My Lunch With Stefano: Lamborghini CEO Teases Future Products

I sat down for lunch with Lamborghini's CEO, Stefano Domenicali, on the patio at the Polo Lounge inside the still-posh Beverly Hills Hotel. Domenicali was swinging through Los Angeles after visiting Australia (sales are up!) before heading back to Lambo HQ in Sant'Agata, Italy. One day only, and I was lucky enough to enjoy lunch with the man himself. But I should stress, we were eating lunch, talking shop about Lamborghini of course, but also the car world in general. I wish I could report back all the off-the-record comments Stefano made, but what's below will have to suffice.

Two Doors, Four Seats

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Lamborghini is still seriously considering a fourth model. This yet unnamed car would be a GT, 2+2 model, aimed at the Ferrari GTC4Lusso. The real question is chassis. Does Lamborghini go with Volkswagen Group's MSB chassis that underpins the Porsche Panamera and Bentley Continental GT, or does it use PPE (Premium Platform Electric) from the Taycan and Audi E-Tron GT Concept? Domenicali is taking a wait-and-see attitude, saying that he's not sure if pure electric will ever be sexy enough to be a Lamborghini. Maybe, maybe not.

Rambo Lambo 2

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Lamborghini has also looked into the feasibility of doing a hardcore off-roader, a true LM002 successor. As the brand is well aware, Jeep Wrangler sales are stronger than ever (the 15th best-selling vehicle in America in 2018), and there's already a yearlong wait to get the new AMG G 63. Because of the Rambo Lambo, Sant'Agata has the authenticity needed to bring a near-military off-roader to market. Also driving their interest is the fact that values of LM002s are through the roof. Not only that, but customers are approaching Lamborghini hoping to buy the modern classic. However, as only 347 were ever built, the demand massively outstrips the supply. Domenicali would not comment past the fact that Lamborghini has looked into the feasibility of such a vehicle.

Row, Row, Row Your Lambo

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Lamborghini looked into manual transmissions for special editions of both the Huracán and Aventador. Porsche has proved conclusively to Volkswagen Group that there's a market for high-end sports cars with row-your-own transmissions. Specifically, the reintroduction of the GT3 manual (with more than a 50 percent take rate) and the surprise success of the GT3 Touring. The problem for Lamborghini is cost.

Even if it charged a $25,000 premium for, say, the Aventador, and offered 200 units, that $5 million would not come even kind of close to covering the cost of converting the Aventador's ISR seven-speed box from auto to manual. Also, because the Aventador is mechanically unique, there's not a properly sized manual lying around that Lambo could just plop in.

What about the Huracán, you ask? True, the Huracán is based on the Audi R8, and the R8 used to have a manual transmission (as did the Huracán's predecessor, the Gallardo)—just use that! No such luck, as that lovely gated six-speed is long out of production and would cost too much to be viable. How does Porsche do it? How can the GT3 offer a manual as a no-cost option? Easy. That particular gearbox is an old racing box. It's been in production for years, if not decades. The tooling's all paid for.

Bottom line—although Lamborghini would like to offer manual transmissions to its customers, it simply can't.

Best Year Yet Until the Next

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Lamborghini sold nearly 6,000 cars last year, and it's on track to sell 8,000-plus in 2019. I remember when 4,000 raging bulls was cause for celebration. Food for thought: Ferrari production is capped at 7,000 units. Why so many Lambos? Urus. Demand has been even higher than expected for Lambo's second-ever SUV. While kids on Instagram take great pleasure in saying it looks like a Pontiac Aztek, nearly everyone who has driven one (hi, Mom!) realizes what a serious performance beast it is. Whatever the final tally is, Domenicali would like to cap production at around that number. To build more would dilute the brands' appeal.