Paolo Stanzani..a Lamborghini legend
Discussion
The thread on realising the dream reminded me of an interview I was lucky to do with Paolo Stanzani and Cristina at the factory about 3 years ago - one of the true great engineers who brought the Miura to life in the '60's as well as the Espada, Urracco and many others.
Cristina Guizzardi the current manager of the Lamborghini Museum translated - even though Stanzani speaks perfect English he prefers to speak Italian.
He was a difficult man to talk to, quite abrasive at first but the more we talked the more he remembered and then he was off..
They are well documented the stories he told that day but I'd wanted to pin down whether they were legend or fact.
Like the one about the Miura's press showing at the Turin (I think) motorshow in '62 or '63. Ferruccio Lamborghini was furious (Stanzani said) because the Miura wasnt done, wasnt finished but had to be on the plinth for the press by 8pm the night before.
The truth was there wasnt even an engine in it that day and to get it to balance properly on the stand Stanzani was sent with a couple of others to get enough ceramic wall tiles from a hardware store to load up the engine bay to get it to sit right on the stand. They managed to get it to look right of course but when the press were all over it the next day in big numbers they wanted to see the engine. So what happened I asked. 'Well' said Stanzani, 'Ferruccio stood near the car all day and when the press kept asking to lift the engine cover he said it was impossible because that idiot over there (nodding at a Lamborghini engineer also on the stand) has lost the key!' The press didnt find all this out for a year or more. By then the Miura had forward orders for 2 years..
The other interesting thing he let slip was during the late 60's early 70's Stanzani admitted he actually ran the whole company having been given the reins by Lamborghini himself who became dissillusioned with his other business interests and problems with the unions. No one knew at the time, but together with that other legend Bob Wallace they kept the whole show going on a tiny budget with Lamborghini only making contact very infrequently. Lovely fella old Stanzani.
Cristina Guizzardi the current manager of the Lamborghini Museum translated - even though Stanzani speaks perfect English he prefers to speak Italian.
He was a difficult man to talk to, quite abrasive at first but the more we talked the more he remembered and then he was off..
They are well documented the stories he told that day but I'd wanted to pin down whether they were legend or fact.
Like the one about the Miura's press showing at the Turin (I think) motorshow in '62 or '63. Ferruccio Lamborghini was furious (Stanzani said) because the Miura wasnt done, wasnt finished but had to be on the plinth for the press by 8pm the night before.
The truth was there wasnt even an engine in it that day and to get it to balance properly on the stand Stanzani was sent with a couple of others to get enough ceramic wall tiles from a hardware store to load up the engine bay to get it to sit right on the stand. They managed to get it to look right of course but when the press were all over it the next day in big numbers they wanted to see the engine. So what happened I asked. 'Well' said Stanzani, 'Ferruccio stood near the car all day and when the press kept asking to lift the engine cover he said it was impossible because that idiot over there (nodding at a Lamborghini engineer also on the stand) has lost the key!' The press didnt find all this out for a year or more. By then the Miura had forward orders for 2 years..
The other interesting thing he let slip was during the late 60's early 70's Stanzani admitted he actually ran the whole company having been given the reins by Lamborghini himself who became dissillusioned with his other business interests and problems with the unions. No one knew at the time, but together with that other legend Bob Wallace they kept the whole show going on a tiny budget with Lamborghini only making contact very infrequently. Lovely fella old Stanzani.
Fantastic story.
I remember meeting him when I was about 12 years old, as a family we drove to Lake Garda in my old mans Uracco, my parents weren't even interested in going to Sant' Agata if it wasn't for me mithering about seeing a Countach.
I remember us going down the autostrada and the Uracco overheating as we came off at Modena, a few miles and it was OK, arriving at the factory was awesome, it was so basic then, I remember Stanzani coming outside in the courtyard and meeting us, his first words were 'sei pazza' which basically means 'you're mad!'
Balboni has had a car named after him, I think Stanzani and Bob Wallace should also be recognised too.
And, yes I did see a Countach!
I remember meeting him when I was about 12 years old, as a family we drove to Lake Garda in my old mans Uracco, my parents weren't even interested in going to Sant' Agata if it wasn't for me mithering about seeing a Countach.
I remember us going down the autostrada and the Uracco overheating as we came off at Modena, a few miles and it was OK, arriving at the factory was awesome, it was so basic then, I remember Stanzani coming outside in the courtyard and meeting us, his first words were 'sei pazza' which basically means 'you're mad!'
Balboni has had a car named after him, I think Stanzani and Bob Wallace should also be recognised too.
And, yes I did see a Countach!
I think Stanzani was probably having a "senior moment" if he thought the car was a Miura. In actual fact the car you mention was the 350 GTV, the first car made and shown in '63.
The Miura was first shown in '65, but in chassis form only. It had a horizontal radiator across the front of the chassis, the transverse engine had a triple plate clutch, gear driven alternator and engine rotation was anti-clockwise. When the bodied version appeared in Geneva in '66 the production engines rotation had been changed to clockwise, the clutch assembly was as per a mini, on the end of the crank and the alternator was driven by a cogged belt on the opposite side of the engine.
(As an aside, the sump on a Miura only contains oil and baffles! The gearbox casing is part of the crankcase and is an integral part of the casting. 95% of scribes writing in the press say "the gearbox is in the sump", a la Mini, not so, it's only the oil that feeds the engine and g'box together as per the mini.)
The Miura was first shown in '65, but in chassis form only. It had a horizontal radiator across the front of the chassis, the transverse engine had a triple plate clutch, gear driven alternator and engine rotation was anti-clockwise. When the bodied version appeared in Geneva in '66 the production engines rotation had been changed to clockwise, the clutch assembly was as per a mini, on the end of the crank and the alternator was driven by a cogged belt on the opposite side of the engine.
(As an aside, the sump on a Miura only contains oil and baffles! The gearbox casing is part of the crankcase and is an integral part of the casting. 95% of scribes writing in the press say "the gearbox is in the sump", a la Mini, not so, it's only the oil that feeds the engine and g'box together as per the mini.)
5Valve said:
I think Stanzani was probably having a "senior moment" if he thought the car was a Miura. In actual fact the car you mention was the 350 GTV, the first car made and shown in '63.
The Miura was first shown in '65, but in chassis form only. It had a horizontal radiator across the front of the chassis, the transverse engine had a triple plate clutch, gear driven alternator and engine rotation was anti-clockwise. When the bodied version appeared in Geneva in '66 the production engines rotation had been changed to clockwise, the clutch assembly was as per a mini, on the end of the crank and the alternator was driven by a cogged belt on the opposite side of the engine.
(As an aside, the sump on a Miura only contains oil and baffles! The gearbox casing is part of the crankcase and is an integral part of the casting. 95% of scribes writing in the press say "the gearbox is in the sump", a la Mini, not so, it's only the oil that feeds the engine and g'box together as per the mini.)
Interesting that, I've listened back to the tape and he does refer to the Miura and the weight issue although he mentions the 350 frequently in the same part. Maybe I misunderstood the translation.The Miura was first shown in '65, but in chassis form only. It had a horizontal radiator across the front of the chassis, the transverse engine had a triple plate clutch, gear driven alternator and engine rotation was anti-clockwise. When the bodied version appeared in Geneva in '66 the production engines rotation had been changed to clockwise, the clutch assembly was as per a mini, on the end of the crank and the alternator was driven by a cogged belt on the opposite side of the engine.
(As an aside, the sump on a Miura only contains oil and baffles! The gearbox casing is part of the crankcase and is an integral part of the casting. 95% of scribes writing in the press say "the gearbox is in the sump", a la Mini, not so, it's only the oil that feeds the engine and g'box together as per the mini.)
He also says a few minutes later that the transverse engine idea for the Miura most definetly came from the Mini and Lamborghini had one at the factory for a time stripped down for examination. I cant remember him saying that first time round but its on the tape
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