Did you know?: Ferrari vs Lamborghini Rivalry Origin

Many people know Ferraris and Lamborghinis are both exotic cars, but what many don’t know is the extent of the rivalry between the two automakers. Did you know that the Ferrari vs. Lamborghini rivalry started over tractor parts? 

Post World War II, Ferruccio Lamborghini began building tractors that were engineered by him, with exception of the engine.  At the time, Lamborghini ironically owned two Ferraris, but the clutches kept getting burnt out while in use, due to his showboating, and resulted in frequent visits to the Ferrari factory to replace them. After a few clutch replacements, Ferruccio decided to replace the clutch himself. During the tear down of the Ferrari, it was brought to Lamborghini’s attention by one of his mechanics that the clutches that were fitted to his own small tractors were the same ones that were used on Ferrari’s cars, and that they were 100x more expensive to replace. 

Furious with this, Lamborghini attempted to insult Enzo Ferrari by stating that his beautiful cars were made with Lamborghini’s tractor parts. Enzo fired back saying that he was a tractor driving farmer, and not to worry about his cars because they are the best in the world, and that he couldn’t drive. With quick rebuttal, Ferruccio stated that he could make a sports car by himself, one that would outperform any Ferrari ever produced. 

This comparison between Lamborghini’s tractors and Enzo Ferrari’s sports cars set in motion the rivalry for the definitive Italian sports cars, one that has stretched almost six decades of epic competition. Who do you think had the better argument? Was Enzo right in that Ferruccio didn’t have the right to criticize him, or was there something more to Lamborghini’s argument that fueled the fire?