Let’s review: So far, we’ve helped our fellow Americans understand how to pronounce a few different foreign automotive brand names, like Audi (“OW-dee”), Porsche (“POR-shuh”), and Jaguar (“JAG-you-are”). You’d think that a name like Lamborghini would be tricky — but most Americans actually get it right, so we won’t bother going into detail about the founding father Ferruccio Lamborghini and his quest to piss off Enzo Ferrari and beat him at his own game, leading to the creation of the company in 1963 (but the history behind it is definitely entertaining, if you’re looking for a Google rabbit hole).
Related: 2019 Lamborghini Urus First Drive: Supercar Cattle-Prodding an SUV
These days, Lamborghini is actually owned by Volkswagen Group through its Audi (say it again with us … OW-deeeee) subsidiary, which is why if you look closely at some Lambo models from 10 years ago, you’ll spot common multimedia systems, switches and controls from Audi models of the same era.
Pronouncing Lamborghini isn’t the difficult part (it’s “LAM-bor-GEE-nee”). But pronouncing some of Lamborghini’s vehicle names can be decidedly tricky. First of all, know that despite Lamborghini being an Italian brand, almost all of the company’s vehicle names are actually Spanish words and proper names. Most of those are either the names of famous Spanish bulls used in bullfighting contests or breeds of bulls used for that purpose. There are a few exceptions to this rule, and we’ll point them out as we go.
Below is a quick rundown on how to pronounce some of Lamborghini’s more popular vehicle names.
1. Murciélago
Pronounced “moor-SYELL-ago,” it was built from 2001-10 as a successor to the Diablo and named after a bull that survived 24 sword strokes in an 1879 fight in which it performed so admirably, its life was spared. Fun fact: The word “murciélago” actually means “bat” in Spanish.
2. Gallardo
Pronounced “gah-YAR-doh” and made from 2003-13, the V-10-powered Gallardo is named after a breed of fighting bull. The double “L” in the name is pronounced as a “Y” in Spanish, so it’s not “gah-LAR-doh” … doh!
3. Huracán
Pronounced “oo-ra-KAHN,” it replaced the Gallardo for the 2015 model year and is the Spanish word for hurricane. It’s also named after a bull that fought in 1879.
4. Urus
Pronounced “OO-rooss,” Lamborghini’s second SUV (remember the LM002?) is named after a breed that is the wild ancestor of the domestic cattle we know today.
5. Countach
Pronounced “KOON-tosh” and one of the few Lamborghinis that is not named after a bull or breed, it’s actually a derivative of a Piedmontese-dialect word used by those Northern Italian people as an expression of surprise or alarm, or even “Wow!”
More From Cars.com:
- What’s the Right Way to Say Porsche?
- How Do You Pronounce Audi Properly?
- 2019 Lamborghini Urus: Mild-Mannered Looks, Supercar Secret Identity
- Lamborghini Urus: 6 Reasons It’s Ridiculous
- 2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante Video Review
Of course, there plenty of other cars from Lamborghini’s history that we could look at, all of which use names related to bullfighting (Jalpa, Urraco, Miura, Islero, Jarama, Veneno, Diablo, Reventón), but there are a few that aren’t related to bullfighting at all (Sesto Elemento, Centenario, Sián), yet are still in Spanish.
Got an idea for an automotive-related word, phrase, brand or vehicle that you’d like to know how to properly pronounce? Drop us a line and let us know!
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