40 Years of Little
Lamborghinis |
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.
HOME>>
|