![Countach Prototype The Lamborghini LP500, first prototype of the Countach sports car, designed by by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio, circa 1972.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160420-vintage-lamborghini-08.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
When Ferruccio Lamborghini was born 100 years ago—on April 28, 1916—it was into a life where sports cars, then a young concept, were out of reach. The son of a farmer, Lamborghini called on his family background after World War II to launch a business turning leftover military vehicle parts into affordable tractors.
Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter
The business proved a success, enabling Lamborghini to start other ventures in the decade that followed. By the early 1960s, he could afford the car of his dreams—all that was left was building it. By 1963, he had succeeded at that too. In the half-century that followed, Lamborghinis would become some of the most recognizable sports cars in the world.
As these early images show, that distinctive look didn’t take long to develop.
![Lamborghini 350GTV The launch of the new Lamborghini 350GTV with body by Franco Scaglione at the Lamborghini Factory, Sant'Agata, October 1963.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160420-vintage-lamborghini-01.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![P400 Miura Lamborghini Mechanics building up the prototype P400 Miura at the Lamborghini Factory in Sant'Agata, October 1965.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160420-vintage-lamborghini-02.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Lamborghini Factory Lamborghini 400GT 2+2, with four separate headlamps, is introduced to the Press alongside the prior 350GT model, which had followed the 350GTV. 1966.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160420-vintage-lamborghini-03.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Carrozzeria The special Lamborghini P538 sports car designed by Bizzarrini. 1966.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160420-vintage-lamborghini-04.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Lamborghini Miura A Lamborghini Miura P400 sports car, circa 1967. The car was designed by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio, and launched in 1966.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160420-vintage-lamborghini-05.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Lamborghini Marzal The Lamborghini Marzal, a one-off prototype concept car, designed by by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio, at a preview of the London Motor Show at Earl's Court, Oct. 17, 1967.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160420-vintage-lamborghini-06.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Lamborghini Lamborghini P250 Urraco 2+2 V8 sports car styled by Bertone and priced at £5500 in 1972.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160420-vintage-lamborghini-07.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Countach Prototype The Lamborghini LP500, first prototype of the Countach sports car, designed by by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio, circa 1972.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/160420-vintage-lamborghini-08.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
- How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
- What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Write to Lily Rothman at lily.rothman@time.com