Lamborghini plotting new compact supercar

Lamborghini won't rule out the prospect of a fourth model in its exotic car portfolio, to slot in underneath the Huracan and Aventador sports cars and Urus SUV.

The Italian company's new CEO Stefano Domenicali signalled that he wants to see all Lamborghini sports car based on a single platform to reduce development costs and improve component sharing.

The question was then asked, with a new modular platform, could this lead to the development of a new compact sports car?

"I think the answer is possibly yes," responded Domenicali. “But so far we need to make sure the third model [Urus] will be stable enough to think about a fourth model."

The chance of the Lamborghini Urus being anything but a success are almost nil, given the strength of the brand and the popularity of high-end SUVs.

Lamborghini's CEO sees the current two-platform sport cars strategy as unworkable, because the V12

Aventador and V10 Huracan's underpinnings share little in common. Domenicali wants a shared platform for all Lamborghini sports cars, which would reduce the cost of developing an all-new compact sports car.

"If we talk about super sports cars we need to consider that the right approach would be to be modular.

We cannot have two models with two power units, two gearboxes, two chassis, honestly it's not viable in terms of business case," he said.

"That's something we need to think about for the future."

The gregarious Italian has ambitious plans for the iconic super sports car brand, with the Urus set to boost the company's coffers significantly in the future. The success of the Urus will likely bolster the argument for another model in the range but first Domenicali has his sights set on the next Huracan and Aventador.

One of the crucial elements for the next generation of super sports cars from Lamborghini will be creating unique vehicles. They have to be "distinctive" says Domenicali.
"Our position within the group has to be different from the others."

And if he gets his way, the platform-sharing strategy won't necessarily involve others in the group. As it stands today, the Huracan shares its underpinnings with the Audi R8. Asked if this could change, the Lamborghini boss stated: "It's something we're discussing."

He said a unique platform for Lamborghini products is "a possible natural evolution, depending on what is on the table".

However, he cautioned that such changes were not in the short-term "…but I would see that happening in the '20s, maybe 2022, something like that not before."