Lamborghini’s Big Books of Bulls

From the September/October 2026 issue of Car and Driver.

Given the outsize role that spite purportedly played in Ferruccio Lamborghini’s decision to enter the automobile-manufacturing business, you might think the Italian magnate decided to pin a bull to his vehicles as a representation of his animus toward Enzo Ferrari. Well, you thought wrong. Officially, at least, the bull is a nod to both Ferruccio’s zodiac sign (Taurus) and his penchant for saying he was “tamugno come un toro” (Italian for “as strong as a bull”).

Lamborghini’s bull-based monikers began with the Miura, a name derived from the lineage of fighting bulls bred at the Miura Ranch. The later Islero was the first Lambo named after a famous toro.

A bear, a mountain lion, or a wolf would have driven home the bad blood between Ferruccio and Enzo’s prancing horse. But leaf through the two resources that Lamborghini primarily consults for famous bulls to inspire car names—Encyclopedia of Bullfighting by Barnaby Conrad and Los Toros: Tratado Técnico e Histórico by José María de Cossío—and a pattern emerges: The rowdiest of fighting bulls not only killed, injured, and maimed many matadors, but they also killed, injured, and maimed many horses.

While Conrad’s English-language book discusses the fundamental aspects of bullfighting and the most celebrated bulls and matadors up to the time of its publication in 1961, de Cossío’s multivolume Spanish-language masterpiece really digs deep into the nuances and history of the sport. For an inside scoop on the lore behind the names of most past, current, and future Lamborghini vehicles, de Cossío’s Los Toros is the reference you want, because within its pages are the names and stories of more than 1000 famous fighting bulls.

Below are a few real-life 19th-century bulls that we think Lamborghini ought to consider for future model names. Every one of these toros has at least a nine-horse body count too. Because, though Ferruccio is dead, his spite toward Ferrari is destined to live forever.

Despite their shared last name, Greg Fink is not related to Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's infamous Rat Fink. Both Finks, however, are known for their love of cars, car culture, and—strangely—monogrammed one-piece bathing suits. Greg's career in the media industry goes back more than a decade. His previous experience includes stints as an editor at publications such as U.S. News & World Report, The Huffington Post, Motor1.com, and MotorTrend.