When Ferruccio Lamborghini boldly declared in the early 1960s that he was planning to deviate from his hugely successful tractor factory and build a sports car to compete with Ferrari, people thought he was mad, that is was an exuberant and expensive risk not worth taking.
But by May 1963 he had already founded Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini, buying a large plot of land in Sant’Agata Bolognese, about 25 kilometres from Bologna.
And it has come a long way since the launch of the 350 GTV at the Turin Auto Show in the November of that year.
Lamborghini has been on quite a journey since then with the stewardship of the iconic brand passed through the hands of various people to the current incumbent Stephan Winkelmann, who faces arguably the greatest challenge for the manufacturer in recent years.
The German-born automobile expert is walking the tightrope between preserving the tradition and DNA of the super sportscar and driving forward the necessary change demanded by climate-conscious customers.
The path to sustainability is not easy, as Winkelmann explains: “We have to reinvent Lamborghini and still stay the same. This is a big challenge, but one that we are tackling with excitement and determination. And I can promise in the future that all of our super sportscars will remain true Lamborghinis, with an uncompromising Lamborghini driving experience.”
Whether that includes the unmistakable roar of the super sportscar starting up or not remains to be seen, but the first plug-in hybrid Lamborghini is scheduled to be announced in 2023, with plans to make it available in the Middle East region the following year.
Winkelmann says: “I think that the battery technology has to be linked to the hybridisation in a way that you have an internal combustion engine which is still performing and the battery has to be both, you have to reduce the cycle in terms of emissions and if you go on the race track then the opportunity to do a record lap time, but also to do ten laps in a row without having the battery discharged.
“This is the secret in my opinion and also the balancing of the car, so the entire set-up has to be a winner. We are working very hard on this and I think we will get incredible results when we’re ready to launch in the market.”
Lamborghini is going electric, a previously unimaginable evolution for any supercar marque
The Italian giant is spending over €1.5bn ($1.8bn) in the next three-and-a-half years – the greatest investment in the company’s history – in the development and production of electrified vehicles.
“We gave ourselves the clear target to reduce CO2 by 50 percent with these plug-in hybrid models from the beginning of 2025,” says Winkelmann.
And he adds that, in the second half of the decade, the company plans to launch a fourth model, which would be a fully electric car and would be completely different from the Aventador or Huracán.
He says: “We are still working on the exact definition of the body style and concept of this car, but I can say this much, it will be a two-plus-two or a four seater thought for daily usability and it will be part of a sub-segment that doesn’t exist yet as such today.”
However, he warned that although sustainability and digitisation were among the priorities of the super sportscar manufacturer – and the automotive industry at large – the third pillar of developing autonomous vehicles was some distance away for the renowned Italian giant.
He says: “If there will ever be (autonomous vehicles), we will be the last ones to do so.”
Winkelmann oversaw the launch of the new Gallardo, Murciélago, Aventador, and Huracán models
Winkelmann has arguably always been a star player in the automotive industry, since initially working as a sales representative for Mercedes-Benz before moving to occupy various positions with Alfa Romeo Germany and going on to be appointed CEO of Fiat Automobil AG.
Modestly, maybe, he says his career with Lamborghini began simply “by chance”.
He explains: “They called me when I was at the airport at Turin. We organised a meeting, I made the right impression for one hour. That was the November or October and I started in January 2005. It was a very quick change.”
During what was his first stint in charge in Sant’Agata Bolognese – an 11-year period through to 2016 – Winkelmann oversaw the launch of the new Gallardo, Murciélago, Aventador, and Huracán models, plus a large number of unique models and one-offs. He also developed the Urus SUV, which was ultimately launched in 2018.
Through to 2016, he increased Lamborghini vehicle sales to 300 percent.
And despite a four-year spell as managing director of Audi Sport GmbH, he returned to Lamborghini at the end of last year. The 56-year-old says: “The brand is what you need always to foster and you have to think every day you have to be more than 100 percent not to let the brand down. It’s a lot of pressure but if you don’t feel the pressure you might as well quit.”
A challenge maybe, but it’s one that is warmly welcomed by the CEO. He adds: “The territory I am linked to and also the fact that we are able to do something active globally, but being still a small company. This is something that is really interesting for me and this is what is keeping me to rush out of bed in the morning.”
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