The changes that were taking place around Lamborghini， however， reflected the social situation around the world， particularly in Italy. Labour unions unrest in that period created a difficult situation in all factories， particularly at engineering companies in northern Italy， in which the owners control was openly contested and proper organisation became increasing difficult. For Lamborghini， long accustomed to the direct， sometimes rough， somewhat paternalistic but attentive control of his factories， this new situation became intolerable. In 1972 he sold his majority stake to the Swiss Georges-Henri Rossetti， and the following year he sold his remaining shares to a friend， René Leimer. Thus， the company founder - the man who had been the driving force behind its extraordinary， vital explosion during the first eight years - left the scene for good.
1972-1980
The oil crisis sparked by the 1973 Arab-Israeli War created a climate of fear about petrol supplies. As a result， the big， fuel-guzzling super sports cars rapidly became passé. They were considered the expression of unjustifiable luxury， whose exploitation of too much of our planets natural resources was no longer acceptable. These were extremist stances that were destined to pass， but at the time they created enormous difficulties for all the makers of this type of car. Given its market position at the top end of the super car segment， Lamborghini was dealt a particularly harsh blow and the company did its best to react. In an attempt to overcome these problems， two new Urraco models were presented. In effect， they were spin-offs of the P250 range： a two-litre model (P200)， again with a single camshaft but this time with a lower engine displacement in deference to tax restrictions， and a more powerful and mature 3-litre model (P300)， with double overhead camshaft timing system and the power raised to 250 hp.The gradually deteriorating social situation and the drop in sales made it necessary to streamline the production range.
1987-1994
On April23， 1987， Nuova Automobili Lamborghini SpA was taken over by the US Chrysler company.The American owners quickly settled in at SantAgata and a period of intense activity began， this time in close collaboration with a major automotive industry. The premises were good， although there were a few false steps at the beginning： the prototype of the Portofino. Production of the Quattrovalvole series stopped in 1988， with a total of 631 units. In the meantime， the company gained experience with composite materials and a special Countach， the Evoluzione， demonstrated the full potential of this project. Weight reduction permitted by these new materials， coupled with a more powerful engine achieved above all using new engine technologies management， offered extraordinary performance. Unfortunately， however， the Evoluzione never went into production.
1994-1998
Chryslers subsequent sudden decision to sell the Bologna Company to a group of unknown Indonesian investors seems far more difficult to explain. This change of hands became official on January21， 1994， destabilizing the company management.
Lamborghini turned to several top-level carmakers， including Audi， to request their technical collaboration. The initial idea was to ask for the 8-cylinder engine of the A8 flagship to power the future baby Lamborghini， but Audis technical staff went back to company headquarters in Germany with very positive reports on the status of the company， its newfound good management and the professional level of the development work being done on its cars.
The first letter of intents between Audi and Lamborghini was signed on June12 1998， and the contract for the complete and definitive transfer of all the shares from the last Indonesian shareholder to the German company was completed on July27 of the same year， just 50 days later.
1998-Nowadays
The first major innovation came in 2001 with the successor to the Diablo： the Murciélago. It is almost superfluous to point out that this new model was also named after a famous， fierce fighting bull. The fact that this Spanish word actually means bat only serves to augment the dark， almost nocturnal magnetism of this magnificent new car. Its power has also been boosted to 580 hp， and this obviously increases its speed， muscle and acceleration. What has been augmented above all is the sensation of the overall quality of the car， with a level of finishing touches that is even better than the already excellent results of the last Diablos. Sales have immediately gone well， and Lamborghini can count on selling each one it makes， as these cars are reserved by customers well in advance.
On the occasion of the 2003 Motor Show in Frankfurt Lamborghini showed for the first time a race version of its highly acclaimed super sports car， the Lamborghini Murciélago. Named Murciélago R-GT， Lamborghini was developing the competition car jointly with race experts Reiter Engineering and mother company Audis sports division， Audi Sport. The new Murciélago R-GT will offer Lamborghini clients a highly competitive car to participate in professional motorsport events on an international level. With the Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT clients can compete in national and international race events such as the European FIA GT Championship or the American LeMans Series in the United States.
In July 2005 it was presented the Special Edition of the Gallardo， the Gallardo SE which was limited to 250 units and was characterized by a two-tone body paint， an even more sporty interior and technical improvement.