We all have our dream cars but what do the builders of such machines dream of? There is one car in the world that can give us the answer to that question: the Lamborghini 350GTV of 1963. And there is a tale told of how it came to be.

Ferrucchio Lamborghini was a successful tractor manufacturer who spent some of his money on fast cars. When his Ferrari developed gearbox problems, Ferrucchio went straight to the top to complain – Enzo Ferrari himself. And Enzo, becoming annoyed with his customer’s complaints, told him to stick to tractor building and let him worry about the cars. Furious, Ferrucchio went back to his factory and had the gearbox of his car dismantled to see what was causing the problem. On discovering that it was the same gearbox that he put in all his tractors, Ferrucchio blew his top and decided to show Enzo how to build a really good car.

The result was the 350 GTV. The engine was a V12 designed by an ex-Ferrari engineer, Giotto Bizzarrini, and it was state of the art, producing 350bhp. This was mated to a ZF gearbox and the whole thing clothed in a body designed by Franco Scaglione. It was a match for any Ferrari and Ferrucchio got back at il Commendatore by showing it off at the Turin Motor Show. Orders began to pour in and Ferrucchio realized that he was going to have to put it into production. He built a factory and the Lambo story began, leading to those Miuras, Countachs and Diablos that were always far beyond our means.

Few remember the first Lambo, however. After the production model appeared, now termed the 350 GT, the front end was revised and included fixed headlights that looked out of place somehow. It kept the distinctive rear end, however. The real dream remained the GTV, only one of which was made. It is not as extreme as the later supercars but has a style all its own.