by Jeff Glucker
Orange County, California and Lamborghini have an interesting history. Once home to the world's largest Lamborghini dealership, Orange County has been without a Lambo retailer since 2009, when Lamborghini Orange County owner Vik Keulyian pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges. Now, two years later, an entirely new team is set to bring Lamborghini back to the OC.
Bill Story knows Italian cars. As an Army brat, his family was stationed in Germany, and during their time there, Story's father would take him on trips to Italy visit the Ferrari factory. Those trips to Maranello stayed with Story as he grew older, and he eventually decided to drop out of the US Naval Academy to pursue his passion for racing.
Now, if you're going to spend your free time driving fast cars, you'd better find a means to support it, so Story began working for Ferrari North America in New Jersey. This ultimately led to his opening a dealership in Washington D.C. Today he owns a few stores, and his Newport Beach Ferrari & Maserati shop is one of the largest in the world, producing strong sales numbers despite the economic downturn.
Lamborghini is the next step for Bill Story and his team. Thanks to the good reputation he's built through his Ferrari and Maserati dealerships, Story already has a strong base of supercar-buying customers. He also has Sant'Agata's full support in the effort. In fact, it's working with him right in the store. Pietro Frigerio is the General Manager of Lamborghini Newport Beach. Prior to taking that position, Frigerio spent 10 years working for Lamborghini and was most recently the Chief Operating Officer for Lamborghini North America.
With so many years of experience working in the local market, as well as with the Lambo mothership itself, the crew at Lamborghini Newport Beach uniquely understands the challenges associated with keeping Orange County jet-setters happy. Currently, Lamborghini Newport Beach occupies a temporary home on Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa. It will soon move a few miles up the road to a dedicated home at 1425 West Baker Street.Lamborghini has always popular in Orange County, but recently, it's been a brand without a true home due to the shady practices of the previous dealer in the area. Bill Story is ready to flush that chapter of Lambo's OC history for good. He and his talented group have stepped up stepped up to return the bull to Orange County. Lamborghini Newport Beach is open for business.
