When Lamborghini told the press that it would not be building a production version of the Estoque “four-door coupe” the reason the Sant’Agata firm gave was that
“the timing and market conditions are just not right for an additional model line.”
Which made us wonder why Lambo didn’t take the opportunity to say something like
“Lamborghini refuses to build bland, uninspired vehicles in a faddish niche just because several competitors are”
But now that the Estoque is reportedly back on for production, that would have been a bit of a self-sabotaging move. Or at least it would be if the Estoque didn’t already sabotage Lamborghini’s brand equity by being a bland, me-too entry into an already played-out niche. Which is a pity: Lambo saw the four-seat supercar niche coming decades ago, and built one of its most distinctive designs ever to fill it. And say what you want about this Estoque, it’s certainly no Espada. But hey, it could have been worse…
You see, like Porsche and everyone else, Lamborghini is apparently in desperate need of more mainstream, non-sportscar offerings. This, according to brand boss Stephan Winkelmann left two choices, of which the Estoque is pretty clearly the lesser of the two evils. Winkelmann tells Autocar:
We have opportunities outside the supercar business, and we showed that with Estoque. 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.
Sure, some will say that Lambo’s precedent for SUVS is quite excellent: the LM002 is, after all, a truly epic automobile. On the other hand, so is the Espada, and that certainly didn’t make the Estoque any better. Besides, heritage has nothing to do with these decisions. This is about the future… which means this is about China.
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.
Build the car, but please change the name!
How about: Build the car, but change the sheetmetal and make it a Bugatti?
I’ve seen more Panameras in my city than I’ve seen regular Porsche cars. If they can get the Estoque out there for a reasonable price, I’m pretty sure the super rich in my area will lap them up.
But, they’ll need to do more work on the sheetmetal. It looks bland.
I, for one, am looking forward to some Lambo SUV. Doesn’t the new Cayenne Turbo cost less now?
There was the Maybach MB GL thing that was going to happen, but apparently not? Surely the Maserati ute would be nowhere close.
Where is it? Obviously the opportunity is there but everyone seems too timid. A Hamman X7 will no doubt be the best…
And the Estoque is hideous.
“I, for one, am looking forward to some Lambo SUV.”
In theory, I am too, but I think about that horrendous Lagonda SUV that Aston-Martin keeps throwing out in public and it makes re-consider. On the other hand, the LM002 was totally, completely, insanely cool.
One wonders how much platform sharing could exist between the Estoque and the Panamera…
Due to the placement of the calipers these two are probably not sharing their suspension setups across the Porsche/Lamborghini divide. The Lamborghini’s front calipers are aft the front axle line (see Audi A4, A6, A8) while the Porsche Panamania’s front calipers are mounted in front of the front axle line (see VW Golf & variants of also Audi Q7). The Porsche 996 and 997 use aft just like the Lamborghini Gallardo along with the Audi R8.
Looks like the bastard offspring of a drunken fling between a Gallardo and a Charger.
I actually like the idea of a Lambo super-saloon, but it has to be a little more outrageous than the Estoque. The LM002 was wild.
I love this car but I’ve just bought an Aston Martin Rapide and I’ve already got the new Mclaren on order. What a shame I can only get 2 cars in my garage. Maybe I need a bigger mansion…..