This is an unusual example of the tractors that came from Lamborghini Trattori in the 1950s, it’s one of 10 or so prototypes made that included both a set of wheels and a set of tracks.
Ultimately the production version would have just the tracks installed, the added expense and complexity of the additional wheels must have been deemed unnecessary. The wheels allow the prototype to be driven on the road when needed, with no concern about damaging the asphalt.
Fast Facts – The Lamborghini Agricole DL 30C
- Ferruccio Lamborghini founded Lamborghini Trattori in 1948 in Cento, Italy. The initial focus of the company was the production of tractors, primarily for the post-war Italian agricultural sector. Lamborghini started by converting military vehicles into tractors, using war surplus materials, which was both cost-effective and met the urgent demand for agricultural machinery in post-war Italy.
- During the 1950s and 1960s Lamborghini Trattori gained popularity for its unique designs – the company introduced a series of tractors with fuel-efficient, air-cooled engines which could be easily maintained by their owners. This period marked significant growth, with Lamborghini expanding its market beyond Italy – becoming a well-known name in the European agricultural sector.
- Ferruccio Lamborghini’s interest in sports cars led to the establishment of Lamborghini Automobili in 1963. This venture was separate from his tractor business but shared the Lamborghini name and emblem. The creation of Lamborghini Automobili was partly motivated by Ferruccio’s dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the Ferrari cars he owned which led to an argument with Enzo Ferrari – this inspired him to create his own line of luxury GT cars.
- The tractor you see here is a rare Lamborghini Agricole DL 30C. It’s one of just 10 prototypes of this specific model that was made, including both a set of tracks and a set of wheels – the latter allowing the vehicle to be used on the road when needed. It’s now being offered for sale by Artcurial with a price guide starting at $43,850 USD.
The Lamborghini Trattori Crawlers
In 1955 unveiled one of their most significant models to date, the Lamborghini DL 25C where the “C” stood for “Crawler” – a reference to the fact that the tractor rode on tracks like a tank rather than the more traditional rubber tires front and back.
Above Video: This vintage episode of 60 Minutes features Morley Safer meeting with Ferruccio Lamborghini. It also includes rare footage of Ferruccio both driving one of his own tractors, and driving a Countach.
Crawler tractors offer some benefits over their wheeled siblings, as tractors spend almost all their life being driven off road in dirt, mud, and a mixture of the two, a track system allows it to traverse almost any level of muck without getting stuck.
The downside to tracks is that they’re made of steel or iron, and they can severely damage asphalt if they’re driven on the road. A few solutions to this issue have been conceived over the years, perhaps the most common is to insert rubber “plugs” into the steel tracks at specific intervals, providing a rubber surface that contacts the road instead of the metal.
One other solution was dreamt up at Lamborghini Trattori in the mid-1950s, it consisted of a seperate set of wheels with two at the back and one at the front. The large rear wheels are both driven by the tracks and the front wheel is on a swivel – together they lift the tracks up off the ground and allow it to be driven on the road with no damage to the black top.
Steering is accomplished using the standard method on tracked vehicles, you apply a brake to the tracks on the side you want to turn towards and the vehicle turns. This isn’t particularly precise, and if you’re not careful you can end up doing a full 360º turn on the spot.
Known as the Lamborghini Agricole DL 30C, it was powered by a 1,810cc two-cylinder diesel engine producing 30 bhp, sending power back through a 4-speed manual transmission and then out to the tracks (and the wheels if they’re fitted).
The rear wheels bolt directly onto the rear section of the tracks, the front swivel wheel bolts to the front of the tractor, and together they keep the tracks up off the asphalt so it can be driven on the road without damaging the surface.
The Agricole DL 30C would turn out to be an evolutionary dead end, just 10 prototypes were made – all finished in a distinctive shade of bright yellow. There was also a standard DL 30C developed, one with just the tracks and no wheels, that would be produced in far higher numbers.
The 1958 Lamborghini Agricole DL 30C Shown Here
The tractor you see here is an original 1958 Lamborghini Agricole DL 30C that benefits from a full restoration to as-new condition. We haven’t seen one of these come up for sale before and no one is quite sure how many remain in the world.
This example of the DL 30C comes in the correct shade of yellow, it has a German title, and the chassis number #2059/30. Thanks to the road-going kit this tractor can be driven on the road, though the speeds would be low enough to make walking a viable alternative.
Vintage Lamborghini tractors like this (and their Porsche tractor contemporaries) still haven’t really seen the same kind of explosion in value enjoyed by their road car siblings, and they typically remain by far the cheapest way to get a Lamborghini into your garage, albeit one that won’t be setting any new records down the autobahn.
Here you see the primary hand controls, the center lever is for changing gear and the levers to the left and right of it control the tracks and thus the steering. It has four forward gears and a reverse.
This unusual piece of Lamborghini history is now due to roll across the auction block with Artcurial on the 2nd of February 2024 with a price guide of €40,000 – €60,000, which works out to $43,850 – $65,775 USD.
If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Artcurial
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
