The great thing about being a Lamborghini designer, apart from, well, being a Lamborghini designer, is that, since you only get to launch a new car every eight to 10 years, excluding the odd special edition, you have a lot of spare time to brainstorm with the rest of the team.
With the VW Group’s (very) deep pockets and Lamborghini’s expressed will to expand its portfolio you can mull over a lot of, let’s say, unusual ideas.
The rumor mill has been suggesting that the company is considering a 2+2 version of the Aventador. Well, Ferrari tried it with the 2+2 mid-engined 308 GT4 in 1973, admittedly without much success, and Lotus is currently doing it with the Evora.
Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann dismissed this idea as just a flight of fantasy. During the Sao Paulo motor show, he told British publication Autocar that, although there is “a lot in the pipeline for the Aventador”, putting two extra –presumably token-seats in front of that mighty V12 was an idea that never made it past the drawing board.
A roadster version of Sant’ Agata’s hypercar is a given and it will be more practical than the uncompromising one-off Aventador J. In the future, expect more hardcore V12 versions, too, since the company likes to play the limited edition game a lot.
What may come as a surprise is Winkelmann’s statement that Lamborghini still hasn’t been able to receive a green light for its Urus SUV by parent company VW Group.
“We hoped a decision would have been taken by now”, said Winkelmann, but the go-no-go will understandably be taken “at Group level”.
Still, this hasn’t affected development of the Urus: “We are working on the project as if it’s going to be accepted”, he added.
According to the publication, the Bentley EXP 9 F SUV is another Group model that still hasn’t received the green light. Insiders claim that the delay is connected to the European crisis, as reported earlier. We venture a thought that VW’s board may be waiting to see the redesigned Bentley proposal before they go ahead with it and, hopefully, haven’t ruled out the Estoque saloon just yet…
By Andrew Tsaousis
PHOTO GALLERY
