A local artist, Alfonso Borghi, from Campegine (Reggio Emilia) was called to interpret the Miura and the Bull brand, who interprets their soul, essence and colors in his 10 works on display.
Characterized by an informal and abstract language, Borghi's painting is the result of the unconscious reworking of the dynamic forms, the stylistic features of the design and the innovation in colors that have always distinguished the Lamborghini super sports cars. Ten large canvases (8 of 200×150 cm and 2 of 180×180 cm) in oil and mixed media slowly reveal some details of Lamborghini past and present among strong plays of color with a three-dimensional effect, from the iconic Miura to the Reventón, from the Sesto Elemento to the Aventador.
Automobili Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “The encounter between art and automotive legend is a winning combination. Lamborghini cars, from their origins to today, are masterpieces of motoring art, where design, craftsmanship and engineering genius come together. With this exhibition we wanted to pay tribute to the richness of our historical heritage, to the 50th anniversary of the Miura and intended to experiment with new languages and tools for cultural enhancement".
The exhibition fits naturally and with respect to the prestigious collection of the Lamborghini Museum in Sant'Agata Bolognese, inaugurated in 2001. A unique place, the result of Automobili Lamborghini's desire to highlight its important historical heritage, which combines the best artisan tradition Italian with constant technological innovation. The most beautiful automobiles designed and built in Sant'Agata Bolognese – from 1963 until today – are presented to visitors in a breathtaking sequence: walking along the two floors of the Museum, one can admire both historic cars such as the 350 GT, the Miura, the Countach, the LM 002 and the Diablo, both concept and limited series cars such as the Reventón, the Sesto Elemento and the Urus, the concept of the future Lamborghini SUV.
The exhibition, which saw the collaboration of Automobili Lamborghini, Artioli 1899 (historic Modenese publisher and cultural events company) and Prof. Paolo Fontanesi, is accompanied by a volume published by Artioli 1899. The chapters on the world of Lamborghini are edited by by the journalist Daniele Buzzonetti and integrate the section reserved for the exhibition with an intervention by Vittorio Sgarbi, who will inaugurate the inauguration scheduled for 27 April. The exhibition, scheduled from 28 April to 30 June, can be visited from Monday to Saturday from 10 to 17.
Alfonso Borghi
Alfonso Borghi was born in Campegine di Reggio Emilia on 3 December 1944. Self-taught, he approaches painting at a very young age and exhibits for the first time at the age of 18. In over 50 uninterrupted years of activity he has passed through expressionism, Morandi's figurativism, surrealism up to abstractionism with a futurist imprint. Borghi has now arrived at a synthesis, in which a skilful use of the material is associated with an extremely sensitive sense of colour. Since the 70s, his works travel to the main European and American cities (Barcelona, Berlin, Madrid, Vienna, Paris, New York, Los Angeles). Since the 80s, a succession of important exhibitions and events in Italy and abroad have punctuated the artistic activity of the master. Not just painting though. He also dedicates himself to plastic art, giving a three-dimensional sense to those works that already exist on canvas. He works glass, ceramics, but is also dedicated to sculpture. Today his works find space in public and private collections and in Italian and European museums.
Lamborghini Miura, timeless icon
The Miura, which turns 50 this year, represents a unique case of a car that revolutionized the sports sector in the 1965s. Designed in XNUMX by the Lamborghini engineering team, under the guidance of Gian Paolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani and dressed by Marcello Gandini for Carrozzeria Bertone, it immediately became the object of desire for those who could afford it.
With a sinuous, sensual design, it is only 105 centimeters high from the ground, with a minimum ground clearance of 135 millimetres. Presented at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, it enjoyed immediate worldwide success, pulverizing any benchmark in the sports car sector. Sixty-degree V 12-cylinder rear mid-mounted engine arranged transversally, four-litre displacement, single block including gearbox and differential, develops a power of 350 HP at 7000 rpm and a maximum speed record for those times of 280 km/h .
A refined and very modern project, clearly ahead of its time, certainly inspired by the great racing prototypes which at that time challenged each other in long-distance races, and which only after several years would generalize the rear-engine technique for the most refined sports cars road.
With the Miura, which took the name of Edoardo Miura, a great friend of the founder Ferruccio Lamborghini and famous breeder of bulls, the Lamborghini tradition of giving its cars names deriving from the world of bullfighting was inaugurated.
Miuramania infected rulers, singers, actors such as Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Hallyday, the Shah of Persia, the Prince of Monaco, Little Tony, Rod Steward and the model Twiggy, along with many other characters who wanted to remain anonymous.
763 units were delivered worldwide in three different versions from 1966 to 1972 and in as many as 60 different colours.
The celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the Miura
The Exhibition “Speed and Color. Alfonso Borghi interprets Automobili Lamborghini” is part of a series of events and initiatives linked to the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Miura. The celebrations were kicked off by the unveiling in March at the Amelia Island (USA) competition of the original Miura SV, the one that was presented at the 1971 Geneva Motorshow, and the subject of more than a year of restoration by PoloStorico Lamborghini.
The festivities continue this week from 6 to 10 April at Techno Classica in Essen (Germany), the world's fair for classic cars. At the Lamborghini stand, some unpublished restoration projects by PoloStorico Lamborghini are on display: the original restored Miura SV from the 1971 Geneva Motor Show, a Miura chassis, to illustrate the restoration in progress, and a completely overhauled Miura engine.
The celebrations will then culminate in a grand tour aimed at Miura customers from all over the world who will gather in Italy from 8 to 12 June. On June 8, the Miura group will leave Bologna, pass through the Lamborghini headquarters in Sant'Agata Bolognese and Dallara Automobili in Varano de' Melegari (Parma) to greet Gian Paolo Dallara, to whom we owe the design of the Miura in 1965. The journey, of over 500 km in 4 days, will cross Emilia, Liguria and Tuscany and will end in Florence.
