The year: 1963. The man: Ferruccio Lamborghini.

With Lamborghini having first built tractors, Ferruccio Lamborghini found out that the broken clutch on his Ferrari was the same one used on his tractor. Having been let down by Ferrari, Ferruccio Lamborghini set off to build one of the most beautiful car companies of all time. My personal favorite supercar, Lamborghini, is turning 50 this year.

 “Lamborghini was born under the sign of the Bull, with a constant view to the future, a desire to achieve the impossible and to make innovative design and technology its signature.” -Lamborghini

Having grown up during the years when the Countach and Diablo were every boy’s dream car, Lamborghini has evolved tremendously over the last 25 years, let alone 50. They became visionaries when they released their LM002 sports utility vehicle and with their other supercars, they offered no compromises.

The first Lamborghini car, the 350GTV, debuted at the Turin Auto Show in 1963. It had 4 camshafts, which was more than any Ferrari had had at the time. It was a perfect launch. Following the 350GTV was the Miura, which was incredibly innovative with its’ high-powered engine and sleek lines — the Miura has been known as the “first supercar”. A few years later, in 1974, the Countach debuted and stayed in production for almost 20 years. Over the next 20 to 30 years, ownership of Lamborghini changed hands from Chrysler to V’Power and a few others in between when, in 1998, Audi finally took over Lamborghini. Over the years, the Diablo, Murcielago and Gallardo all have kept the bar high for the aspirations of all supercar manufacturers and few have come anywhere close to it. Despite Audi still owning Lamborghini today, the design quality, craftsmanship and imagination that go into each and every Lamborghini is very reminiscent to that of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s original vision in 1963.

Hat’s off to you, Lamborghini. Happy Birthday!

Photos and video from Lamborghini.