So your car collection includes a couple of Lamborghinis, but is it really complete until you add one of the original Lambos, and also one of the rarest of the breed?
The original would be a Lamborghini tractor, and the rarest would be a Lamborghini motorcycle. Examples of each will be offered up for bidding at H&H Classics’ auction at Britain’s National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, England. The Lamborghini motorcycle is scheduled to auction on March 4 and tractors on March 21.
Of course, everyone knows the story about how tractor-manufacturer Ferruccio Lamborghini bought a Ferrari, was disappointed with it and complained about it to Enzo Ferrari, who told him to try to do better. So that’s precisely what Lamborghini set out to do when he became a sports car manufacturer.
But the money for those sports cars came from the production of farming tractors, and two Ferruccio-era tractors are on the auction docket.
One is a 1961 Lamborghini 2R that H&H notes has been restored by Italian specialists Ermes and Nicola Formilan. The blue-and-red machine has a three-cylinder engine, power takeoff port and a pick up hitch. In “good running order,” it is estimated to sell for £20,000 to £25,000 ($27,800 to $34,750).
The other tractor is a 1956 Lamborghini DL30 restored by Colin Clarke Engineering and already displayed at the Goodwood Revival. It has a twin-cylinder 1,810cc engine and 4-speed manual gearbox with reverse gear. H&H reports the tractor is in “excellent” condition and in full running order. Its pre-sale estimated value is £15,000 to £20,000 ($20,850 to $27,800).
The motorcycle is a 1987 Lamborghini Design 90, No. 2 of only six produced for Lamborghini by Boxer of France. The bike has had only one owner since new and has been ridden only 7,200 kilometers. It’s pre-sale estimates is £85,000 to £90,000 ($118,000 to $125,000).
Ferruccio Lamborghini grew up on a farm and after World War II built a tractor for his father using junkyard components — a Morris engine, Ford transmission and General Motors rear axle. In 1948, he started Lamborghini Trattori, at first based on war-surplus trucks and military vehicle engines and differentials. In addition to tractors, he produced commercial heating and cooling systems. In 1963, he started building sports cars.
