1971–1972

As a world financial crisis began to take hold, Ferruccio Lamborghini's companies began to run into financial difficulties. In 1971, Lamborghini's tractor company, which exported around half of its production, ran into difficulties. Cento, Trattori's South African importer, cancelled all its orders. After staging a successful coup d'état, the new military government of Bolivia cancelled a large order of tractors that was partially ready to ship from Genoa. Trattori's employees, like Automobili's, were unionized and could not be laid off. In 1972, Lamborghini sold his entire holding in Trattori to SAME, another tractor builder.^[17][44][45]
The entire Lamborghini group was now finding itself in financial troubles. Development at the automaker slowed; the production version of the LP 500 missed the 1972 Geneva Show, and only the P400 GTS version of the Jarama was on display. Faced with a need to cut costs, Paulo Stanzani set aside the LP 500's powerplant, slating a smaller, 4-litre engine for production.^[46] Ferruccio Lamborghini began courting buyers for Automobili; he entered negotiations with Georges-Henri Rossetti, a wealthy Swiss businessman and friend of Ferruccio's, as well as being the owner of an Islero and an Espada.^[46] Ferruccio sold Rossetti 51% of the company for US$600,000, thereby relinquishing control of the automaker he had founded. He continued to work at the Sant'Agata factory; Rossetti rarely involved himself in Automobili's affairs.