- Italian super cars are a staple of the car world.
Enthusiasts know them by name and by engine note.
(engine roaring)
Even non-car people know them.
I'm sure your mom, like mine,
has seen a supercar and they say
"Oh, is that a Lamborghini or a Ferrari son?"
No mom, that's a Porsche GT3 RS, it's actually--
(beep)
The point is everyone knows
these two Italian automakers and for good reason.
They've both been around for generations,
making cars that are fast, elegant,
and make great bedroom wall posters.
But how do these two industry titans actually compare?
(electronic beat jingle)
Ferrari and Lamborghini are both so iconic
and have such a long history of being rivals.
Before Ferruccio Lamborghini started making sports cars,
he was making tractors.
It's only because of a disagreement
between him and Enzo Ferrari
that we even have Lamborghinis today.
In the 70s, they battled with the Miura
and the Daytona; in the late 80s and early 90s
it was the Countach and Testarossa.
After combing the internet to gather
as much knowledge as I could,
I've broken down this rivalry down
into five different categories.
We are going to look at their motorsport prowess,
the tech that goes into these cars,
the exclusivity of each brand,
their impact on road cars,
and the culture around these brands
and the cars themselves.
With 50 years of pedigree to look at,
let's get into round one.
Ferrari is inseparable from motorsport.
They've been racing for 90 years.
That's longer than they've been making road cars!
Enzo Ferrari sold production cars
just so Scuderia Ferrari could afford to go racing.
Unlike Enzo, Ferruccio Lamborghini wanted nothing
to do with racing and said it was a drain
on company resources.
Despite that, Lamborghini did eventually have
some direct input into F1.
They supplied V12 engines to five teams in the early 90s
and out of the 80 races they were involved in,
they ended up with one podium finish.
Hey, that's pretty good for most teams
that get involved in motorsport.
I wonder if Ferrari has a much better record?
Yes!
(engine screaming)
In F1 alone, they have entered nearly a 1,000 races,
won about a quarter of those races,
and podiumed over 700 times.
To some, they are known simply as the Red Team.
To others, they are the 16 time world champions,
and to a few more, they're known as cheaters
who use their money and power to influence the FIA,
but that's a story for another video.
F1 is not the only place that Ferrari
has made an impact.
They are nine time winners of the 24 hours of Le Mans,
eight time winners of the Mille Miglia,
seven time winners of the Targa Florio,
all before the 70s.
But some say Ferrari's winning days might be over.
They haven't won the F1 championship since 2008,
Sebring or Daytona since 1998,
and Le Mans since 1965.
Lamborghini is certainly late to the game,
but in recent years, their motorsports division
has actually made big improvement.
In 2009, they started Super Trofeo,
a single-make series that later spawned their GT3 cars.
GT3 racing is where teams can simply buy
a GT-spec car from a factory
(coughing) for half a million dollars,
and jump into any GT3-eligible series
with an FIA-approved driver.
This is where you can see Ferrari and Lamborghini
on track side by side without big factory support.
It may not be as glamorous or renowned as other series,
but Lamborghini became a big fish in a small pond.
Lamborghini customers won
the Blancpain Endurance Championships in 2017 and 2019,
including winning the last two 12 hours
of Sebring and the last three 24 hours of Daytona.
Lamborghini's footprint in GT3 is definitely growing.
In 2017, there were twice
as many Lamborghini customer entries
in the Blancpain GT and the Open GT
as there were from Ferrari.
While this is a good sign
for Lamborghini motorsport in the future,
Lamborghini still has no plans
to enter a works team into any racing series.
I got a chance to speak to one
of the Lamborghini representatives,
and they said they don't wanna compete
against their customers.
They wanna support their customers
and I think that's kinda cool.
Ferrari is one of the most dominant
and pervasive names in all of motorsport.
They have been the team to beat
for most of their racing career.
Even if they aren't doing too hot currently,
they're still the most recognized racing name
in the world.
Lamborghini has made it to the track,
but only in recent years have they started
to really progress,
and even then that's with customer cars.
In my book, I'm still a fan of Ferrari
when it comes to the track,
but there is a lot more that we have to look at.
Before we move on, a big thanks to you guys
for making this show possible.
You guys literally shaped this show with your input.
We're literally here every day,
we're not going away, we're gonna keep on
making videos for you until we work ourselves to death.
Round two: technology.
Lamborghini engines might be straightforward
NA V10s and V12s, but they really embrace
the all-wheel drive approach to supercars.
Ever since the LM002,
Lamborghini has been using all-wheel drive
to give their cars great grip in the corners
and great traction off the line.
You combine that with the naturally aspirated
responsive engines and a $300,000 Huracan Performante
can out-accelerate any Ferrari to 60.
It is the fastest car to 60 ever,
no, that's the Porsche 918.
It's the fastest non-hybrid,
no, no, no, that's the Dodge Demon.
It's the fastest naturally aspirated, no, no.
No, that's the Ariel Atom.
It goes from zero to 60 faster
than any other naturally aspirated non-hybrid
with doors.
(engine roaring)
Yeah.
(chuckling)
But that's not to say that Ferrari
don't work on their engines.
In fact, they work on them so much
that the Ferrari 458 still produces more torque per liter
than any other naturally aspirated engine in the world.
And on top of that, the Ferrari 812 Superfast
lives up to its name by producing more horsepower
than any other V12.
Ferrari also started chasing hybrid power
with the LaFerrari.
It also uses the kinetic energy recovery system
originally developed for F1 to charge the hybrid batteries
using excess heat from braking.
And although Lamborghini are known
for their brute force ICE engines,
(screaming)
they announced the hybrid powered Sian
which will have more horse power
than any other Lamborghini.
Over 800!
You know how many of those buff ponies
are coming from electric power?
34.
I feel like that's the most Lamborghini approach
to hybrid power.
Both these companies make some strong supercars
and they've laid the groundwork for dozens
of other supercar companies that now fill the market.
Today, both Ferrari and Lamborghini
are using their technical prowess
and manufacturing abilities in the best way possible.
They're helping fight COVID-19 in Italy
and around the world.
Lamborghini factories are sewing up masks,
making face shields and Ferrari are using
their rapid prototyping to make respirator valves.
Rivalry aside for a second,
this is such a cool thing and it makes me love
these two companies even more.
Round three: exclusivity.
Almost anyone who buys a car from Ferrari or Lamborghini
wants to know that what they have is rare.
The exclusivity is a status symbol
and can come from cost or limited availability.
If you want a Ferrari badge for cheap,
you might be able to find a Ferrari Mondial.
It can be found in the US for under $40,000.
It's a mid engined four-seater
and if you get one now,
probably none of the electrics will work.
But, you will technically own a Ferrari.
There are Lamborghinis that are equally obscure
and unlikely to work, but models like the Jamara
and Espada are actually more valuable
just for being rare and obscure.
Sales and auctions of these Lamborghinis
are almost double the cost of a Mondial,
and at that point you're approaching
used Gallardo territory.
For the average model, I mean,
average as far as supercars go anyway,
both companies have similar production runs.
The 458 had a production run of about 15,000
and the Gallardo was about 14,000.
But historically, Lamborghini has less models
being produced at once than Ferrari.
Currently, they produce the Huracan,
the Adventador and the Urus
with a few special editions and concepts
that eventually leave the factory.
Ferrari, on the other hand,
currently produce the Portofino,
the GTC4 Lusso, the Roma, the 488, the F8 Tributo,
the SF90 Stradale and the 812.
Across all models, Ferrari produced twice as many cars
as Lamborghini in 2017.
So far, the Lamborghini seems
to be the more exclusive machine,
but what about the big spenders?
Just how rare and exclusive can one of these cars get?
If you want the most expensive and exclusive thing
that Ferrari has in their stable right now,
you'll be signing the paperwork for a Ferrari FXXK Evo.
After spending $2.6 million,
you won't even get to leave with the car.
The FXXK is a track-only version of the LaFerrari
and with only a 100 in existence,
this is one of the most exclusive clubs in the world.
Ferrari fly these cars to tracks all around the world
so owners can drive them.
I was at one of these Corse Clienti events, Laguna Seca,
and it is another world entirely.
There are Italian chefs and masseurs
and even a few F1 cars hitting the track.
And all of this is part of owning an FXXK.
(light classical music)
But let's say that one day you
and your FXXK-owning millionaire buddy
are off to sell your Ferraris
and get the most expensive Lamborghinis you can,
you'd be walking out of the factory
with one Lamborghini Veneno.
Unlike the FXXK whose original run of 40
has now expanded to 100,
the Veneno was limited to three.
Not 300,
(in booming voice) three.
On top of that, Lamborghini is also known
for some very limited run experiments,
like the 20 Reventons, the 20 Sesto Elemento
and the one Egoista.
But these cars, like fine wine,
get more expensive with age.
On the classic car side of things,
Ferrari really have the value.
Even though Lamborghinis have sold in auction
for up to $10 million, many classic Ferraris
from the 50s and 60s can double that;
wit the most expensive being one
of the 39 remaining 250 GTOs.
When the GTO hits the auction block,
it can sell or $50 million!
The 250 GTO is literally
the most expensive car in the world.
It is rare as hell and does the make the 250 GTO exclusive?
Yes!
But we are trying to look at the whole brand here
and on average, it seems like Ferrari can be
the cheaper option if you just want the bragging rights.
Although, a Gallardo sounds
like it's totally worth $80,000.
Round four: industry impact.
Lamborghini and Ferrari had been making cars
for a little while before the mid-60s,
but it wasn't until then that the term supercar
was in rotation, and it all started
with the Lamborghini Miura.
It was a rival to all Ferraris, even the track-spec ones.
It used a sideways V12 to push itself
to the then world record top speed of a 171 miles per hour.
But then, the very next year,
Ferrari took their GTB for Daytona to a 174 miles per hour.
This was a very know-your-place kinda move.
But Lamborghini did not take that lying down.
The Miura was reaching its stride and the Miura S
reached a 179.3 miles per hours in 1969.
Lamborghini held that record all throughout the 70s
and it wasn't challenged until 1982
when the Lamborghini was dethroned by another Lamborghini!
The Lamborghini Countach was the first-ever production car
to top a 180 miles per hour and boy,
did it look damn good doing that.
Can we just take a moment to gawk
at the Lamborghini Countach together?
♪ We only need the two of us together ♪
♪ Two of us together ♪
In 1987, Ferrari released the equally gorgeous F40
which reached 199 miles per hour,
but crucially, never actually held the world record
because by then, the Ruf CTR had smashed
the 200 mile per hour barrier.
But these makers have not only fought
for top speed records, they've also innovated
and changed the market with their innovations.
Ferrari was the first to use paddle shifters
in a production car.
The 355 F1 Berlinetta took its inspiration directly
form Ferrari F1 cars at the time.
Today, a version of this semi-automatic setup
is used by almost every supercar company on the planet.
Ferrari pull a lot of their road car ideas from F1,
but they're not always winners.
The Ferrari F50 used the V12 from Scuderia Ferrari
at the time and like F1, they made
the engine structurally integral to the chasse.
That is great for a race car at full throttle,
but if you're in a road car idling at the light,
the cockpit was like being
in an Italian leather-filled washing machine.
Hey,
(engine rumbling)
is that a Ferrari?
Yes, it's got an F1 engine in the back.
Like Ferrari's paddle shifting,
Lamborghini also influenced the industry.
Remember the Sesto Elemento we mentioned earlier?
Its carbon fiber wheels caught on
and now you can carbon fiber wheels
on a Mustang Shelby GT500.
These companies influence each other as well.
The Lamborghini Urus is the company's new SUV.
It's not exactly what you'd expect from Lamborghini,
but it helped double their sales last year.
The Urus is helping Lamborghini make supercars
and because of that, Ferrari is planning
on making their won SUV in 2022:
the Ferrari Pur, Puro, the Ferrari Purosangue.
Purosangue?
I've got two years to figure it out, it's fine.
Do I want Ferrari to make an SUV?
Not really.
Is it probably gonna help them make more supercars?
Apparently!
Ferrari have certainly reached many great milestones
with their road cars and so has Lamborghini.
But Ferrari's development focus has always been track first,
road car second, and because of that,
Lamborghini has sometimes been
a bit ahead of them in the past.
Round five: brand and culture.
These two manufacturers are known the world over.
You don't even need to own one of these cars
to be part of the culture that these brands create.
In this round we're gonna look
at how the brands present themselves,
how the public views them,
and what happens when someone takes one of these cars
out of this cultural bubble.
Both companies make more than just cars
to hype up the brand.
You can buy Lamborghini pens, Ferrari shorts,
Urus-branded loafers,
I'm actually wearing Ferrari shoes, like right now.
None of this stuff is necessary at all.
It's often overpriced, cheaply made and pandering,
but it's designed to make people feel closer to the brand
and build up loyalty.
No car company does this like Ferrari.
Ferrari is like one of the national teams of Italy.
If you walk around Maranello,
you'll see more Ferrari flags than you will Italian flags.
Ferrari has video games, perfumes, even theme parks.
No lie, my wife found a Ferrari hairdryer
and she really wants one.
That might be the only way I ever get to own
a Ferrari engine, so, yeah, I'm down.
♪ We only need the two of us together ♪
♪ Two of us together ♪
Ferrari has positioned itself
to not just be a car brand,
but a luxury lifestyle brand and that is impressive
but it's also kind of the problem.
Lamborghini somehow stays rather quiet with this.
They've got their merch and their events, sure,
but for the most part they let their cars do the talking.
(engine roaring)
A little while ago, Nolan did an episode of "WheelHouse"
talking about Ferrari sending a cease and desist letter
to Deadmau5 over his Nyan Cat-wrapped 458.
It was apparently viewed as problematic to the brand.
Now that's not the chillest thing Ferrari have ever done,
but do I have any proof that Lamborghini wouldn't do that?
Well, after the cease and desist,
Deadmau5 sold his 458 and put the exact same wrap
on a Lamborghini.
He went from his Purrari to a Purrican.
Now, a celebrity publicly moving from Ferrari
to Lamborghini is a big marketing gift
and that might be part of why Lamborghini
didn't do anything about it.
But because of Lamborghini's chill attitude
to this kinda thing, we end up with all kinds
of ridiculous Lambos.
There's Alex Choi's exoskeleton Huracan
which is polarizing, to say the least.
And then there's this chrome prismatic color-changing one
that's owned by Chris Brown.
Okay, maybe I'm starting to see a bit
of why Ferrari controls their brand so much.
But if you're not a celebrity,
maybe you don't have to worry about this kind of thing.
In New Zealand, there is a salvaged Ferrari 456 GT
that has been engine-swapped with a rotary.
(engine revving)
First off, awesome!
Second, even though stories were coming up
this guy got a cease and desist from Ferrari,
it turns out he didn't.
And it's not like Ferrari didn't notice.
They had actually been in contact with him.
Maybe Ferrari is changing,
maybe they weren't so bad to begin with.
But the fact that the C and D story even got made up
in the first place speaks volumes
about how the world views Ferrari.
When Chris from "B is for Build" LS-swapped
a salvaged Huracan for last year's SEMA,
again, awesome; no-one assumed
he would get a cease and desist.
So, I went into this being a die-hard Ferrari fan
and I still love Ferrari,
but Lamborghini's chill attitude
and insane cars, well, they've made me wanna pick up
some of those Urus loafers.
For track, I would choose a Ferrari almost every time.
They're designed to make you feel like a hero on track
and give you a sense that you are part
of that racing heritage.
But on the street, the Lamborghini just gets
to be more of a character.
It can sit there and look pretty and refined,
it can thrash around and pour smoke from all four tires,
and if you wanna get serious for a minute,
you can likely beat anything next to you
when the light turns green.
(engine roaring)
But what do you guys think?
Let us know which one you like better.
I'll be in the comments for the first hour
this week and every week on "Versus".
Which one of these did you have on your bedroom wall?
Should Lamborghini get back into F1?
Will the Ferrari SUV be a hit?
I'll see you all right there next week.
Oh, you simply haven't experienced
the Five Freeway until you've experienced it
in a Ferrari.
I don't know why that guy's British.
He's British in my head.