Lamborghini, a fantasy on four wheels exhibited in Mulhouse

“Look, it’s a bit as if the Louvre exhibited Andy Warhol”, laughs Frédéric Brun, the elegant curator of the exhibition, quite proud of his comparison. At the Cité de l’Automobile in Mulhouse, the Schlumpf collection is a treasure trove of thousands of historic vehicles mainly born before the 1960s and wisely lined up in alleys surmounted by candelabra imitated from the Alexandre-III bridge. Since this summer, it has also been hosting cars of another kind, with a modern, innovative and colorful design: Lamborghinis, the famous supercars present in the garages of Michael Jordan, Paul McCartney, Christophe or Johnny Hallyday, as well as in the clips of Jamiroquai or Jay-Z.

About fifteen models are presented in a scenography that plays with mirrors, neon lights and podiums to tell about the connections between these expensive cars and pop culture. Projections complete the device. The opening scene of L’or se barre (1969), by Peter Collinson, with Michael Caine, thus magnifies the Miura, one of the most beautiful Lamborghinis designed by Marcello Gandini. We also see the bassist of the group Coldplay recounting his passion for this iconic model. “We wanted to transport people to the world of dreams and fantasy”, explains Frédéric Brun. A fantasy on four wheels with an aura inversely proportional to the relative confidentiality of the brand’s production (5,000 vehicles in 2019).

Visitors can touch the Italian dream

The visitor is first greeted by an old crawler tractor, as a reminder of a legendary story: before building extraordinary cars, Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916-1993) made his fortune in agricultural vehicles. Owner of several sports cars, including Ferraris, he one day complained of recurring clutch problems to his neighbor Enzo Ferrari, who replied curtly: “You may know how to drive a tractor, but you will never know how to drive a tractor. Ferrari suitably. ” Vexed, the sanguine Ferruccio decided to found his own brand in 1963, to challenge the Scuderia on its own ground. The Lamborghini 350 GT was born the following year, with the help of experienced engineers recruited from the competitor. It sports a logo that marks the spirits: a fighting bull, in reference to the zodiac sign of the boss as much as a taste for bullfighting.

The names of the following models will evoke bullfighting, such as the elegant Islero coupe (the beast that killed the bullfighter Manolete in 1947) or the sensual Miura (a famous Sevillian kennel). In 1974, Lamborghini broke with tradition by baptizing its Countach from a Piedmontese exclamation of surprise, commensurate with its angular shapes and its doors opening like wings.

We also come across a rare prototype from the 1990s, the last Urus SUV and this Huracan Evo Spyder, convertible developing 640 horsepower, like a hyperbole of power in a world where speed is now constrained. “Lamborghinis are not racing cars, they have never competed but they have the characteristics”, describes Frédéric Brun. Visitors can touch the Italian dream a little closer by getting behind the wheel of a sports car (Urraco, 90 euros for seven laps) or a supercar (Huracan Spyder, 120 euros) on the small autodrome behind the Alsatian museum .

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