I found this picture somewhere in teh internet‘s darker corner and instantly became puzzled. This is a Lancia Stratos production line, obviously. But to the right of it a production line for the Lamborghini Urraco. What the two vehicles have in common is that they were designed by Bertone and they were made at about the same time, 1973–1978 for the Stratos and  1972-1979 for the Urraco.

But one vehicle is a Lamborghini and the other is a Lancia. Lamborghinis were, and still are made in Sant’Agata Bolognese and Lancias in Turin. The two automakers were more competitors than anything. And yet, here we are, Lambos and Lancias side-by-side on the production line.

Soon we will find out more (I’m working on it) on the Lamborghini factory. The truth is that in Sant’Agata Bolognese, the Lamborghini factory is not really a factory but rather an assembly plant. New Lambos are not even painted there, they’re just put together from all the different parts. And procedure was the same was for Lancia. Early production for both the Urraco and Stratos occurred in Turin, at Bertone. The bodies were then shipped to their respective assembly plants.

It was like siblings with the Stratos and the Urraco, separated at birth, and who later turned on each other. Hamlet couldn’t have written a better story.