The LP640: Last real Lamborghini?

[HeavySoul]

I have no doubt this subject has been covered before in this exotic corner of PH but I have just been reading the latest issue of Car magazine which has a brief test drive of the Murcielago LP640 and an article by Stephen Bayley entitled 'Why the cool hand of Audi will crush the spirit of Lamborghini' and just wondered what real people think.

A few choice extracts:

Stephen Bayley said:

The Murcielago is the last old Lamborghini. The Audi R8 is the first new one. Lamborghini has been saved, but will be destroyed. Under German supervision, Lamborghini makes 'better' cars. It will be diverted from the magnificent catastrophes that have so enlivened its history.....

Chris Chilton said:

Of course Audi's influence is already evident in the LP640, and it's a better car for it. But, it's like the problem child that can't be tamed. It still has the capacity to bring the deviant out in all of us. This could be the last Lamborghini to do this - the last real Lamborghini

Obviously with any business take over there is a two way transfer of ideas, philosophies and technologies. So if all the faults and disasters are ironed out of future Lamborghini models, will this really dilute the end product?

Does the potential for unreliability really form a large part of the core character of a Lamborghini or is this just a first chapter of heritage on which to build on for the future? Furthermore is there some kind of perverse 'thrill' in owning a car which, if it does go wrong, is likely to cost large amount of money to fix. Does this give ownership/possession that extra edge every time you go for a drive? Without this will something really be lost? By importing efficiency, are they exporting at least some of the character?

Stephen Bayley said:

What has gone is purpose and intent. With infinite slowness and enlarging melancholy, Lamborghini will fade. That this is inevitable does not make it less elegiac.

Now I know from reading posts on here about factory visits that there is certainly no loss of purpose at the factory and within the skilled workers there. Arguably the intent behind the first Lamborghini was to better Mr. Ferrari in his attempts at sports car manufacture. The demise of the personal rivalry to profit margin rivalry perhaps changes the intent of the business - does this mean Lamborghini becomes just another brand in the portfolio (albeit a loud one!)?

Stephen Bayley said:

...Reckless, bizarre, extreme, perverse, but never boring, the Lamborghini story is coming to an end.

Sounds like an articulate headline grabber, and certainly Lamborghini as a brand is far from over as I am sure most of you would agree. But is there a certain level of truth behind their consensus? Is the Murcielago, and the LP640 in particular, really the last authentic and true Lamborghini?

[HeavySoul]

GALLARDOGUY said:

i read the same article but while i understand the points he's making i dont think anyone can pass judgement until lamborghini/audi replace the LP640 with the next generation clean sheet design for their flagship car.

i personally think the italian spirit will always outweight the german efficency when it comes to the marque.

This is certainly true, he is obviously speculating, but I am interested in the points raised. In my opinion Lamborghini has always been the ultimate supercar marque over certain other Italian breeds - purely because of it's outrageous designs and approaches which make it a truely unique marque.

Really interested in what owners feel about their Lamborghinis, hertitage, passion and brand loyalty have a seemingly large part in the decision to invest in such cars, so if this core point is shifting then how will this affect people views on Lamborghini. The article just fired me up into thinking about these things and seemed like the appropriate place to discuss it without talking to myself

[HeavySoul]

Jonny5 said:

The last real lamborghini was the Diablo 6.0

Ignoring the bias ()I tend to agred with Jonny here.

danger mouse said:

Nah.. as it said in CAR this month it was the Contach: The Diablo and the Murcielago were derived from it and the Diablo was developed under Chrysler.

Having seen underneath both the Gallardo and Murcielago, side by side, the Murc is very much still a Lambo' under the skin where as the Gallardo is an Audi.

The L640 therefore could be considered the closest thing to a "real Lamboghini" availible for sale new today if you want to look at it that way.

Jonny5 said:

In 1974 when the Countach was introduced Lamborghini was under the ownership of swiss financier Georges-Henri Rossetti and his friend René Leimer before the company went into bankruptcy in 1977 - thus you could argue the last *real* Ferruccio era lambo was the Urraco

Urraco may have been the last Ferruccio era Lamborghini, but do you think the 'spirit' of this era is carried through the Countach, Diablo and Murcielago, Jonny?

I love the complete tight package of the Gallardo but it has never screamed 'Lambo' at me. This may be because it was not designed to have such unique presence like a purple Diablo but then that is not what I would classify as Lamborghini style.

Trouble being is my teenage poster car was a black LP5000 QV and the Cannonball Run was my favourite film so 'my' Lamborghini concept will always originate from there

Edited by HeavySoul on Thursday 9th November 21:55

[HeavySoul]

gt2man-2 said:

I wonder if people will consider the LP640 replacement the "last real Lamborghini" when that is superceded..

I am probably wrong on this but the replacement for the Murcielago will be the first car fully designed under Audis influence will it not? Gallardo and Murcielago were both conceived before the Audi purchase.