Lambo 4dr saloon is back on

Lamborghini looks set to give the Estoque four-door the green light for production above an SUV project.

Chairman and CEO Stephan Winkelmann revealed last month that the firm is again considering adding a third model to its range. Now he has told Autocar that his preferred option for the new car is a four-door, distancing himself from internet speculation that the firm is preparing a super-luxury SUV as an indirect successor to the LM002 off-roader.

“We have opportunities outside the supercar business, and we showed that with Estoque,” said Winkelmann. “It had a more enthusiastic response than we had expected. It was the right time to see if the brand could go outside of supercars. Even now, people are still emailing me about us making the Estoque.

“We really have a choice when it comes to an additional model: an SUV or a four-seat four-door. And for me the SUV is a no-go. It doesn’t exist in our price segment, and it’s not a real luxury car.”

Winkelmann said a four-door in the mould of the Estoque could attract new buyers to Lamborghini by offering a more practical proposition than the company’s two-seaters. “There are more opportunities in the segment of four-doors,” he said. “If we are going to offer a third model, it could be a ‘first’ car, bringing people to our brand.”

Read more on Lambo's plans to revive the Estoque

The choice of a four-door is almost certainly also linked to Lamborghini’s improving fortunes in China, where luxury saloons are enjoying strong sales. But Winkelmann insisted the increasing importance of new markets would not affect the core values of the Lamborghini brand.

“Other car companies have to adjust their products for these areas,” he said, “but luxury brands are the opposite. The customer wants the original, not something that’s been adapted to them. So they want a Lamborghini exactly as it would be in Italy.

“We do customising — colours and trim,” he added. “But we will never do anything else.”

John McIlroy