Exotic Cars
Researched by Billy H. 2003-04	RESEARCH REPORT  MY INTERVIEW  BIBLIOGRAPHY  ABOUT THE AUTHOR  DEDICATION  WHY I CHOSE THIS TOPIC  SELF-EVALUATION  THANK YOU

Ford Shelby GT 500’s are possibly the best classical mustangs ever produced. But before them there was the 500 KR. This mustang had either a 280 or a 200 cubic inch 4.6 liter V8. Ford started working with Carol Shelby (a great American race car driver) to produce the Shelby GT 350. The Shelby GT 350 had a 700-horse power V8; this made it fast enough to beat almost any car in a race. The interior had wider seatbelts for owners who liked to take their cars to the racetrack. There were extra gauges to tell the driver how the car was functioning. The GT 500 sold the most cars for practical transportation. There were also more consumers than cars. In the 1960’s their prices ranged from $4000 to $7000.

  Furruccio Lamborghini was born April 28, 1916 in Renezza di Cento, Italy. Lamborghini’s are rare and spectacular cars. Lamborghini’s family was peasant farmers. When Furruccio was a teenager he showed his dislike of farming so his parents enrolled him in an industrial college near Bologna. He graduated before World War II started in Europe. During the war Lamborghini was in a mechanical detachment of the Italian Air Force. He worked on cars, motorcycles, airplanes, and tractors. After World War II ended he went back to his farm were he took parts from old war vehicles and built home made tractors. Soon Furruccio opened Lamborghini Tractor Company. In the mid 1950’s Lamborghini Tractor Company was one of the top farm equipment manufacturers of Italy. 

He didn’t only want to make tractors; he also wanted to make automobiles. But not just any automobiles, automobiles better than any ever produced. In 1963, Lamborghini bought some land in St. Agata, a village in between Bologna and Modena. In St.Agata he built an ultramodern factory and loaded it with the best machinery. Then he hired Giotti Bizzarrini, a car designer, to design engines. Now Lamborghini was ready to build the ultimate automobile.

His first car was the 350 GT with a V12 engine and a top speed of 150 mph. Next he built the 120 350 GT. After that the 400 GT followed. This car was like the 350 GT but it had a bigger engine there were only 23 built before the 400 GT 2+2 came. Lamborghini built 250 of these. The Miura was produced next. The Miura was low and had a top speed of 170 mph (the fastest of its time); they sold 764 Miura’s. Lamborghini became the leader of exotic sports cars. Lamborghini made a better more powerful car, the Espada. The Espada had a capacity of four passengers and had a V12 engine that powered this car to 155 mph (the fastest four seat car of its time). Lamborghini produced 1120 Espada’s. The Islero was the next Lamborghini car. It had covered headlights, a V12 engine, had a top speed of 160 mph and it went from 0-60 mph in 6.2 seconds.

Lamborghini grew tired of his workers being on strike, financial problems, and his cars had a hard time passing American safety and emission control laws that restricted the amount of exhaust. So he sold 51% of his company to George-Henry Rosetti and lost control of the designs. That year they introduced the Urraco. The Urraco had a V8 engine but the back seat couldn’t hold passengers so they discontinued it after 780 were built. In 1974 he sold the rest of his company to Rene Leimer. Lamborghini was now out of the car business. So he went back to his farm in Panicarola.

In 1978 Lamborghini Car Company was bankrupt. The Swiss businessmen sold the company to the Mimran family. They introduced the Jalpa, it had a V8 engine. It was discontinued in 1988, 410 were produced. When the company seemed destined to fail the Countach saved it. The Countach was introduced in 1971. It had aerodynamics and a V12 engine. The neatest thing about the Countach was its scissor swing doors. This means that they swing upward. Another notable feature was its popup headlights. The Countach had one problem, when the driver was backing up he or she had to open the door and sit on the doorsill. Lamborghini made five different Countach models during the 18 years the Countach was produced. It was the most acclaimed sports car at that time. Lamborghini didn’t know it’s true value until the 1980’s. In 1982 the company made the Countach LP500. The LP500 could go 185 mph, 320 were made. They then replaced it with the Countach Quattrovalvo in 1985.

Lamborghini finally came out of the slump they were in. the future looked much better for Lamborghini. Lamborghini’s bounce back caught the attention of the Chrysler Corporation of America. In 1988 Chrysler bought Lamborghini. They built the last Countach; they called it the 25th anniversary.  The 25th can go 184 mph and accelerates from 0-60 in 5 seconds. 650 25th anniversaries were built. In all 1,972 Countachs were built. No one thought that lamborghini could build a better car. That’s exactly what they did with the Diablo. The Diablo looks like the Countach only sleeker. With a V12 engine the Diablo went 202 mph.

 It could go from 0-60 in 4 seconds. That made it the fastest road car. The Diablo had all wheel drive, the doors were scissor swing and the dip in the doors offered great visibility Furruccio Lamborghini died on February 20, 1993.

 Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena, Italy February 18, 1898. He was interested in racing. He was there when Vincenzo Lancia set the record for the fastest lap. Ferrari dreamed of when he could race. In 1914 World War I started, so Ferrari was drafted into the Italian Army. In the war his father was killed in action.

After the war Ferrari got a job with Alfa Romeo (a car maker in Turin Italy) as a carmaker, test driver and racer. His first race, the Parma-Bercento was in 1919. He finished fourth. In 1920 he raced in the Targa Florio, he got first place in his category and became the one of the most respected racecar drivers in Italy. To reward him the company let him form team Ferrari, he moved his shop into a large building in the outskirts of Modena. Ferrari had a young family-his wife, Laura and his son, Dino.

Ferrari immediately began making cars for Alfa Romeo. His first cars were the 6C 1750 P2, the Tipo B P3 and the 6C 2300. In 1932 Ferrari had dominated the grand prix racing. Other companies were catching up. In 1938 Alpha Romeo made Ferrari the manager. In 1939 Ferrari decided to leave the company. He went back to Modena and started his company with 40 employees.

Just when Ferrari’s company became great, World War II began. Construction of cars stopped. Ferrari’s factory was bombed twice because he was building vehicles for the Italian Army. He was first bombed on November 4, 1944 and again in February 1945. There was great destruction. While his business grew he worked on racecar designs. Ferrari built his first car in 1946. It was the Tipo 125. The Tipo 125 had a V12 engine. On May 11, 1946 Ferrari entered a race at Piacenza. With two laps to go he was winning then the fuel pump stopped and took the 125 out of the race. In 1948 Enzo made a made a Tipo 166. This had a V12 engine and a top speed of 120 mph. The 166 won the Mille Miglia (1000 mile) race. This was Italy’s most famous race. It also won the Paris 12-hour race. In 1949 the 166 won it’s first Formula race, the Grand Prix of Rosario. It also won Europe’s most famous race, Le Mans 24-hour competition. He became very popular.

Orders for Ferrari’s came from the United States. The problem was that Ferrari’s were still built by hand. Ferrari expanded his production by expanding his factory and separated road cars from racecars. His work force was specialized, trained well and had top quality tools. Ferrari didn’t have the machinery or the money so he bought parts from other suppliers. In 1949 Ferrari built 21 cars. In 1953 Ferrari built 57 cars. By 1956 a total of 389 cars were produced by Ferrari.

Who I Interviewed And What I Learned For my SOAR project I interviewed David Duncan, the sales manager at Park Place Ltd. (an exotic car dealership) in Bellevue Washington. When I got to Park Place Ltd. I looked around and saw some very rare, fast, expensive and luxurious cars. I went to the main desk and the receptionist paged Mr. Duncan. He met me and then he took me into his office where I interviewed him.    The first question I asked was if he owns any exotic cars but his reply was no. He told me that he has been involved in exotic cars for twenty-one years: twenty elsewhere and one year at Park Place Ltd. When I asked what made him interested in exotic cars he told me that they are something different than the typical BMW’s, Mercedes Benz, and Porsche. He feels that these cars he works with are a lot more exciting to be around because you never know what you’re going to see.  He didn’t need special training for his career. Just out of high school he started in the car industry and grew up in it. Now he is at one of the top exotic car dealers in Washington. What keeps him interested in exotic cars was that not everyone has them and that makes them a lot of fun.  When I asked him about the history of exotic cars he responded, “you don’t have enough time for it”. “There are so many different parameters to that, there’s just no way to do that”. He told me that Dr. Porsche designed the whole line of Porsches and Enzo Ferrari created Ferrari, of course.  “These guys were very influential on exotic cars”.  What has changed the most about exotic cars in recent years are the prices. Important organizations for exotic cars are new car dealers, retailers and used car dealers. Now one of the most important is Ebay. A major problem facing exotic cars is pricing. People aren’t spending their money where as years ago they were more likely to buy an exotic car.  Mr. Duncan predicts that exotic cars are going to get more and more exciting but prices will go up. The technology is really going up like in the new Ferrari Enzo. Lotus Elise’s in 2005 they already have ninety-four orders and people haven’t even seen them. His favorite cars are the Ferrari 355 or the BMW 744 M5. He told me they sold a Ferrari 550 Barchetta two weeks ago for $251,000.   Mr. David Duncan was a great choice for my interview because he taught me new things about exotic cars, and he has 21 years of experience.

Bibliography Andrea, J. David/Flynn S. Michael, “ History of the Automobile”, World Book, 1999  Italia, Robert, Great Auto Makers and Their Cars, Oliver Press Inc. 1993, 143-152 Duncan, David. Personal interview. January 17, 2004 Stevens, Gareth. Mustangs. Milwaukee: Gareth Stevens published, 1998. 8-18 Winfield, Barry “Sports Car” World Book 2003

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