There’s an old story about a guy named Ferruccio Lamborghini getting into a, uh, heated discussion, shall we say. The discussion involved another guy named Enzo Ferrari. So, according to the tale, which is reportedly true, Mr. Lamborghini was a manufacturer of tractors (that’s right, farm equipment) who happened to like sports cars.
He liked them a lot. In fact, he owned not just one, but two Ferraris. Ferraris are luxury sports cars — super-expensive, super-fast, and super status symbols. In fact, the brand created the most expensive car ever sold ($70.2 million). Ferraris are designed to push the limits of possibility both on the road and the racetrack. But Mr. Lamborghini was kinda dissatisfied with their performance, especially when the clutch broke on one car. So he headed on over to Maranello, Italy, (he lived in Italy, too) to speak with the head of the company — Enzo Ferrari — himself. (It was 1962, and he just knocked on Ferrari’s door.)
Ferrari wasn’t so interested in hearing Lamborghini’s comments and complaints. Lamborghini even offered him some ideas about how to make the clutch better so it wouldn’t break. But Mr. Ferrari didn’t like the constructive criticism. In fact, Mr. Ferrari famously responded, “Let me make cars. You stick to making tractors.”
Well, Mr. Lamborghini drove home, absolutely fuming. He was an engineer! A famous and respected one! And he was already renowned for his tractor design! And Mr. Ferrari had totally rejected and insulted him! Well, guess what happened next?
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