Dealership Able To Sell Rare $400K Lamborghinis
Take a stroll down Santa Cruz Avenue in Los Gatos, and chances are the Lamborghini of Silicon Valley showroom will catch your eye. Whether you detest or delight in the appearance of another downtown dealership, your nose will inexorably find itself pressed against the glass to view the glittering array of exotic Italian cars.
Admittedly, the purchase of a “Lambo” is not in the cards for the Average Giuseppe. At roughly a quarter of a million dollars per vehicle (with some edging over $400K, depending on model and customization), you’re not likely to find one of these beauties in the parking lot at Safeway on a Tuesday morning.
Silicon Valley Auto Group Marketing Manager Salvatore Pelusi, who is responsible for promoting Lamborghini’s luxury brand to potential buyers, is qualified to answer the question. In his view, image is everything. “People buy Lamborghinis for a couple of reasons,” Pelusi said. “First, there’s the whole concept of exclusivity; of having something very different that no one else has. But it’s also the idea that you’re owning a piece of history, because so few of the cars are made.”
Fewer than 2,000 Lamborghinis are shipped from the factory each year, amping up that exclusivity factor. The cars are still produced in the same spot just outside of Bologna, Italy, where the first one was conceived in 1963 under the aegis of Italian businessman Ferruccio Lamborghini, a successful tractor factory owner.
“It’s a very proud brand,” Pelusi said. “The company and its customers share in that pride in what they are, and what they represent.” Peer through the window of a MurciÇlago LP640, Lamborghini’s most coveted model, and you’ll see what mere mortals only dream of in their wildest fantasies, a speedometer that tops out at 220 mph. Why bother having the ability to barrel along at roughly three times the normal speed limit? “The Lamborghini is a pretty aggressive car,” Pelusi said. “It’s kind of the Italian ‘extreme brand.’ The MurciÇlago goes from zero to 60 in under 3 seconds. Our customers tend to really appreciate the engineering that makes that possible.”
Among those who’ve closed a deal at Lamborghini of Silicon Valley are corporate executives, members of professional athletic teams, celebrities and several of the area’s “Baby Millionaires.” Despite the dot-com bust, Pelusi said business is consistently good, and he predicts that 30 Lamborghinis will roll out of the showroom this year. Once a new owner takes the keys, it’s very likely he (or she) will give Jim Heady, president of the Lamborghini Club of America, a call.
Now living in Orinda, Heady spent his middle school years at the Pied Piper School for Boys in Los Gatos. In 1972, long before Heady began his career building automobile dealerships, he scraped together the funds needed to buy a Lamborghini Espada. Four years later he acquired a Countach, which boasted the brand’s signature “scissor” doors.
“People would follow me out to my office in Hayward, just to see that car,” Heady recalled. “That was a very exciting period of time, because all of the Italian manufacturers were producing great cars. But the Lamborghini was so far ahead with the design of the Countach. Driving it made you feel like a rock star.” That “heady” feeling has never left him, he said. Now in his 70s, Heady has helped propagate the super car brand throughout the U.S. Now retired, he spends his time writing, editing and publishing the club’s glossy magazine, and orchestrates numerous events for members each year.
“Personally, I’m an old hot-rodder and custom car builder; I love going to car shows and drooling,” Heady said. “Thank God I’m now too old to own a hotrod. But I’ll never stop drooling.” Heady inherited the oversight of the Lamborghini Club from the person he calls the “premier” mechanic for Italian exotics, Milano Imports owner Al Burtoni. For nearly as long as Lamborghini has been in business, Burtoni has been lovingly attending to its products at his Gilroy shop. He has a clear image of the average Lamborghini driver: “It’s usually a fellow who grew up with posters on his wall of the Countach, got into high-tech or another lucrative industry and did well. The first thing he does is go out and buy his dream car; the one he’s wanted since he was a child. The average guy wouldn’t have this car.”
Lamborghini of Silicon Valley’s service department on Blossom Hill Road keeps its new vehicles in top form. But when owners of older exotics have a vexing mechanical issue, Burtoni is the one to call. “Our forte is the ‘problem children,’” he said. “The biggest problem we’ve found with Italian cars over the years is that they don’t have good manuals, or didn’t in the old days.” Burtoni attributes the lack of documentation to the small size of Lamborghini’s operation in its early days. But since the purchase of the company by the Audi division of Volkswagen, more infrastructure funding has dramatically increased Lamborghini’s efficiency.
“Since Audi got in there with plenty of dollars to throw at the cause, the company has flourished,” Burtoni said. “Now the cars are well made, to the point that sometimes we’ll service one, and then not see it again for four or five years. Still, a stitch in time saves nine … particularly with Italian cars.” Despite the backing from Audi, Lamborghini’s demand will always outpace its supply, Burtoni said. In contrast to the assembly lines that churn out American cars by the hour, and even German luxury automakers such as Mercedes and BMW, Lamborghini’s small factory in Italy only can produce a limited number of cars each year.
Take a stroll down Santa Cruz Avenue in Los Gatos, and chances are the Lamborghini of Silicon Valley showroom will catch your eye. Whether you detest or delight in the appearance of another downtown dealership, your nose will inexorably find itself pressed against the glass to view the glittering array of exotic Italian cars.
Admittedly, the purchase of a “Lambo” is not in the cards for the Average Giuseppe. At roughly a quarter of a million dollars per vehicle (with some edging over $400K, depending on model and customization), you’re not likely to find one of these beauties in the parking lot at Safeway on a Tuesday morning.
Silicon Valley Auto Group Marketing Manager Salvatore Pelusi, who is responsible for promoting Lamborghini’s luxury brand to potential buyers, is qualified to answer the question. In his view, image is everything. “People buy Lamborghinis for a couple of reasons,” Pelusi said. “First, there’s the whole concept of exclusivity; of having something very different that no one else has. But it’s also the idea that you’re owning a piece of history, because so few of the cars are made.”
Fewer than 2,000 Lamborghinis are shipped from the factory each year, amping up that exclusivity factor. The cars are still produced in the same spot just outside of Bologna, Italy, where the first one was conceived in 1963 under the aegis of Italian businessman Ferruccio Lamborghini, a successful tractor factory owner.
“It’s a very proud brand,” Pelusi said. “The company and its customers share in that pride in what they are, and what they represent.” Peer through the window of a MurciÇlago LP640, Lamborghini’s most coveted model, and you’ll see what mere mortals only dream of in their wildest fantasies, a speedometer that tops out at 220 mph. Why bother having the ability to barrel along at roughly three times the normal speed limit? “The Lamborghini is a pretty aggressive car,” Pelusi said. “It’s kind of the Italian ‘extreme brand.’ The MurciÇlago goes from zero to 60 in under 3 seconds. Our customers tend to really appreciate the engineering that makes that possible.”
Among those who’ve closed a deal at Lamborghini of Silicon Valley are corporate executives, members of professional athletic teams, celebrities and several of the area’s “Baby Millionaires.” Despite the dot-com bust, Pelusi said business is consistently good, and he predicts that 30 Lamborghinis will roll out of the showroom this year. Once a new owner takes the keys, it’s very likely he (or she) will give Jim Heady, president of the Lamborghini Club of America, a call.
Now living in Orinda, Heady spent his middle school years at the Pied Piper School for Boys in Los Gatos. In 1972, long before Heady began his career building automobile dealerships, he scraped together the funds needed to buy a Lamborghini Espada. Four years later he acquired a Countach, which boasted the brand’s signature “scissor” doors.
“People would follow me out to my office in Hayward, just to see that car,” Heady recalled. “That was a very exciting period of time, because all of the Italian manufacturers were producing great cars. But the Lamborghini was so far ahead with the design of the Countach. Driving it made you feel like a rock star.” That “heady” feeling has never left him, he said. Now in his 70s, Heady has helped propagate the super car brand throughout the U.S. Now retired, he spends his time writing, editing and publishing the club’s glossy magazine, and orchestrates numerous events for members each year.
“Personally, I’m an old hot-rodder and custom car builder; I love going to car shows and drooling,” Heady said. “Thank God I’m now too old to own a hotrod. But I’ll never stop drooling.” Heady inherited the oversight of the Lamborghini Club from the person he calls the “premier” mechanic for Italian exotics, Milano Imports owner Al Burtoni. For nearly as long as Lamborghini has been in business, Burtoni has been lovingly attending to its products at his Gilroy shop. He has a clear image of the average Lamborghini driver: “It’s usually a fellow who grew up with posters on his wall of the Countach, got into high-tech or another lucrative industry and did well. The first thing he does is go out and buy his dream car; the one he’s wanted since he was a child. The average guy wouldn’t have this car.”
Lamborghini of Silicon Valley’s service department on Blossom Hill Road keeps its new vehicles in top form. But when owners of older exotics have a vexing mechanical issue, Burtoni is the one to call. “Our forte is the ‘problem children,’” he said. “The biggest problem we’ve found with Italian cars over the years is that they don’t have good manuals, or didn’t in the old days.” Burtoni attributes the lack of documentation to the small size of Lamborghini’s operation in its early days. But since the purchase of the company by the Audi division of Volkswagen, more infrastructure funding has dramatically increased Lamborghini’s efficiency.
“Since Audi got in there with plenty of dollars to throw at the cause, the company has flourished,” Burtoni said. “Now the cars are well made, to the point that sometimes we’ll service one, and then not see it again for four or five years. Still, a stitch in time saves nine … particularly with Italian cars.” Despite the backing from Audi, Lamborghini’s demand will always outpace its supply, Burtoni said. In contrast to the assembly lines that churn out American cars by the hour, and even German luxury automakers such as Mercedes and BMW, Lamborghini’s small factory in Italy only can produce a limited number of cars each year.
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