Under the Tuscan Sun in an Audi Q5

Many people visit this Northern Italy region named Emilia-Romagna for many world-famed attractions. The genius of man and the mystery of nature gave birth to the Renaissance movement here. Legends such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Giovanni Da Verrazzano, Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli, Antonio Meucci, and Amerigo Vespucci shaped our sciences, peotries, arts, politics, and exploring spirits.

For car enthusiasts, this region has another importance. Some say that the babies born here are very special. They are born with the need for speed. It is hard to argue with that statement knowing that this place has Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati, Pagani Zonda, and Dallara.

Despite such exotic reputation, this region doesn't give the opulent impression that one would expect. Instead, tree-lined roads, simple creamy brick houses with red curvy clay roofs, Fiat's and Alfa's, and friendly residents compose most of the daily scenery here. In fact the understatement was so strong in Sant’Agata Bolognese village, about 21 miles from Bologna, that we mistakenly took the Lamborghini factory for a printing factory, and we drove past it.

Lamborghini Factory

By looking at the rows of Audi's at the parking lot, we felt like we had arrived at one of Audi service centers. The new Audi Q5 3.0 TDI we were driving fitted nicely between the Audi S6 and Q7 in the parking lot.

In the beginning, Ferruccio Lamborghini built tractors. He was always fond of driving Ferrari's. He noticed that Ferrari's clutch broke frequently. So, he proposed a heavy duty clutch design based on his experience building tractors. Ferrari didn't accept his idea. So, being a very passionate person, he did the insane thing. He built his own sports cars.

The history of the Lamborghini had not always been commendable. The company had its ups and down. It changed owners many times. In the eighties and the nineties, the cars were plagued with many quality issues. Some said that Lamborghini owners enjoyed their cars by driving to the mechanics.

Audi bought Lamborghini from an Indonesian owner in 1998. Through many manufacturing process improvements and technology exchanges, Lamborghini was reborn as dramatic as a young Phoenix. Once again, Lamborghini captures many car enthusiasts' hearts.

At the time of our visit, the factory produced seven Gallardo and two-and-a-half Murcielago a day. The factory floor that hosted two production lines was smaller than the typical Walmart superstore. One thing that became very quickly obvious to us was the fact that there was no single robot here. Instead, many devoted craftsmen were meticulously performing their assigned tasks with pride.

There were seven workstations in the Gallardo assembly line. The tasks at each station had to be completed in about 50 minutes, leaving 10 minutes for any unexpected delays. The parts to be assembled on each workstation were delivered just-in-time. The line moved at the top of the hour. In an eight hour working day, this line produced seven cars. There was only one shift and they were off on weekends. The beauty of human syncopation from the start of the assembly line to the end should be captured in a time-lapse camera.

The Audi V10 engines for the Gallardo were stacked on one side of the factory in Volkswagen-labeled pallets. The Murcielago engines were built right here at the factory. At one corner, an engineer was scrupulously smoothing out the cylinder head of the V12. At the other corner of the factory floor, fabric experts were cutting buttery leather sheets, with the help of a computer, into specially shaped cuts for the various Gallardo and Murcielago interior parts and seats. This section of the factory exuded vogue and tradition at the same time.

The factory museum is located in the modern glass building featuring gleaming vintage, racing, and concept cars. One can admire the legendary Countach's, the curvaceous Miura's, the spartan F1's, the menacing Diablo's, the unconventional Espada's, the jet fighter Reventon, and other historic 350's, 400 GT's, Islero's, and Jarama's. In one afternoon, one can learn the Lamborghini genealogy and heritage.

As we were leaving the parking lot, passing a parked white Gallardo, our silver Q5 matched the gallant stance of its bullish cousin in a more subtle manner. The S-line exterior package over a coupe silhouette body imparts the athletic look that is also functional. This design sports a drag coefficient of 0.33; comparable to the drag coefficient of 0.34 of the duPont Registry, collector-item, 201 mph Ferrari F40 currently priced over $500,000. The uniquely Audi proportioned body features dynamic but consistent lines that gives the impression that the car always flows. The large single-frame radiator grill shines the inner confidence of the 237 bhp and 368lb-ft of torque 3.0 liter V6 TDI.

The daylight-white LED's arranged above each “winged” headlight allure anyone who looks at his rear view mirror. The ultra-precise laser and spot welding, high-tech adhesive bonding, and hot-forming variable strength zone materials produce the Q5 that is not only sexy and beautiful but also is very capable to handle all occasions. The 19-inch 5-spoke wheels provide the icing on the cake of this already pleasing eye-candy.

Looking at the Gallardo and Q5 side by side, we could see the common theme radiating from these two automobiles despite the fact that they were designed and built for totally different purposes. Both are the product of timeless craving for engineering excellence and craftsmanship.

Under the Tuscan Sun in an Audi Q5

Many people visit this Northern Italy region named Emilia-Romagna for many world-famed attractions. The genius of man and the mystery of nature gave birth to the Renaissance movement here. Legends such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Giovanni Da Verrazzano, Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli, Antonio Meucci, and Amerigo Vespucci shaped our sciences, peotries, arts, politics, and exploring spirits.

For car enthusiasts, this region has another importance. Some say that the babies born here are very special. They are born with the need for speed. It is hard to argue with that statement knowing that this place has Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati, Pagani Zonda, and Dallara.

Despite such exotic reputation, this region doesn't give the opulent impression that one would expect. Instead, tree-lined roads, simple creamy brick houses with red curvy clay roofs, Fiat's and Alfa's, and friendly residents compose most of the daily scenery here. In fact the understatement was so strong in Sant’Agata Bolognese village, about 21 miles from Bologna, that we mistakenly took the Lamborghini factory for a printing factory, and we drove past it.

Lamborghini Factory

By looking at the rows of Audi's at the parking lot, we felt like we had arrived at one of Audi service centers. The new Audi Q5 3.0 TDI we were driving fitted nicely between the Audi S6 and Q7 in the parking lot.

In the beginning, Ferruccio Lamborghini built tractors. He was always fond of driving Ferrari's. He noticed that Ferrari's clutch broke frequently. So, he proposed a heavy duty clutch design based on his experience building tractors. Ferrari didn't accept his idea. So, being a very passionate person, he did the insane thing. He built his own sports cars.

The history of the Lamborghini had not always been commendable. The company had its ups and down. It changed owners many times. In the eighties and the nineties, the cars were plagued with many quality issues. Some said that Lamborghini owners enjoyed their cars by driving to the mechanics.

Audi bought Lamborghini from an Indonesian owner in 1998. Through many manufacturing process improvements and technology exchanges, Lamborghini was reborn as dramatic as a young Phoenix. Once again, Lamborghini captures many car enthusiasts' hearts.

At the time of our visit, the factory produced seven Gallardo and two-and-a-half Murcielago a day. The factory floor that hosted two production lines was smaller than the typical Walmart superstore. One thing that became very quickly obvious to us was the fact that there was no single robot here. Instead, many devoted craftsmen were meticulously performing their assigned tasks with pride.

There were seven workstations in the Gallardo assembly line. The tasks at each station had to be completed in about 50 minutes, leaving 10 minutes for any unexpected delays. The parts to be assembled on each workstation were delivered just-in-time. The line moved at the top of the hour. In an eight hour working day, this line produced seven cars. There was only one shift and they were off on weekends. The beauty of human syncopation from the start of the assembly line to the end should be captured in a time-lapse camera.

The Audi V10 engines for the Gallardo were stacked on one side of the factory in Volkswagen-labeled pallets. The Murcielago engines were built right here at the factory. At one corner, an engineer was scrupulously smoothing out the cylinder head of the V12. At the other corner of the factory floor, fabric experts were cutting buttery leather sheets, with the help of a computer, into specially shaped cuts for the various Gallardo and Murcielago interior parts and seats. This section of the factory exuded vogue and tradition at the same time.

The factory museum is located in the modern glass building featuring gleaming vintage, racing, and concept cars. One can admire the legendary Countach's, the curvaceous Miura's, the spartan F1's, the menacing Diablo's, the unconventional Espada's, the jet fighter Reventon, and other historic 350's, 400 GT's, Islero's, and Jarama's. In one afternoon, one can learn the Lamborghini genealogy and heritage.

As we were leaving the parking lot, passing a parked white Gallardo, our silver Q5 matched the gallant stance of its bullish cousin in a more subtle manner. The S-line exterior package over a coupe silhouette body imparts the athletic look that is also functional. This design sports a drag coefficient of 0.33; comparable to the drag coefficient of 0.34 of the duPont Registry, collector-item, 201 mph Ferrari F40 currently priced over $500,000. The uniquely Audi proportioned body features dynamic but consistent lines that gives the impression that the car always flows. The large single-frame radiator grill shines the inner confidence of the 237 bhp and 368lb-ft of torque 3.0 liter V6 TDI.

The daylight-white LED's arranged above each “winged” headlight allure anyone who looks at his rear view mirror. The ultra-precise laser and spot welding, high-tech adhesive bonding, and hot-forming variable strength zone materials produce the Q5 that is not only sexy and beautiful but also is very capable to handle all occasions. The 19-inch 5-spoke wheels provide the icing on the cake of this already pleasing eye-candy.

Looking at the Gallardo and Q5 side by side, we could see the common theme radiating from these two automobiles despite the fact that they were designed and built for totally different purposes. Both are the product of timeless craving for engineering excellence and craftsmanship.