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Lamborghini: At the Cutting Edge of Design
by Gautam Sen with Branko Radovinovic and Kaare Byberg
NOW AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE!
 It has been said that “Lamborghini is a carmaker that makes engines, the job of the designers was to design the engine cover.” Yet, in its almost six decades long history, the supercar maker has constructed just four different engines.
However, it has been a series of models with remarkable, groundbreaking shapes, each one a veritable design revolution that has really set Lamborghini ahead of other marques. Cars like the Miura, Espada, Urraco, Countach and the Diablo astounded and startled automotive fans as much with their daring shape, form and aesthetic purity, as they did with their second-to-none engineering.
This book celebrates the design history of Lamborghini through numerous period reports and previously unpublished images. It delves into the extraordinary shapes and forms, as well as the intrepid personalities with interviews of design greats—Marcello Gandini, Luc Donckerwolke, Walter de Silva, Filippo Perini and Mitja Borkert—who made Lamborghini what it is today.
- 2 volumes with dust jackets in slipcase
- 784 pages
- 1,070 images
- Four fold-outs
- 219mm x 304mm
- ISBN: 978-1-85443-317-6
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Interview with Gautam Sen, Branko Radovinovic and Kaare Byberg
Auto und Modell Review
September, 2022
CLICK HERE TO SEE REVIEW ONLINE
A truly magnificent volume: "Lamborghini: At the cutting edge of design" by Gautam Sen published by Dalton Watson
Certainly not the first, but definitely the most comprehensive and lavish work on Lamborghini was recently published by Dalton Watson Fine Books, authored by renowned design connoisseur Gautam Sen, assisted by Lamborghini specialists Branko Radovinovic and Kaare Byberg. As the book title suggests, the priority is on the development of the designs of the mostly spectacular sports cars from the factory of Ferruccio Lamborghini and his successors, but of course the history of the company with all its rises and falls is also dealt with precisely. However, anyone looking for detailed descriptions of the technology is at the wrong address.
The first chapter is of course devoted to the life and professional career of the company's founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini, and his path from a manufacturer of tractors, heating and air conditioning systems to a producer of class cars. The role of Franco Scaglione, the designer of the prototype 350 GTV, and the main features of his styling ideas are described; unfortunately, the visuals do not always quite match the text; the 1959 Fiat OSCA 1500 coupe, described as the formal precursor of the Lamborghini, is not shown in the photo. The subsequent presentation of the 350 GTV is extensive and highly interesting, especially the many design sketches and original documents shown, as well as photographs, some of which were previously unknown, provide a complete picture of the brand's first car. In the text, as throughout the book, a great many contemporary articles from journals and newspapers are quoted, in this way one gets a good impression of how the trade press judged the project.
In the same style the book moves through the history of the brand, each basic type is presented in detail including variants and special bodies, a mixture of historical and current photographs and especially the many brochures and press publications are exciting. The two co-authors were able to contribute rare pieces through their extensive archives. Many of them are signed by people involved, a bit too often for me, but that is a matter of taste. Since design plays a major role in this work, chapters about carrozziers like Touring or Bertone, but also about engineers and designers like Paolo Stanzani or Marcello Gandini are mentioned again and again. Just to get a feel for the scope, over 70 pages are devoted to the Countach alone, for example. The first volume ends with the Countach and the Bertone Bravo study, and the second volume begins with the Silhouette and the increasingly apparent financial problems, covering the numerous changes of ownership up to the takeover by Audi. From then on, Lamborghini certainly wrote another success story that continues to this day. Of course, the newer models are presented just as extensively as the classics, plus the smallest series and special models, such as the very exalted Sesto Elemento, Egoista or Vision Gran Turismo, but also studies and prototypes such as Miura Concept or Estoque. Most recently, of course, the reader will find the SUV Urus and the Countach LPI 800-4, with this and a detailed portrait of the current Lamborghini designer Mitja Borkert ends the story. As befits a serious book, there is a bibliography and a detailed index.
Since we only had a PDF file available for review, I can't judge the quality of the printing and workmanship, but from experience with titles from Dalton Watson Fine Books, there's nothing to criticize. The layout is modern, also loosened up with nice graphic elements, the English text is easy to read, and they have been very generous with photos, also in terms of format. Of course, one could note that sometimes less would have been more, it would not necessarily have been almost 800 pages. But the trend shows more and more clearly that publishers like to produce such splendid volumes. If the expected number of copies sold is not very high, an expensive book probably pays off more quickly. In addition, a two-volume work in a slipcase has a representative effect and also looks good as a generous gift. For the fan of the cars from Emilia Romagna, this work is certainly a worthwhile purchase.
"Lamborghini: At the cutting Edge of Design" by Gautam Sen, Branko Radovinovic and Kaare Byberg is published by Dalton Watson Fine Books, two volumes with a total of 784 pages and 1,070 illustrations, English text, ISBN: 978-1-85443-317-6, price €225 to €240 depending on the vendor.
Photos: Dalton Watson Fine Books, Review: Rudi Seidel
Antique Automobile Review
January/February, 2023
Click image to read full review
AutoMobilia Resource magazine review:
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Octane Germany reviews the Lamborghini book
Text in English:
Probably no sports car brand is as polarized in terms of design like
Lamborghini. That was in the days of the Countach, so is it with the SUV Urus or
the ultra-flat wedges Huracán and Aventador to this day. India's leading motor journalist,
Gautam Sen (based in Paris), has now with his comrades-in-arms Radovinovic (Australia)
and Byberg (Norway) for the first time published a double volume about the design
of the sports car manufacturer founded in 1963 by the tractor manufacturer Ferruccio
Lamborghini as a competitor to Ferrari. With chapters on the founding history of
the tractor factory and the start of sports car production with the first model
350 GTV, it celebrates the mammoth work with many previously unpublished images
and sketches of all the icons – from the Miura via Espada and Countach to the cars
of modern times that were finally created under Audi direction. Especially worth
reading are interviews with design giants such as Marcello Gandini, Luc Donckerwolke,
Walter de Silva, Filippo Perini and the current design chief, Mitja Borkert. A special
treat form four fold-out pages – one with the cover of an early Diablo brochure,
another with original drawings of the Miura. Further chapters shed light on the
role of the design studios of Bertone and Touring, all concept studies and not realized
projects from the 1990s. For the finale, there is the remake of the Countach in
great detail, the LPI 800-4 to marvel at. If this overwhelming work at all can chalk
something up, then it's the not consistently high-quality images and the overlong
passages in which citing contemporary articles on Lamborghini from English-language
specialist magazines. But that's a maximum of one blemish – otherwise everyone,
who enjoys reading chapter by chapter mind leads, in the end understands what makes
up the myth of Lamborghini. Not just the V12 and V10 engines, but a design that
never shied away to defy the mainstream.
Pete Vack of VeloceToday.com reviews Lamborghini: At the Cutting Edge of Design:
Click the link to read Volume One review and here to read Volume Two
A second review by AustroClassics:
https://www.austroclassic.net/alle-hefte/2022/03/b...
Translated:
Gautam Sen, India's No. 1 automotive expert, and his colleagues Radovinovic and Byberg have produced a truly impressive work - two volumes, 784 pages, 1,070 illustrations - with these two volumes in a slipcase on Lamborghini.
In unprecedented detail, the authors focus on the design of all series models from the 350 GT to the Urus and also the numerous studies.
The book is complemented by chapters on the people behind the cars - from Ferruccio Lamborghini to Walter de Silva, from Franco Scaglioni to Luc Donckerwolke.
A comprehensive index and bibliography conclude the work.
Rating: Rating 4 out of 4
AutoZeit magazine review
Click the image for a larger size of the German version, or here for the translated text to English (PDF will open in a new page).
Automobil Revue magazine review
Click the image for a larger size of the German version, or here for the translated text to English
(PDF will open in a new page).
Classic Cars magazine review
Click the image for a larger size.
Zwischengas review
Click the image for a larger size, or here for the translated text to English (PDF will open in a new page).
Car Design News article
Click the image for a link to the article on the Car Design News website, or here for a PDF.
L'Automobile Magazine
Click the image for a link for a larger size (in French), or here for a PDF in English.
Lamborghini International Owners Club
Click the image for a link for a larger size (in German), or here for a PDF in English.
Austro Classics magazine published a shortened version of the Bravo chapter. Also included is an interview with Gautam Sen.
Click the image for a link for the German PDF, here for the interview portion in English, and here for the Bravo article text in English.
AutoMobiliaResource review:
Click the image for a link for a larger size.
Auto Italia July 2022 review:
Click the image for a link for a larger size.
Thank you, Sabu Advani, from Speedreaders.info, for the great review.
Click the image to read the review on the Speedreaders page.
SAH JOURNAL Review
January/February, 2023
Click image to read review
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Author Biography
Gautam Sen
Fascinated by model cars and automobiles since he was a young boy, Gautam Sen turned his passion into a career. He established India’s first newsstand automobile magazine Indian Auto in 1986, followed by Auto India in 1993, and then the Indian editions of the German magazine auto motor und sport and BBC’s TopGear magazines. Sen has also been involved with the Indian automobile industry, working with Maruti Udyog as well as several other prominent automobile companies, and was instrumental in the design and development of India’s first sports car, the San Storm. Whilst working on several design projects, Sen had the privilege of collaborating with eminent designers such as Gerard Godfroy, Marcello Gandini and the late Tom Tjaarda.
Since 2015, Sen has been a Vice President with FIVA (Fédération Internationale de Véhicules Anciens). He has also been a member of the jury at several prestigious historic vehicle events such as Le Mans Classic, Chantilly Arts & Elegance, Pays de Fougères International Rally and YanQi Concours d’Elegance. Sen has authored several critically acclaimed books on automobiles: The Maharajas & Their Magnificent Motor Cars, The Car Design Book, Rolls- Royce 17EX: A Fabulous Destiny, A Million Cars for a Billion People, The 101 Automotive Jewels of India, Marcello Gandini: Maestro of Design, The Bertone Collection, Ballot, and Tom Tjaarda: Master of Proportions (the last five published by Dalton Watson Fine Books).
Branko Radovinovic
Born in 1966, in Melbourne, Australia, Branko Radovinovic came across a Panini card featuring a blue Lamborghini Countach when he was nine years old, which looked like nothing else, and exerted a magical attraction on him. This was the beginning of a lifelong fascination with car design in general and Lamborghini in particular. Through photographing, meeting key people and collecting original automobilia, he has gathered an extensive Lamborghini archive. He also writes for the Lamborghini club mags in Germany and the US, as well as various European car mags. Branko’s wish has always been to share his passion for Lamborghini through emotions that flow from the eye directly into the heart.
Kaare Byberg
Born in 1979 in Stavanger, Norway, Kaare (Kåre) Byberg has been fascinated by Lamborghini since he was ten when he came across a Countach scale model at the local gas station. Since then he has always had the desire to be surrounded by all things Lamborghini. As a result, Kaare has collected each and every of the official brochures, as well as countless other Lamborghini-related automobilia and material. Unsurprisingly, the Countach still reigns supreme in his automotive heart and mind.
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