If the creation of the Porsche Cayenne SUV was a stretch for purists (albeit a successful one), just spare a thought for Lamborghini faithfuls and what they'll be going through in two months from now.
The company that once advertised its supercars as “closer to the road” is planning a new model that will be further from the tarmac than ever - an SUV.
According to two people in the know, Lamborghini plans to unveil the vehicle at April's Beijing Motor Show, although the actual on-sale-date is only scheduled for 2016.
While hardly anything for the purists to get excited about, it's a move that makes a lot of sense to the bean-counters if one just considers the Porsche Cayenne's success in the fast-growing market for luxury 4x4s.
FASTEST 4x4xFAR?
“An SUV could be cool, but it would have to be the fastest on the planet and look extreme,” said Andrew Romanowski, president of the world's biggest Lamborghini owners' club, based in Los Angeles.
“If it turned out like a run-of-the-mill BMW X5, it would be a betrayal,” Romanowski said. “People would be very upset.”
The planned vehicle reflects a push to increase profitability at Lamborghini and VW stablemate Bentley, with new models to meet upscale demand for all-wheel-drives. Even Britain's Bentley recently announced tentative plans to create its own SUV.
“Porsche proved that it works, to the industry's great surprise, and now everyone is flocking in,” said Christoph Stuermer, Frankfurt-based research director at IHS Automotive.
By 2015, sales of the plushest SUVs will increase about 20 percent in Western Europe, 30 percent in the U.S. and 50 percent in China, the consulting firm predicts. The Cayenne has become Porsche's top-selling model since its launch a decade ago, with 59 000 sold last year.
ELASTIC BRANDS?
Some of the world's most hallowed marques are stretching to adapt. Fiat's Maserati last month unveiled its first SUV, the Kubang, to be assembled in Detroit instead of its Italian factory.
“On the one hand you need to have a pure, clearly positioned brand,” Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann told Reuters recently, declining to comment on specific model plans.
“On the other hand it would be good to enter a new segment that brings higher volumes and more stability,” he said. “It doesn't necessarily dilute the brand if you sell a bit more.”
VOLKSIE PARTS
The new SUVs from Lamborghini and Bentley would share parts and engines with VW, Audi and Porsche models including the Cayenne.
Unlike ousted Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking, Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn has few taboos about pushing the brands to pool powertrains, chassis, electronics and other out-of-sight parts with Audi, the group's main premium division.
The new Lamborghini SUV will be prefigured by a concept car unveiled at the Beijing show, the sources said. The VW group is expected to decide within months whether to go ahead with the new Bentley and Lamborghini vehicles.
The show car could include a stylistic nod to Lamborghini's last foray into off-roaders. Derived from an abandoned military vehicle design, the Hummer-like LM002 was sold in small volumes from 1986-1993 and became known as the “Rambo Lambo”.
NO MORE FOUR-DOOR
To develop the new model, Lamborghini is shelving plans for a four-door sedan along the road-hugging lines of its 2008 Estoque show car. Its “closer to the road” slogan was introduced the same year and still used in 2011 product videos.
-IOL & Reuters