Automotive News Europe - December 2017 - Talk from the Top Supplement - 13

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

TALK FROM THE TOP

Uncharted territory
Lamborghini CEO predicts SUV, 2+2 GT could push sales to 10,000

amborghini is preparing to shake up
its business with the launch of its first
SUV. The Urus is expected to double the
supercar maker's sales to 7,000 units
by 2019. Now the company is deciding
whether to add a 2+2 GT sports car that
could push the Audi-owned brand's sales
above 10,000 for the first time in its 54year history by the end of the next decade. Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali discussed these topics and more with
Automotive News Europe Associate Publisher and Editor Luca Ciferri.
The auto industry is undergoing major
changes. What will Lamborghini look
like a decade from now?
We are adding our first SUV, the Urus,
which will make Lamborghini relevant to
customers who never considered us before. We are also currently investigating
a 2+2-seat GT that would add space and
comfort to the super sport performance
we offer in that sector. At the same time,
we are shifting toward electrification, first
with plug-in hybrids and, when battery
technology will permit Lamborghini-style
performance, also pure EVs.
As the industry shifts toward SUVs,
do you fear that your customers may
trade in their Huracan or Aventador to
buy an Urus?
Since a Lamborghini customer owns an
average of four to six cars, including at
least one SUV, we envisage him replacing his current SUV with a Urus and keeping his Huracan or Aventador. We do not
see cannibalization between these Lamborghini products, because the Urus is
a daily driver while the two-seaters are
rarely used on an everyday basis.
Lamborghini has built just one
2+2 model, the Espada, which was
launched in 1968. Since then, the
company had been struggling to create a successor. Why?
Combining high performance with interior space and driving comfort in a package that, design-wise, should be striking as well as highly efficient in terms
or aerodynamics isn't easy. Therefore,
I'm pushing the company to shorten
our time to market from the current

2017

In Partnership with

Meet the boss
❚ NAME: Stefano Domenicali
❚ T
ITLE: Lamborghini CEO
❚ AGE: 52
❚ M
AIN CHALLENGE: Tripling

sales within a decade.

48 months to about 34. I want to freeze
the design as late as possible to be as
current as possible on the latest trends
and avoid any mistakes.

hybrid. Given that the new car is some
years away and that we have an average
product cycle of eight years, we will continue to offer a V-12 for a while.

If the 2+2 GT is approved, when
would it arrive on the market?
Between 2025 and 2027.

Which model will be your first with an
electrified powertrain?
The Urus will have a plug-in hybrid variant that will appear in early 2020. The
successors to the Aventador and Huracan will come only as plug-in hybrids.
This is the only way to maintain performance and keep Lamborghini's engine
sound while also reducing emissions.

Volume-wise, it could take Lamborghini
to about 10,000 units, right?
Correct.
Lamborghini has shown two 2+2 GT
concepts in the last decade: the 2008
Estoque and the 2014 Asterion. Do
they provide any hints?
What we have in mind is completely different, but the Asterion is the closest
thing we have publicly shown so far.
What powertrain would work best?
The Aventador's V-12 is ruled out for
package reasons, thus we are currently
debating between the Huracan's V-10
and the Urus's V-8.
A normally aspirated V-12 is part of
your DNA. Will it survive the move to
downsized turbocharged engines?
The next Aventador will have a normally
aspirated V-12 coupled with a plug-in

And a pure EV?
We do not see the right balance of size
and weight to deliver enough performance and range for a Lamborghini based
on current and future battery technology.
That is why we are exploring a new type
of super capacitor with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that could
permit Lamborghini-style performance.
When could such a car could become
a reality?
Hard to say, but probably not sooner
than 2030. I think a company must invest both in expanding its current range
as well as looking into the distant future
to avoid being left behind. ANE

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