Lamborghini Gallardo Lp560-4 Spyder on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lambo considering Huracan GT3 for United SportsCar Championship

With all the versions of the Gallardo that Lamborghini made over the course of that model's dozen year lifecycle, we knew the debut of the new Huracán would only be the start. And now we're getting an idea of what Sant'Agata has in store. Before too long, there'll be a new Spyder, and likely a rear-drive version as well. But racing teams are more eagerly anticipating the new competition versions. There's the new Super Trofeo spec racer that Lambo unveiled in Monterey a couple of weeks ago, but now we're receiving word of a new GT3 racer as well.
Based closely on the Super Trofeo, the Huracán GT3 is reportedly being designed to meet the regulations of numerous racing series - including, the latest reports will have us know, the United SportsCar Championship that competes in North America. This according to Sportscar365.com, which spoke to Lamborghini's chief test driver Giorgio Sanna at Virginia International Raceway recently.
Unlike some of its rivals, racing has not traditionally been a core value at Lamborghini, but it has competed here and there. It previously relied on Reiter Engineering to develop racing versions of the Murcielago and Gallardo, but is said to be doing the Huracán GT3 almost entirely in-house, with a modicum of input from Dallara, the racing chassis manufacturer founded by the man widely credited with developing the Miura and Espada in the 1960s.

Lamborghini struggles to cap its own production to maintain brand exclusivity

Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Bentleys, and so on demand high prices, and that's not just because you’re buying incredible performance, technology and luxury. YouÂ’re also buying exclusivity. Recently, however, Wall Street and shareholders have been pressuring supercar makers to produce more cars and yield more profits. The problem is that higher production volume compromises exclusivity and dilutes the brand. So while LamborghiniÂ’s shareholders want the company to produce more cars, executives are seeking to impose limits and cap production. "We must not go on growing forever. We now have to consolidate these results and preserve exclusivity," Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali told reporters at an event inaugurating the companyÂ’s newest paint and body shop at the SantÂ’Agata Bolognese plant in Italy. The execs are having limited success, however, as the company announced that it plans to sell more than 8,000 cars this year, which is “the right dimension of our company with our current product portfolio,” Domenicali said. A run of 8,000 cars would be an increase of 39 percent from 2018's total of 5,750 new Lambos. It has been a strong decade for Lamborghini; a mere 1,302 vehicles were sold back in 2010. However, that goal of 8,000 could swell to around 10,000 cars, depending on whether the company adds another model to its small lineup. Such a case would have to be deliberated among shareholders. Lamborghini saw considerable growth in the first quarter of this year, likely attributed to the launch of its Urus SUV. So far, analysts are forecasting an increase in revenue to around 1.7 billion euros, or $1.92 billion USD, up from 1.42 billion euros or $1.6 billion USD in 2018, said Chief Financial Officer Paolo Poma. At the same event, Lamborghini confirmed that an electric supercar is not in its future at this time as “customers are currently not interested,” Poma said. However, Lamborghini is indeed seeking to add hybrid vehicles to its lineup by 2025, as itÂ’s pressured to lower CO2 emissions and meet future mandates. The Urus is expected to be one of the cars receiving a hybrid powertrain, as it is not planned to get a V10 or V12 engine.

Lamborghini exploring more elegant designs

Ferrari's front-engined V12s and mid-engined V8s have taken turns monopolizing the brand's perception; the 550 Maranello was probably the last front-engined V12 to be first-to-mind, now the 458 Italia leads the family. Not so at Lamborghini, where a mid-engined V12 has been the go-to and centerpiece since the extraterrestrial Countach landed, and it still is no matter how much the Huracan outsells the Aventador. That shape, those doors, that engine – they're the franchise. That doesn't mean Lamborghini isn't trying new things. The Asterion LPI 910-4 concept from last year's Paris Motor Show was more than the marque's first draft of a hybrid, it was an exploration of a different avenue in design. According to design chief Filippo Perini, "We need to understand if we can open another window in our future to be not so extreme but also a little bit more politically correct and elegant." The Asterion points at elegance and "a daily use of the car" with more room inside, a slimmer rocker panel and sill for easier entry, and a raised hip point in the seats for a higher driving position. Perini said that from the driver's seat, "You can see the color of the car. That is something unknown in our very extreme designs." Extreme Lamborghinis aren't going away, however – note that Perini spoke of opening "another window" of design. The goal, he said, "is to understand if [its] design language will be appreciated by a different kind of customer." We can't imagine why not, and we hope we get more news about the "hyper cruiser" GT outside of magazine articles and auto show grandstanding. If it were up to us, Lamborghini would open that window all the way.