Motorsport[edit]

The Miura began as a clandestine prototype, a car that had racing pedigree in a
company that was entirely against motorsport.
In contrast to his rival Enzo Ferrari, Ferruccio Lamborghini had decided early o
n that there would be no factory-supported racing of Lamborghinis, viewing motor
sport as too expensive and too draining on company resources.[citation needed] T
his was unusual for the time, as many sports car manufacturers sought to demonst
rate the speed, reliability, and technical superiority through motorsport partic
ipation. Enzo Ferrari in particular was known for considering his road car busin
ess mostly a source of FUNDING for his participation in motor racing. Ferruccio'
s policy led to tensions between him and his engineers, many of whom were racing
enthusiasts; some had previously worked at Ferrari. When Dallara, Stanzani, and
Wallace began dedicating their spare time to the development of the P400 protot
ype, they designed it to be a road car with racing potential, one that could win
on the track and also be driven on the road by enthusiasts.[19] When Ferruccio
discovered the project, he allowed them to go ahead, seeing it as a potential MA
RKETING device for the company, while insisting that it would not be raced. The
P400 went on to become the Miura. The closest the company came to building a tru
e race car under Lamborghini's supervision were a few highly modified prototypes
, including those built by factory test driver Bob Wallace, such as the Miura SV
-based "Jota" and the Jarama S-based "Bob Wallace Special".
In the mid-1970s, while Lamborghini was under the management of Georges-Henri Ro
ssetti, Lamborghini entered into an agreement with BMW to develop, then manufact
ure 400 cars for BMW in order to meet Group 4 homologation requirements. BMW lac
ked experience developing a mid-engined vehicle and believed that Lamborghini's
experience in that area would make Lamborghini an ideal choice of partner. Due t
o Lamborghini's shaky finances, Lamborghini fell behind schedule developing the
car's structure and running gear. When Lamborghini failed to deliver working pro
totypes on time, BMW took the program in house, finishing development without La
mborghini. BMW contracted with Baur to produce the car, which BMW named the M1,
delivering the first vehicle in October 1978.[20][21]
The 1990 Lotus 102 featured a Lamborghini V12.
In 1985, Lamborghini's British imp