Sunday 7th February 2016

Winkelmann's Lamborghini - end of an era? PH Blog

Is Lamborghini's sharp-dressed boss staying or going? And what will it mean if it's the latter?

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I was talking the other day about how certain people in the car industry seem to perfectly embody the products they build. The example in that case was Tyrone Johnson, the German-born, American-educated project head for the Focus RS - it's like his CV was made for translating a European performance car into something Americans and the rest of the world can enjoy.

Miura Concept too retro for Winkelmann

Stephan Winkelmann is the same. Who better to lead a brand trading on its Italian identity but underpinned by German engineering and commercial discipline than a man born in Berlin but raised and schooled in Rome? His combination of Teutonic rigour and Italian flamboyance perfectly represents how Lamborghini has evolved under Audi ownership since 1998 and his leadership from 2005 onwards. And contrasts vividly with the somewhat patronising attitude I witnessed first hand from stony faced group R&D boss Ulrich Hackenberg when he gatecrashed the original Huracan technical briefing. The impression Hackenberg gave was of an amusing little side project dependent on Audi generosity and mechanical cast-offs for its existence. Oh to have been a fly on the wall as Hackenberg's A8 whisked him out of the factory gates...

Is Winkelmann's commercial success going to see him sucked back into the Audi mothership though? And what would it mean for Lamborghini if he went? Rumours persist but when asked on the Huracan Spyder launch he remained quiet, still talking about plans for the future, the pending factory redevelopment and recruitment drive required to begin building the Urus in 2018.

German born, Italian raised - who better for Lambo?

Is the transformation of Lamborghini from a romanticised, occasionally shambolic builder of outrageous supercars and into a profitable business something to celebrate or mourn though? Certainly the cars have got 'better'. But not everyone appreciates the direction they're going in. And openly referring to the Huracan Spyder as a lifestyle product won't calm fears he's rather more focused on that than building hairy-chested supercars.

His passion for the brand seems sincere though. He reflects his tenure at the top pretty much matches that of Ferruccio himself in duration but that the founder's legacy and values actually become more important to the brand as time goes on. It's interesting hearing him talk on subjects like the Miura, whose 50th birthday will be celebrated this year. Although the classic side of the business - certifying old cars and offering 'PoloStorico' factory restorations - follows Ferrari's business model Lamborghini isn't as sentimental about the past. He says when they built the Miura concept 10 years ago they had customers desperate to buy such a car and opening their wallets wide. Reviving the Miura would have been an easy commercial win and the temptation must have been enormous. But, to him, Lamborghini always looks forward, not backwards.

Is the Spyder a bit too lifestyle?

Defining personal and corporate image as one and the same has earned esteem from many at Lamborghini. And the customers apparently adore his well-groomed alpha male image and willingness to engage with them. It's not without peril though, those not as enthusiastic about the direction he's taken the product equally scathing of both man and machine. And having invested so much of his personality in the brand can he fit in anywhere else?

Ferruccio's personality remains at the heart of the Lamborghini legend. Whether he stays or goes Winkelmann's - for better or worse - is probably of near-equal significance.

Dan

[Fire99]

Flamboyance and good engineering don't need to be mutually exclusive..
Looking at Koenigsegg, OK they aren't perfect but Christian von Koenigsegg certainly appears to be passionate about his product and attention to detail.

In my humble opinion, being part of VAG means there are too many influences and pressures from within the group beyond their ability to make cars well.
Having Bugatti, Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini, not to mention Audi as well, all under the same roof in one way or another will (even if its subtle) influence design and target market.

I don't think it's an exact science but the phrase "Don't throw baby out with the bath water" springs to mind. Much needed fixing with Lamborghini but it also had some amazing and unique attributes. In the re-engineering phase I think some of those attributes were sacrificed in the morphing towards the Audi-ghini. The pendulum has swung too far for me..

[Fire99]

aeropilot said:

While that's true for those of us that remember the days when you had to be a serious petrolhead to contemplate buying a Lambo as they were largely crap, and monsterously unreliable.....in todays world, the people with money to buy them are not really old school petrolheads, and wants the 'hey look at me' Lambo image but with the 'If only everything in life was reliable as a Volkswagen' ownership experience .....

I agree in part but just looking at the likes of Koenigsegg and Pagani, they have unique charm and are clearly 'different' from the mainstream bunch.
My argument is that no I don't expect Lamborghini to make carbon copies of the Countach, Jalpa (thank goodness) and early Diablo but in some ways I feel VAG has deliberately steered them into the 'Hey look at me' market because that is where the volume sales are.. (relatively speaking)

There is a mid-way point which I feel Lamborghini have really missed (and VAG probably would never understand), it's the improving engineering and reliability, even dare I say a few dynamic touches but sacrificing the high end of volume for a slightly more 'exclusive' market (a la Pagani, Koenigsegg etc) which in my opinion would in the longer term cement Lamborghini's reputation and image as something special rather than 'just another supercar' which they pretty much have become..

It depends where your mindset is and how much weight you put on product integrity, long term vision, and even making a product you're proud of.

As I've probably said before, this isn't an 'All-Right' or 'All-Wrong' situation. It's more a sliding scale between 'Purist-Lamborghini' and 'Corporate-Lamborghini' and for me I feel the scale has swung too far towards the latter..

[Fire99]

ZesPak said:

Big problem for me with the VAG group in general. A Superb, as good a car it is, will always be styled a bit more dull than the Passat, with a slightly inferior interior. Same goes then for the Audi equivalent.

If Lambo were to produce an SUV, they might, but the price, look, performance ... will all be determined not to compete too much with the Bentley, Porsche or Audi offerings, therefore inherently limiting what "they" could do so to say.

With a lot of products coming out of the VAG group this is apparent to me. There are some deviations though, like the audi R8 that steps on Porsche's toes, but they're more the exception as the rule.
This could all be forgiven for the likes of VW, Audi, Skoday, but for Lamborghini it's really a shame.

Absolutely... In my opinion this is the down side of having many brands under the same 'umbrella' All roads will lead to compromise and corporate adjusting.. Every car will be as good as it can be BUT without compromising the position of a similar car from one of its sister-brands..