of a dream that Ferruccio Lamborghini had nurtured for many years. After recruiting a team of talented designers, including Gian Paolo Dallara and Franco Scaglione, and four months of intense work, he presented the world’s first Lamborghini road car, the 350 GTV, to the media.

Although the unveiling was not without hiccups, most notably the absence of an engine (….), the car was well-received and the legend of Lamborghini road cars was born.

In the years that have followed, Lamborghini has grown to become synonymous with wealth and luxury. Stars like Jay Leno, Nicholas Cage and Ja Rule all drive Lamborghinis and the cars have been featured in everything from movies to rap videos.

Considering the glitz and glamour that often surrounds the vehicles that bear Ferruccio’s name, it may surprise some to learn that Lamborghini himself was a man of humble beginnings and that his bold, charging bulls were born out of a stable that was famous for producing hearty tractors as opposed to exotic supercars.

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Volvo Cars Celebrates 85th Birthday with the Same Car in the Same Place

On April 14, 1927, at 10 am, Volvo sales manager Hilmer Johansson was photographed while he was driving the Swedish company's first mass-produced automobile, the ÖV4, through the factory gates in Lundby in Göteborg.

To celebrate the 85th anniversary of this event, Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation, and Olof Persson, President and CEO of the Volvo Group, which sold the company's automotive business to Ford in 1999 before it landed in the hands of China's Geely in 2009, were photographed passing through the same gates in the same historic model.

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Chevrolet Collector Wants to Add a Guinness World Records Title to his Collection

Some people collect stamps, others collect coins but for Charlie Mallon it's all about Chevrolet memorabilia.

The 54-year-old auto dealership consultant has been amassing Chevrolet items for the past 40 years with his collection including signs, racing flags, coffee table books, soda cans, hats, belts, shirts, playing cards, drinking glasses, posters, tractor trailers, a biplane and miniature cars – lots of them, 2,181 different pieces to be precise.

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1971 Plymouth ViperCuda Packs a Venomous V10 Punch Under its Hood

One of the great things about classic American pony and muscles cars is their simplicity, which pretty much allows you do anything your mind sets out to do, with the only restrictions usually being the amount of time and cash you are willing to spend.

Found for sale on eBay, is this 1971 Plymouth ViperCuda, which as the name suggests, is powered by a V10 engine sourced from the modern day Dodge Viper. But there's more than meets the eye to this creation that started life as a four-seater 1971 Plymouth Barracuda Convertible with a 318 cu.in. (5.2-liter V8) engine.

The comprehensive conversion was performed by Time Machines from Hudson, Florida, which begun by acquiring the intact chassis and V10 engine from a wrecked 2001 Viper with 23,000-miles on the odo.

After stripping the Barracuda's body from the original chassis, they then fabricated a hybrid platform incorporating most parts of the Viper's chassis components including the fully independent suspension.

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Notorious: Five Ugly Formula 1 Cars and their Nicknames

January 26th was a day that the international media as well as countless racing enthusiasts had been waiting for since the 2011 Formula 1 season finished two months earlier.

Caterham launched its new challenger, the CT01, and by the evening everyone was talking about one of the car’s features in particular. Located on the CT01’s nose was what can best be described as an awkward-looking step and the press quickly began referring to the design as the “platypus nose.”

Over the course of the following weeks, almost every team on the 2012 Formula 1 grid launched their own version of the design and it became apparent that the “Platypus nose” was here to stay.

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A Chrysler Group 1967 Imperial Crown Coupe Looking for a New Home on eBay

Once upon a time, the Chrysler Corporation had a luxury marque amongst its ranks called Imperial, which was basically created to compete against GM's Cadillac and Ford's Lincoln brands.

To be more precise, what started out as Chrysler's top of the line model in 1926 was turned into a separate brand from 1955 to 1975, and again for a brief period from 1990 to 1993.

Some of you may also remember the Chrysler Group's more recent attempt to resurrect the Imperial nameplate with a luxury sedan concept at the 2006 North American Auto Show in Detroit.

While surfing around on eBay, a 1967 Imperial Crown Coupe caught our attention. This example was designed under the supervision of Elwood Engel, Chrysler Corporation's design chief from 1961 until 1974. Engel was also responsible for the styling of the iconic, fourth generation 1961 Lincoln Continental.

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Killing Machine: 1973 VW Beetle with a Subaru WRX STI 2.0-liter Turbo Engine

If you believe that even with its run-of-the-mill 44bhp 1.3-liter air-cooled engine, the 1970's Volkswagen Beetle is a tough car to handle on the road, then you can only imagine what it would be like to try and control a Bug fitted with the zappy 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer engine from a Subaru Impreza WRX STi…

To make matters worse, the German dealer who listed the converted Beetle STi on a Romanian car sales website called 'Webcar' doesn’t mention anything about suspension upgrades.

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Past Glory takes us on a Magical Automotive Trip at Amelia Island's Concours d'Elegance

Ferrari GTO, AC Cobra and Duesenberg are just some of the historic cars that made the trip to Amelia Island in Florida last month to participate in the 17th annual Concours d'Elegance. But for Justin Lapriore, who filmed this video, the event was mostly about the Gran Turismo Omologato.

"I spent the weekend of March 11th chasing Ferrari 250 GTOs around Amelia Island FL at the Concours d'Elegance. This is what came of it. It seems like a good fit for the website," Justin told us in an email.

We'll agree Justin and we'd like to believe that our readers will enjoy it as well. You can watch the short film in the video that follows right after the jump.

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One-Off Pininfarina Hyperion Found for Sale in Abu Dhabi Dealership

As impossible as it may seem for us mere mortals, even one-off special creations can quickly become mundane for extremely wealthy individuals.

Rolls-Royce collector Roland Hall from Britain, custom ordered the Hyperion from Pininfarina back in 2008 only to put the car up for sale a year later for €4.5 million (roughly US$6 million at today's exchange rates).

We're not aware if the car was actually sold at the time, but we re-discovered the Rolls Royce Hyperion listed for sale for an undisclosed price at an Abu Dhabi dealership.

Named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology, the convertible model was designed by Jason Castriota of former Saab fame and built by the Special Projects division of Pininfarina.

It is based on the running gear of the Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe with power coming from the British model's 6.75-liter V12 engine.

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Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, the Father of the 911, Passes Away at Age 76

The man who is credited with the design of the most famous Porsche models of all, the original 911, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, died Thursday in Salzburg, Austria at age 76, of unknown causes, Porsche announced today.

Porsche CEO Matthias Müller issued this statement: “We mourn the death of our partner, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. As the creator of the Porsche 911, he established a design culture in our company that has shaped our sports cars to this very day. His philosophy of good design is a legacy to us that we will honour for all time.”

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20 Years of the Viper in Less than 8 Minutes

It’s hard to believe, but it's been 20 years since the Chrysler Group rolled out the first Dodge Viper sports car back in 1992.

Two generations later, we're waiting for the Detroit automaker to turn the next page in the model's history with the presentation of the all-new 2013 Viper that will be rebranded as an SRT model, at the New York Auto Show later today.

To remind us of how the Viper came to be and how it has evolved over the years, the Chrysler Group has released a new video, which you can watch right after the break.

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Chevrolet Pays Tribute to Impala's Signature Leaping African Antelope Emblem

In a little over 24-hours from now, the New York Auto Show will host the world debut of the new generation Chevrolet Impala that goes on sale in North America early next year as a 2014 model.

As a brand new model that has been developed from the ground up, there's a lot to discuss about the new Impala, but for the time being, GM wants to focus our attention on the full-size sedan's new leaping African antelope emblem, for which it was named after.

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Chris Harris Drives 2013 Mercedes SL and its Forebears

Mercedes-Benz is proud about its sixth-generation SL, and it has every reason to be, as it has created a technological tour-de-force in the premium roadster segment.

It hasn’t taken its time in rolling out hotter versions, either: if you thought the SL63AMG with 530hp or 557hp if you opt for the performance package, would suffice, you should reconsider.

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Dutch Design Studio Converts Classic Jaguar XJ into a…Hanging Bookshelf!

We're all for classic cars with character being preserved and used on the road, but we’re going to admit that there's something cool about the idea of having a real life vehicle as a decorative piece in your house.

This is exactly what Dutch design studio Denieuwegeneratie did for one of its clients for a project called "Dutch Mountain".

The designers incorporated a classic Jaguar XJ (Series III, judging from the absence of the triangular windows on the front doors) into a room, by converting it into a…bookshelf and hanging it on the wall!

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Six Decades of Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster in Less Than Five Minutes

Only time will tell if the latest generation of the Mercedes-Benz SL will be looked back in the future in the same positive way as some of its predecessors do today such as the original W198 or even the Bruno Sacco-designed R129 from the 1990s.

Nevertheless, Mercedes-Benz is always looking for ways to connect its present with its past and for the SL, it does so with a new video that travels us through six decades, from the presentation of the first model in the 1950s to the current iteration, with a little bit of Hollywood glamour.

Head over the break to watch the five-minute long clip.

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Extinct Species: Remembering Five Former Italian Car Makers

Two weeks ago, while wandering around the brand new Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena, I came across a particular brand of automobile that is a rarity to find. Located in the lower half of the Jan Kaplický designed building’s modern showroom was a 1961 Stanguellini Junior.

As I studied the contours of its red bodywork, I couldn’t help but think about all of the once great Italian names that have faded into a distant memory.

In the spirit of the Enzo Ferrari Museum, which aims to educate visitors about Modena’s rich racing heritage, I decided to take a moment to write about some of the many Italian automobile brands that are now a part of the past.

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Brabus Selling 6.5 Sports Sedan Based on the W124 Mercedes-Benz E500 with Just 252km on the Odo

The W124 is if not the best, one of the best mid-size models ever to be produced by Mercedes-Benz. It's subtle yet timeless styling remains fresh today, almost 30 years after its presentation back in 1985, and let's not forget that this Mercedes became famous for being built like a tank.

There was even a performance version named 500 E from 1990 to 1993 and E500 from 1994 to 1995, which was developed in close cooperation with Porsche. In fact, Porsche actually hand built the cars at its Rossle-Bau plant in Zuffenhausen, Germany.

The E500 was powered by a specially tuned 5.0-liter V8 engine rated at 322hp (326PS) at 5,700 rpm and 480Nm (354 lb-ft) at 3,900 rpm, allowing for a zero to 100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 260km/h (162mph).

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Ayrton Senna's First F1 Racecar from 1984 Hits the Auction Block

We're no strangers to Ayrton Senna related items here on Carscoop but there's memorabilia and memorabilia, and this particular sale is one truly unique piece of motorsport history that you don’t often get the chance to see, let alone buy.

This is the Toleman TG184-2 Formula One car driven by Ayrton Senna in his debut F1 season in 1984 before moving to Lotus-Renault the following year, and it's up for grabs at The Spring Sale to be hosted by Silverstone Auctions in Britain on May 16.

It’s the same car with which Senna’s took second place driving in the rain-soaked 1984 Monaco GP, as well as 3rd in the British and 7th in the Canadian Grand Prix’s.

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Three of a Kind: BMW Classic Returns with a New Short Film About the 3-Series

Bimmer Stories is back with a new short film entitled “Three of a kind” that celebrates its world premiere at this week's Techno Classica 2012 show in Essen, Germany.

The film adopts a similar style to last year's “A perfect match”, which followed the story of a man and his search for an appropriate replacement for his scruffy BMW 1602.

This time, however, the film revolves around the first three generations of the BMW 3-Series. The two-door E21 is owned by Zach Galifianakis lookalike dressed in 1970s gaucherie, while the E30 convertible is driven by a stereotypical yuppie holding an oversized mobile phone and the E36 coupe by a cool and relaxed female driver.

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Sweden's Coolest Volvo, a 788-horsepower 1969 Amazon Kombi is up for Sale

Our regular readers will no doubt remember the highly customized 1969 Volvo Amazon Kombi that made a splash at the 2006 SEMA show in Las Vegas while it surprised us even further when it embarrassed a few Ferraris.

The car is the creation of Mattias Vöcks, an enlightened petrol head from Sweden who also happens to work for Koenigsegg.

The stylish Amazon Kombi started its life as a regular model but Vöcks swiftly turned it into a beast or as he calls it, "Sweden's Coolest Volvo".

It is powered by a heavily modified 2.8-liter turbocharged inline-six sourced from Volvo. Back in 2006, it produced 592hp (600PS), but further development from Vöcks pushed output to 788hp (799PS) and peak torque to 980Nm (723 lb-ft) when running on E85.

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