Classic Trader Magazine
September, 2022
Click here to read the review online: https://www.classic-trader.com/de/magazin/buchtipp...

English translation: Gautam Sen is an Indian born in Paris, lives in Paris, has several important posts with the FIVA – and lives in reality for the most beautiful forms of Italian car design. There are two often award-winning volumes about Marcello Gandini, the creator of such great icons as the Lamborghini Miura and Countach (to name but a few), Sen has created a volume about Tom Tjaarda, which drew the Fiat 124 Spider and De Tomaso Pantera, among others. And don't forget: a fascinating book about the Indian car culture and the cars of the Maharajas.

And now the next two-volume work has been published by Dalton Watson – the title: Lamborghini – The cutting Edge of Design. The restless and manic collector Gautam Sen has now filled almost 800 pages in collaboration with Branko Radovinovic and Kaare Byberg. The result is currently the best work on the sports car manufacturer, which entered the light of the public in 1963 with the Lamborghini 350 GTV – and wrote with models such as the Miura, Espada, Countach, Diablo, Murciélago and Aventador car and design history. Gautam lakes and his competitors have collected hundreds of documents, found new photos from the early days of the company, which some legends have just moved and the creatures, including all special models and unique pieces from Sant'Agata, have also perfectly rephotographed – not a cheap work and not easy to obtain, but for the fans of the brand with the bull and the friends Italian car designs. This work will mutate into the Lamborghini Bible for the next few years.

Auto und Modell Review
September, 2022
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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

January/February, 2023



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AutoMobilia Resource magazine review:

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Octane Germany reviews the Lamborghini book

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:

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Classic Cars magazine review

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Lamborghini International Owners Club
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Austro Classics magazine published a shortened version of the Bravo chapter. Also included is an interview with Gautam Sen.

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January/February, 2023



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