I am on my way to Sant’Agata Bolognese, near Bologna in Italy. Passing quiet country roads and old houses, I finally reach the village of Sant’Agata Bolognese. The village and the surrounding area give me the impression that they have hardly benefited from Lamborghini’s worldwide success.

At the end of the village, I finally arrive at the Lamborghini factory. I am greeted by an employee who kindly informs me that I should park in the nearby industrial area. However, this turns out to be quite difficult, as many Lamborghini employees have already parked their cars there. After some searching, I eventually find a parking space about a 15-minute walk from the factory.

I am surprised that this remote industrial area is not better prepared for Lamborghini fans and visitors. I have registered for a factory tour and a visit to the Lamborghini Museum. Information about the visit and available dates can be found on the official website: lamborghini.com

The factory tour costs 80 euros and lasts about one hour. At the beginning, headphones are handed out, and then we are led into the factory in a small group. The tour guide first tells us the well-known story of how the successful tractor manufacturer Ferruccio Lamborghini was dissatisfied with the clutch of his Ferrari 250 GT, as it repeatedly caused problems. Enzo Ferrari is said to have told him that he should rather continue driving tractors, since not everyone was capable of handling a sports car. As a result, Ferruccio Lamborghini decided to build better and more reliable sports cars than Ferrari himself.

We enter the factory hall and suddenly find ourselves right in the middle of the Huracán production line. At 13 stations, 13 Lamborghinis are built here every day. A transport vehicle brings a chassis with an already painted body shell to the first station. There, body parts, windows, seats, dashboard, engine, wheels and all other components are assembled entirely by hand. Large screens with a countdown show how much time remains until the next station change. Every Lamborghini is built exclusively to order.

In a second production line, the Lamborghini Aventador is assembled. Here, there are only six stations, where work is carried out for 75 minutes at each one. Six cars are completed on this line every day. We arrive at exactly the right moment to witness the installation of the enormous 12-cylinder engine. Incidentally, only Lamborghini models with 12 cylinders have the famous scissor doors that open upwards. On the Huracán with its 10-cylinder engine, the doors open in the conventional way — which I personally find a little disappointing.

On both production lines, the engine is started after the final inspection. A test driver then drives the Lamborghini into a testing cabin, where engine performance and brakes are checked. After that, every vehicle is test-driven on the roads of Sant’Agata Bolognese.

In other areas of the factory, the seats, dashboards and interior panels are crafted and stitched from the finest leather. Customers can choose from numerous colours and equipment options.

Lamborghini is particularly proud that, with the exception of the paintwork, almost everything is manufactured on site by its own employees. It is equally impressive that the factory is still located at the very same site where the company was founded in 1963.