Lamborghini's 50th Anniversary: an extraordinary evening in Sant'Agata Bolognese for over 1,000 guests

The Lamborghini 50th Anniversary Grande Giro came to an end Saturday, 11 May. 350 super sports cars made their triumphal entry at Lamborghini headquarters after travelling from Bologna to Sant'Agata Bolognese, past staring onlookers, flashing cameras and applauding citizens and enthusiasts.

Guests
Over 1,000 people were invited to the exclusive gala dinner at the factory. Many were illustrious guests, including Prof. Rupert Stadler, Chief Executive Officer of AUDI AG, together with other members of the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board of AUDI AG and Volkswagen Group, and people who contributed to creating the Lamborghini legend: Gian Paolo Dallara, Mauro Forghieri, Paolo Stanzani, designers Marcello Gandini and Filippo Perini, former Commercial Director Ubaldo Sgarzi, former tester Valentino Balboni, Fabio Lamborghini and Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Ducati. Participants also included Pirelli President Marco Tronchetti Provera, Milan A.C. CEO Adriano Galliani and Daniela Occhiali, the Mayor of Sant'Agata Bolognese.

Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini
In his official speech, Stephan Winkelmann emphasized: "Lamborghini depicts a dream, a story, a legend that was created over time. Being a legend is certainly an essential element, but not enough for a brand like ours: our key words are quality, tradition, roots, craftsmanship and innovation - not to mention all those people whose perseverance and dedication contributed to creating the Lamborghini legend."

Lamborghini Urus
Rupert Stadler, Chief Executive Officer of AUDI AG, announced - amongst an applauding audience - that the company from Sant'Agata Bolognese will introduce its third model in 2017: the supersport Lamborghini Urus SUV, the sports utility vehicle presented last year at Beijing Auto Show.

Lamborghini Egoista
In a thrilling moment, Volkswagen Group Design Head Walter De Silva's Lamborghini Egoista was driven on to center stage. This was De Silva's way of celebrating and making tribute to the House of the Raging Bull's 50th Anniversary.

Gala Evening
The signal to enter the hall was given to the guests by the arrival of a majestic Italian Navy EH 101 helicopter belonging to the 1st Helicopter Group of the Luni-Sarzana Helicopter Station. The gala evening, which was hosted by Communications and External Relations Director Raffaello Porro, started off with a standing ovation for the State Police, which provided its services throughout the entire Tour. Next, the winner of Lamborghini's 50th Anniversary Concorso d'Eleganza contest took center stage amongst applauses: a 1969 Miura P 400 S belonging to Norwegian collector Harald Skjoldt and once owned by Frank Sinatra – received the award from Maurizio Reggiani, Lamborghini Board Member for Research and Development.A breathtaking fireworks show at the end of the dinner was accompanied by an original soundtrack composed specifically for the event. Composers and performers of the original music included Chardo Formosa (Australia), Riccardo Caruso (grandson of renowned Enrico Caruso) and Riccardo Cioni (composer and entrepreneur). Stephen Head (USA) was responsible for the soundtrack's sound design. The fireworks show was put together by Fratelli Soldi and covered an area of 170 meters. Band Mandoki Soul Mates, led by Leslie Mandoki and along with stars Paul Young, Howard Jones and Midge Ure, ended the evening with a captivating concert.

50th Anniversary in Lamborghini's city
The company displayed 12 vehicles in Piazza dei Martiri in Sant'Agata Bolognese, including, among others, the Aventador LP 700-4 Coupé and Roadster and the Countach LP 400 (chassis number 002). This Countach was the first ever sold and was specifically brought to Italy for the event by Norwegian collector Fredrik Skjoldt. It originally belonged to Farah Diba, wife of the then Shah of Persia. This vehicle was the same one used for Zagari's photographs in the brochure and owner's manual and still has the original engine.

The event in Sant'Agata Bolognese
The figures for the factory event are exceptional: a lounge area covering over 1,400sqm, a tensile structure supplied by 2,680kW set up in an area extending over 7,000sqm and 20m high, a 25m wide stage and a giant screen measuring 11 x 6.5m. Special gala dinner seating was enhanced by a carbon-fiber centerpiece created by the Lamborghini Advanced Composite Research Center, made of the carbon fibre of the company Mitsubishi Rayon, the supplier of raw materials used for the research and development of composite materials in the House of the Raging Bull's supercars. Renowned Italian wine producer and technical sponsor for the evening, Bisol, also paid tribute to Lamborghini's 50th Anniversary by making 300 exclusive bottles of its Cuvée del Fondatore Riserva Speciale Extra Brut.

Charity auction for the areas devastated by the seismic events of May 2012
The Centro Stile held a charity auction during the event, where works by important names from Lamborghini's past and present were sold.
Simon Kidston, the formal speaker for the Grand Tour and official auctioneer, presented works created by all the Lamborghini Centro Stile designers, in addition to those by Gian Paolo Dallara, Marcello Gandini, Walter De Silva, Giorgetto Giugiaro and Luc Donckerwolke. All works on display were sold at total price of Euro 83,000 demonstrating great interest.Lamborghini will donate the proceeds of the auction as well as the 10% of the proceeds of sponsorship revenue to a fund established to help rebuild religious, social and cultural centers damaged by the devastating earthquakes that hit Emilia-Romagna in May this year. The donation is a tribute to the native region of Lamborghini, which remains strongly linked to its original roots, despite the global nature of the business.

Lamborghini's 50th Anniversary Concours d'Elegance in Piazza Maggiore and other initiatives in the city of BolognaOn Saturday morning, 11 May, the honouring jury for Lamborghini's 50th Anniversary elegance contest, led by Gian Paolo Dallara and composed by Walter De Silva, Head of Volkswagen Group Design, Alain Delamuraz, Vice President and Head of Marketing Blancpain, Giorgetto Giugiaro, founder of Italdesign Giugiaro, Harry Metcalfe, Editor in Chief of Evo magazine and collector of vintage cars, and Angelo Sticchi Damiani, President of ACI (Automobile Club d'Italia), along with the help of a specialized technical jury presided by Adolfo Orsi, evaluated more than 30 historical vehicles from the House of the Raging Bull (from the 350 GT to the Countach). The winner - the Miura P 400 S owned by Harald Skjoldt - received a special edition of the legendary Fifty Fathoms watch by Blancpain, a Main Partner in Lamborghini's 50th Anniversary celebrations. Trumpeter Paolo Fresu improvised a morning concert on the terrace of the Basilica of San Petronio to the delight of participants.

Lounge area
An exceptional lounge welcomed guests upon their arrival, where they could sip an aperitif while strolling amid the Urus, Sesto Elemento, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 GT3 and Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Trofeo displayed in the Motorsport area. The display was further enhanced by unique vehicles such as the 350 GTS, the Aventador 'Follow Me' from Bologna airport, and the spectacular presence of the police force's Gallardo surrounded by the 26 motorcycles that had escorted the motorcade during the Grande Giro.

A tribute to the areas devastated by the seismic events of May 2012
On the morning of 11 May, a delegation of Lamborghini vehicles escorted by two Carabinieri motorcycles and driven by 16 voluntary company employees headed towards the areas devastated by the seismic events of May 2012. The motorcade left Bologna's city center and crossed the towns of Crevalcore, Camposanto, Finale Emilia, San Felice sul Panaro, Medolla, San Martino Spino, Cavezzo and Mirandola - which is home to technical sponsor Imperiale - and completed their tour in Sant'Agata Bolognese's old town center.

Lamborghini's 50th Anniversary Aventador Roadster
The 50th Anniversary Aventador LP 720-4 Roadster was on display in front of the main building, beside the coupé presented at the last motor show in Shanghai. This open super sports car features exclusive technology and equipment and will be manufactured in a limited run of 100 numbered units for the entire world. A Forged Composite® plate inside each vehicle further emphasizes its exclusivity by not only bearing the official 50th Anniversary logo, but also the vehicle's progressive number.
This limited edition boasts the redevelopment of the vehicle's front and rear ends to provide improved performance, special Titans Grey paint, a unique interior and a V12 engine increased up to 720 hp.

Celebratory book published by Skira
Lamborghini's 50th Anniversary will also be celebrated with a special illustrated book. The book boasts the curatorship of people the likes of top Italian art expert Philippe Daverio and Gian Luca Farinelli, Director of the Bologna film library. The book is divided into seven chapters focusing on the history and values of this company from Sant'Agata Bolognese: History, Technological Innovation, Design, People, Image and The Future. The book will also include a chapter with the most beautiful pictures from the Grande Giro. A deluxe edition can be ordered at skira@skira.net.

The Grand Giro on the Internet
During the week of the Grand Tour, visitors to the Lamborghini web site increased by 36.5% compared to the same period in 2012, and pages viewed rose by 232.5%. The peak number of site visitors was on May 10, when some 46,000 people visited the web site. Facebook videos of the Grand Tour were viewed by about 400,000 people and liked by more than 4,900 viewers a day. The Lamborghini YouTube channel (where the daily Grand Tour clips were uploaded) was viewed between 12,000 and 19,000 times a day, putting these clips in 1st and 2nd place for the most viewed videos to date in the car and motors category on this video-sharing Web site. The photos published on Saturday morning on Instagram (instagram.com/lamborghini) from Piazza Maggiore were also very well received, with peaks of 8,000 likes for each picture and almost 3,000 followers in a single day for the official profile.

Family & Friends Day
The event came to an end on Sunday, 12 May, with a day dedicated to employees and their families. There were over 2,000 participants.
The evening was enlivened by a show of the Italian acrobatic dance company Kataklò and the attendance of the Italian actor and comedian Enrico Brignano.