Porsche or Lamborghini to lose?

A decision later this year could mean there will be one winner and one big loser among two of the world's highest-profile sportscar brands. The Volkswagen Audi Group (VAG) has set a deadline of the end of the year to lock in centres of engineering excellence across its brands. The move will leave its two halo brands fighting not just for their engineering survival and independence, but dominance across the group's sportscars.

Porsche and Lamborghini, so often locked in conflict on the racetracks and teenage bedroom walls, are now locked in political conflict. Porsche's new CEO, Matthias Müller insists his company is the favourite to develop future mid-engined sportscar architecture for all group brands.

Yet while the Boxster and Cayman siblings are Porsche's only mid-engined production cars, Lamborghini already has two (the Gallardo and the Murcielago) and has donated its chassis architecture to Audi for its acclaimed R8 sportscar.

"Porsche is pure performance, exclusivity and uncompromising performance on the road," Müller told the Carsales Network.

"The group is very keen to have an engineering centre for premium cars and for big limos, mid-engined cars and high-performance sportscars," he admitted.

"With what we do for the small [sports]car, the group could use it for other VW group mid-engined chassis, but that decision will be done at the end of the year."

And mid-engined sportscars are not the only battlefield Porsche is involved in. Müller admits his company also sees itself as the potential centre of excellence for large passenger cars and SUVs as well.

Lamborghini, meanwhile, is also battling with parent company, Audi, to claim centre-of-excellence status for carbon-fibre development. This claim has been strengthened immeasurably by the successful debut of its carbon-focused Sesto Elemento concept car at the Paris Motor Show.

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