40 Years of Little Lamborghinis
By Doug Breithaupt

As Ferruccio Lamborghini told the story, Enzo Ferrari refused to listen to the complaints of a tractor-maker who was un-happy with his new Ferrari and offered some suggestions for improvements. El Commendatore is said to have remarked that Ferruccio Lamborghini should stick to tractors. While some close to Lamborghini doubt that this story actually happened, it makes for great automotive lore. Regardless, Lamborghini had another idea and in 1963 he offered his answer to Ferrari with a new sports car bearing the Lamborghini name. Forty years later Ferrari is still on top of the sports car mountain but Lamborghini is still around too. Now owned by Volkswagen, Lamborghini has just introduced two new models and with VW's deep pockets may be in the best position yet to challenge Ferrari.

Toy car makers first noticed Lamborghini with the arrival of the amazing Miura P400 of 1966. Matchbox did the first example and others followed. Since then, little Lamborghinis in small-scale have continued to arrive. The Countach alone has over a dozen different versions. The Murcilago is the latest to be offered in 1:64 scale. One-of-a-kind examples like Siku's Espada, Tomica's LM002 or Playart's Silhouette are especially fun to find. There are more Lamborghini models from Summer and other small companies that I am missing but here are 35 examples to enjoy. Happy 40th birthday Lamborghini!


Miura P 400 - Matchbox


Miura P 400 - Playart


Miura P 400 SV - Tomica


Miura P 400 - Hot Wheels


Miura P 400 - Road Champs


Miura P 400 SV - Yat Ming


Jota - Yat Ming

 
Marzal concept - Matchbox


Marzal concept - Playart


Marzal concept - Yat Ming


Espada - Siku


Silhouette - Playart


Countach LP 500 concept - Matchbox


Countach LP 400 - Tomica


Countach LP 400 - Welly


Countach LP 400- Playart


Countach LP 400 - Zylmex


Countach LP 400 S - Mini-Lindy


Countach LP 400 S - Majorette


Countach LP 400 S - Majorette


Countach LP 5000 S - Matchbox (Premier Edition)


Countach LP 5000 S - Maisto


Countach LP 5000 S - Hot Wheels


Countach 25th Annv. Ed. - Majorette (Deluxe Edition)


Countach 25th Annv. Ed. - Hot Wheels


Diablo - Majorette


Diablo VT - Matchbox (Premier Edition)


Diablo - Maisto


Diablo - Road Champs


Diablo - Hot Wheels


Diablo - Motor Max


LM002 - Tomica


Murcilago - AUTOart


Murcilago - Maisto


Murcilago - Hot Wheels


NOTE: It has been a challenge to identify specific model variations within the production models of the Miura, Countach and Diablo. Toy car makers often combine different elements from different years into one model. I have simply made my best guess based on the most visible styling changes. For example the original Countach LP 400 did not have extended fender flares. My reference for these decisions has been Lamborghini - Supercar Supreme by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, copyright 1994.

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