In 1963 Ferruccio Lamborghini founded Automobili Lamborghini and built a new factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese. Construction of the facility proceeded rapidly. In October, when Lamborghini revealed its first car, the 350 GTV prototype, the main structure of the factory was already completed.
Today Automobili Lamborghini is a world-renowned company with over 2,000 employees that produces over 9,000 cars a year. Over the last 60 years, Lamborghini’s headquarters has undergone upgrades, extensions, and reconfigurations based on production, environmental and technological needs. But has never left its original core structure.
Gallery: Lamborghini's Sant’Agata Bolognese Factory Evolution
Production went from 67 Lamborghinis in 1965 to 425 in 1971, leveling off to about 450 cars annually. During this period, Lamborghini remained very involved in the company, overseeing cars like the stunning Miura, Espada four-passenger GT, and the development of the original Countach. By the 1980s, production reached 470 cars and 300 marine engines.
In 1974 Ferruccio Lamborghini sold the company, and it went through a succession of owners. The Chrysler Corporation acquired it in 1987, shepherding the Diablo before selling the company to a Malaysian consortium in 1994. Then in 1998, Volkswagen AG acquired it, leading to a period of modernization and growth. The company opened the Lamborghini Centro Stile five years later in time for its 40th anniversary, using it to showcase classic Lamborghini cars. Lamborghini employed 624 people by then, producing over 1,300 cars a year.
In 2008 the factory again expanded to include a modern finishing department and logistics center. Additional facilities followed those expansions to develop the Aventador's new carbon fiber body in-house, launching the Lamborghini Carbon Production center. By 2012, Lamborghini production topped 2,000 cars a year and would quadruple production by 2020.
A big part of the production increase is attributed to the Lamborghini Urus. Launched in 2018, it quickly became the company's most popular model. To accommodate the new model, the factor expanded again to 160,000 square meters, the equivalent of 1.7 million square feet, more than 13 times the size of the original factory in 1963.
In 1993 Ferruccio Lamborghini passed away, but he would still recognize the company he founded. Today the headquarters remains in the Sant'Agata Bolognese region, and the factory's original road frontage with the proud Lamborghini sign is still the most prominent part of the facility.
