The Clutch Debate: Who Built It Better?

In post-World War II Italy, like in most of Europe, there was a lot of rebuilding to be done, and this created opportunities for ambitious, clever individuals to make their mark.

After the war, recently unemployed air force mechanic and bull-fighting enthusiast Ferruccio Lamborghini returned to his family’s grape farm and began repurposing old wartime materiel into tractors. In less than a decade Lamborghini Trattori (Lamborghini Tractors) was a huge success.

But, of course, there is a reason we associate the Lamborghini name with sleek, fast pieces of automotive art and not farm equipment. And it all started over a clutch.

In 1958 Lamborghini, now a very successful Italian businessman, bought the Mona Lisa of luxury sports cars, the Ferrari 250 GT designed by automotive genius Enzo Ferrari. There was only one problem, however. He kept breaking the clutch.

This led to several trips to the Ferrari factory for repairs and one of those fly-on-the-wall moments in which Lamborghini allegedly told Ferrari that his tractor clutches performed better. Ferrari, who was not exactly a shrinking violet, told the tractor-maker something along the lines of “go back to your farm.”

And thus a rivalry was born.

From the first 350 GT built in 1964 to the 2017 Centenario, the company founded by the son of grape growers has merged together performance, power, and luxury.

So what can 21st century Canadian manufacturers learn from a tractor-maker-turned-automotive-pioneer? In a word: innovate.

Lamborghini didn’t settle for a part that he thought he could make better. He also recognized opportunity when he saw it.

Today programs are available to specifically help manufacturers innovate. Just one example is the Automotive Supplier Innovation Program, which recently doled out $3 million to four Ontario automotive companies that are seeking to build entirely new automotive products, products that have never before seen the light of day. It’s innovation at its finest, and it’s happening here.

Another avenue for funding is the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF), a program that helps Canadian companies work with colleges to innovate processes and production. The CIIF targets projects that will enhance the ability of colleges to support businesses through innovation and encourage growth through the partnering of academia and industry.

I’m guessing that if old Lamborghini were around these days he’d still be trying to build things better … and he’d be asking the government for some financial help.