Lamborghini plans all-new four-door model for 2021

Now, however, the four-door, four-seat concept is seen by some senior figures at Lamborghini as the ideal layout to bridge the gap between the Urus and its other two models. 

The Urus is expected to double Lamborghini sales and generate the profits required to justify further investment. Crucially, it should also change Lamborghini’s traditional customer demographic and attract more family-oriented buyers. Such a car would share its MSB-derived underpinnings with the new Porsche Panamera and Bentley Continental GT, which is due to launch later this year. 

“The Urus will change the dimensions of Lamborghini’s customer base completely,” said Foschini. “We require completely new standards and we have worked hard to achieve them. The Urus is a game-changer, not just in what it will do for volumes and profits but also in terms of how it will change our customer base. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for change that we must grasp fully. It is a car for Lamborghini customers of the past, most of whom have an SUV in the garage among their collection, and for the future, for customers who love Lamborghini but have always wanted a car they can use every day.”

A car in the mould of the Estoque would offer customers a still practical alternative to the Urus as their families grow up. Fears that such a car could cannibalise Urus sales are said to have been eased by the fact that most Lamborghini buyers today own multiple cars (an average of four for HuracaÃn owners and seven for Aventador owners). 

Lamborghini previously built the Espada in the late 1960s, a two-door four-seater that was converted (without factory backing) to the one-off four-seater Frua Faena, created by Pietro Frua. In the same era, it sold the Islero in the US, which became the Jarama – both cars were created with the goal of offering supercar performance in a more practical bodystyle. 

However, the Estoque-style car has yet to be signed off because a faction at Lamborghini remains keen to investigate the possibilities of developing a bespoke, carbonfibre-intensive platform structure that could underpin a three-strong supercar family. Such a move would either position the next-generation HuracaÃn at a lower price level and move the Aventador further up, to create a gap in-between, or allow for an even more extreme model above the Aventador. Either way, the third model is being internally referred to as the new Miura, in the hope that its styling and performance would capture the imagination as the iconic 1960s sports car did. 

However, this strategy would require the costly development of the platform technology. This in turn would need to fit with Audi’s plans for the R8 and leave Lamborghini’s fortunes tied to the supercar market - a strategy that the brand has tried to move away from with the Urus.

Last year, Lamborghini sold 3457 cars – the first time it topped 3400 units and a rise of 7% year on year. 

What does a Nürburgring lap time prove? 

The HuracaÃn Performante’s record-breaking 6m 52.01sec Nürburgring lap time set earlier this year has earned Lamborghini new-found cachet for its handling and aerodynamic capabilities, according to Foschini. 

“Firstly, everyone understands the value of a lap time – it proves you are the best in one regard,” he said. “But it also proved a point that is important to Lamborghini – having the most acceleration and the most power is something special; to be the very best in the class, you also need the best ride and handling package.