The Volkswagen Group is reeling from the fire that happened aboard the Felicity Ace, which could have been carrying as many as 4,000 vehicles to America. There are still a lot of unknowns but, for Lamborghini, it presents a particular problem.
The automaker’s U.S. head, Andrea Baldi, said that he still doesn’t know the extent of the damage that occurred on the ship and won’t know until it can be pulled back to port. One of his biggest concerns, he told Autonews, is the Aventadors on the ship.
The car is completely sold out and was set to be phased out of production, to be replaced by a new model. If the Aventadors onboard were damaged or, worse still, destroyed, the company would have to go back to its suppliers to see if the lost vehicles can be rebuilt.
“At the moment, we don’t know, and we will have to deal with the problem it will present,” Baldi said. “The car is sold out, so there is always a possibility out of 563 units that some cancellation can allow an Aventador replacement, but I prefer to hope for the time being that at least the few Aventadors on the ship will be safe.”
Porsche did something similar in 2019 for the 911 GT2 RS after a cargo ship, the Grande America, sank off the coast of France. The automaker decided to build four extra examples of the car for customers in Brazil whose cars were lost at sea. It may be harder for Lamborghini to do that with the Aventador, though, since it is a standalone vehicle, unlike the 911 GT2 RS, which shared a number of parts with the relatively high volume Porsche 911.
Whether or not the Aventadors or any of the Lamborghini vehicles aboard (most of which were Urus SUVs) are completely lost, there will be delays that could last six months or more.
“We don’t know yet the final outcome. We also are waiting for official information for the time being,” Baldi explained. “We have informed our dealers, and they have informed our customers, because whatever happens, in any case, there will be a delay.”
For now, Baldi just wants a solid accounting of the damage. Estimates for the loss are as high as $335 million, but that could climb once the contents of the Felicity Ace are capable of being inspected after being towed to port.
“We will inform the customers as soon as we have a definitive picture,” Baldi said. “And you know, still we still hope for the best, but we are prepared for the worst.”
