We had the better part of thirty minutes Sunday with Lamborghini boss (and most beautiful man in the car business) Stephan Winkelmann and we ran every Lambo question in the book past him. How about that Rambo Lambo super SUV? An Espada-style front-engine 2+2? The Miura in a different configuration someday given the fact that the Ferrari Dino is a-coming?
Nothing. Based on the straight responses Signor Winkelmann provided, Lamborghini is not planning on doing anything for the next ten years and will simply exist with mild Gallardo and Murcièlago tweaks until the factory just evaporates.
No but seriously, reading ‘tween the lines, there is indeed a V10-powered super SUV coming by mid-2009 and it will definitely share the platform with the new Porsche Cayenne, VW Touareg, and Audi Q7. The next priority on the future list is that 2+2 front-engined V12 inspired somewhat by the old Espada.
Lamborghini will, in the meantime, slowly grow sales worldwide and focus on improving its bottom line margin year after year. Overall profits for 2006 range between four and five percent, a big increase over 2005 profits of 1.7 percent. Winkelmann states that instead of repeating the 26 percent sales growth between 2005 (1600 cars sold) and 2006 (2087 sold), growth will be slowed to just eight percent during 2007 while the company focuses more on popularizing the brand on t-shirts and caps, and improves network efficiencies to maximize profits.
But what of Concept S? More Versace versions? Gallardo Nera? Lightweight versions? Rear-wheel drive? Direct-injection engines?
All of these will be pursued between now and the 2010 deliveries of Lambo SUVs. In fact, at March’s Geneva show we’ll see a much lighter weight Gallardo prototype edition that could possibly have rear-wheel drive.
