Monday 11th March 2013

Lambo in a spot of bother? Tell Me I'm Wrong

Is Lamborghini dangerously exposed as the age of the hypercar dawns? Harris fears so but tell him he's wrong

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The most myopic side of the motoring media is the constant battle between rival magazine and web brands to either adhere to, or break, things called embargos. These are the strict publishing agreements set by car manufacturers to ensure fair play amongst us children. The problem is they almost never work.

Lambo's big surprise was blown ahead of show

The other Sunday I woke early and trundled off to the shop and did something I hadn't done in months - bought the Sunday Times. I flicked through the motoring section later that day and spied some god-awful kit car splatted in the opening pages and honestly didn't pay it a second glance.

What I had ignored was one of the great embargo-busts of recent times: a new macro-volume Lamborghini which had been kept ultra-secret and wasn't supposed to be seen until Monday night at the VW group evening at the Geneva Motor Show.

Raging Bull
Lamborghini was more than a little angry. Although it might be suggested that this ire would be better directed at the individual who sanctioned the use of the Lamborghini badge on what we now know as the Veneno. For those who haven't seen it, imagine a Transformer toy which has been run over by a car, and you will understand why it is a memorable shape for all the wrong reasons.

Has Lambo lost its way? Chris fears so

Right now, I don't understand Lamborghini. It used to be the jewel of supercar valley, but it seems to be losing its way.

If Lamborghini has three paying punters who want to spend three million on one of a trio of carbon-bodied specials then I am the last person to begrudge it that revenue. These small volume projects will be increasingly important in this segment, but in the time we've had the Sesto Elemento, the Aventador J and now the Venereal, the Gallardo has been treated to a new front bumper. How they sell any new versions is testament to the skill of the sales staff and nothing more.

A hard sell
It is alleged that somewhere there are two hangars full of unsold Gallardos, and this might explain why Lambo wants to clear the decks before releasing a replacement - but the car is now 10 years old, and I haven't seen many spy shots of a new version trundling around Northern Italy. The Gallardo is a contemporary of the Ferrari 360 - not even the 430, but the 360.

So what is going on at Lamborghini?

Roadster should boost strong Aventador sales

Well, it is flogging a heap of Aventadors - 920 last year, a number which will surely rise with the introduction of the Roadster in 2013. But the 458 sector appears to be off-limits for Lambo just now, which we have to assume is a positioning exercise to make space for others within the VW group. Audi has revised the R8 and given it a proper self-shifting gearbox and the rumoured Porsche 960 project is being denied so vehemently one has to assume it's now running at full pace. Has the VW supervisory board decreed that from now on the Lambo experience begins north of £200K?

I'm not sure. The Geneva show has a tendency to force those in attendance to view the exhibitor's financial health according to how they are projected within the microcosm of those few halls - something I always try to avoid. But seeing the LaFerrari (I know, don't say it) and the P1 and then the Veneno was shattering for this life-long Lambo obsessive. By all means pander to the simple-is-best image, but was it really wise to unveil this spudder just after McLaren and Ferrari had taken the supercar rule book and issued a completely new version on an iPad 3? Possibly not.

Gallardo has been left out in the cold

In your face
Is it really the case that Lamborghini is struggling for funds? VW has the deepest pockets of anyone, so surely it sees the value in ensuring that Lamborghini is permanently in Ferrari's face? Just one more question on this theme: is VW actually being both cautious and clever, waiting for the world to sort itself out before giving us a new small sports car? Doesn't look like it for now.

Contracting markets and oversupply can quickly cripple a company of Lamborghini's size, but even so Ferrari must be ecstatic that the current situation is the outcome of easily the biggest threat to its market leadership since Enzo left Alfa Romeo. 10 years ago Lamborghini had the cash and the product to make life very, very difficult for Maranello - almost all of that momentum appears to have been squandered.

I agree with those who say Lamborghinis shouldn't be defined by technology - they should be outrageous to behold and to drive. However, as core values, these become problematic when you are surrounded by equally outlandish machinery from every side. The pressure of asserting its Lambo-ness in a market bursting with amazing machinery has lead to the hyperbolic brain-fart that is Veneno: 'Do something, do anything, just get us some bloody attention at that motor show!'

Lamborghini's history has had its moments

I suppose it partly worked. It also served to remind us how stunning the Aventador still is, especially in the red of the Geneva show car. It also proved that Ferrari is much, much better at making people keep its secrets, because no one really knew anything about LaFerrari until the covers came off.

Lamborghini will always be in my blood, but we believers need some action, and soon.

There is, of course, the outside possibility that I am getting this all wrong.

 

[Schnellmann]

Interesting article. Does strike me as odd too that the Gallardo hasn't been replaced. Why anyone would buy one new is a mystery to me (if you want one there are plenty secondhand and there are few people that could tell the difference between a new and 3 year old car given the lack of development).

Hopefully the success with the Aventador will embolden VW to allow Lambourghini to speed up development and launch of a successor.

[Podie]

article said:

These small volume projects will be increasingly important in this segment, but in the time we've had the Sesto Elemento, the Aventador J and now the Venereal,

[RX7]

However outrageous Lamobs styling has been in the past, they have always looked stunning, this is just not!

This seems to try to look outrageous, which it does, but not in a good way! Styling for styling sake, or did they just get the design team to go to different rooms, with one lot doing the bonnet, one doing the wings, one doing the boot lid etc and then just put the lot together.

Is the exercise to boost the R8's appearance?

Very sad day for me if that is what ends up rolling off the production line.

[J4CKO]

That new one looks like a trainer form the more exclusive end of the rack in JJB Sports.

[KarlMac]

This is a bit of a flippant comment, so take it with a full bucket of salt, but Caterham have been selling the same car for decades and it doesn't appear to have affected them.

As a massive Gallardo fanboy I hope they keep making them, as it makes it more likely for me to be able to afford an early gen 1 at some point!

[Chris Stott]

They wouldn't seem to be in bother.

From what I've read, they have 15 months of orders for the Aventador and they have the financial backing of VW... so they would seem to be in a pretty strong place.

I've also read they are having a lot of success in places like China too, reflecting the dramatic increase in individual wealth... what better way is there to show off how rich you are than to drive round in a Lambo, other than maybe a Lambo that's been Mansoried? They do all tend to be a bit OTT.

I do think they are running the risk of losing their core Western consumer group though... the Gallardo just doesn't seem competitive anymore alongside the 458 and 12c.

[Guvernator]

I still think the Gallardo is one of the best looking supercars of the last decade and it still looks fresh today, they just got that car soo right. However CH is right in that they do seem to have gone off the boil and despite it's classic lines, they really need to come with a replacement now.

I also think the Aventador is nice enough but not too dissimilar to it's predecessor, they just seem to be on cruise mode at the moment.

Oh and if\when they do make the Gallardo replacement, please make sure it has proper Lambo doors. That was the one disappointment for the Gallardo for me, all Lambo's NEED special doors, even the baby ones.

[robinessex]

Lamborghini

1. Audi got hold of it

2. They should have got the Embolado into production pronto.

[FisiP1]

I like the Veneno, Its no worse looking than the Countach, Diablo, or Murci. Yes its quite extreme but so what? Only 3 made, it is entitled to be a bit outrageous.

Everyone always bangs on about how Lambos should look like huge shouty spaceships with lasers and such, you can't get much closer to that than this.

I agree they need a new Gallardo, seems nonsensical that they don't.

[TimJMS]

Guvernator said:

...all Lambo's NEED special doors, even the baby ones.

That would actually be a break with tradition. Only flagship models have had the scissor door mechanism, and only then since 1974.

Lest we forget it is a Lamborghini tradition that it releases fewer models with more evolutionary steps than its competitor. The Gallardo is long in the tooth for sure, but Murcielago to Aventador 2001 to 2010 was a short space of time in the Lamborghini scheme of things.

[dublet]

Seems to me they're more eager to please the (many) Chinese millionaires rather than those in their traditional market. Get used to a future where cars won't necessarily be designed for Western eyes.

[Davey S2]

Guvernator said:

I still think the Gallardo is one of the best looking supercars of the last decade and it still looks fresh today,

Looks very old and dated to me.

[crispyshark]

hmmm, if compared to the new 'supercar' being developed in the Middle East i'd go as far as saying that this car has been developed for that market too.

Either than or Lambo are now building 'hotwheels' toy cars for giants we all can't see!

[completetangent]

"Venereal"

(sigh)

[Krikkit]

What about the Sesto Elemento? Surely that will lead to a Gallardo replacement late next year?

[kbird]

The fastest sounding name in hyper cars but what was the last truly great car they made to rival an Enzo or an F1?

Like I said, a fast name but no depth

[Chicane-UK]

The strange thing is, I thought Lamborghini sales were really strong - god knows of all the supercars, I've seen more Lamborghini's around than most other things.

As for that 'special edition' they had at Geneva.. with McLaren, Ferrari and Porsche all unveling hybrid supercars using the latest cutting edge tech, Lamborghini must have been embarassed unveliing that thing :|

[Krikkit]

Chicane-UK said:

As for that 'special edition' they had at Geneva.. with McLaren, Ferrari and Porsche all unveling hybrid supercars using the latest cutting edge tech, Lamborghini must have been embarassed unveliing that thing :|

Why? For not much effort (they've already sold all 3, no doubt making a slim profit) they've stolen a huge chunk of PR buzz that McLaren and Ferrari have been building for years now. Is the Veneo a rival for a P1? No, but it gets people talking about the brand.

[Twincam16]

Interesting points, although I have a couple of thoughts on this:

-Given that the Gallardo shares its V10 with the top-end R8, and has a 4WD system, it'd be easy for Audighini to prepare a Gallardo successor without anyone noticing. One day you see a slightly tweaked R8 running around, the next day Lamborghini announces a new Gallardo. Being an Audi, the R8 looks so anonymous for a supercar (saw a bright red one the other day and initially just blanked it as a bodykitted TT before I noticed the side-scoops) that all manner of development work could be going on under its skin and no-one would notice.

-Maybe the core buying market likes how it drives so they're perfectly happy to just keep buying them? Does it really, absolutely, desperately need further development?

[Chicane-UK]

Krikkit said:

Why? For not much effort (they've already sold all 3, no doubt making a slim profit) they've stolen a huge chunk of PR buzz that McLaren and Ferrari have been building for years now. Is the Veneo a rival for a P1? No, but it gets people talking about the brand.

Well indeed - I mean fair play to them. But I just mean to be stood amongst your peers and basically be offering an existing model in a posh frock, when all your competitors have produced awesome technological showcases - I mean it's great they sold all three no problem, but personally I'd be embarassed.