All-new Lamborghini four-door model coming in 2021

Lamborghini is planning to add a fourth model to its line-up after launching the Urus SUV.

Published On Oct 09, 2017 12:00:00 PM

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All-new Lamborghini four-door model coming in 2021

The 2008 Estoque concept may offer clues to new four-door Lambo.

The Urus SUV will launch on December 4, 2017.

Lamborghini has started development of a new four-door model that is scheduled to launch sometime in 2021. The under development concept is a part of Lamborghini boss Stefano Domenicali’s plan to set out a roadmap for sustainable growth after the Urus SUV is launched later this year.

There has been considerable debate regarding expanding the Italian manufacturer’s range to include a fourth model including the Huracán, Aventador and the Urus.

Asked about the possibility of a new model line, Federico Foschini, Lamborghini’s commercial director, said: “We must be humble. The Urus is only at the pre-production phase and, while the goal is to double sales volumes over a few years, we have yet to earn that accolade.

“But of course we should always be looking to grow. If we can take this first step with Urus – a huge step – then there are possibilities.”

Making sure the brand’s future direction is in line with its heritage “is crucial to everything we do”, according to Foschini. “That’s why we look to LM002 for the Urus, and there are other possibilities in our heritage too,” he said.

In a bid to ramp up production for the Urus, which is scheduled to launch in December, Lamborghini has already doubled the size of its production site in Sant’Agata Bolognese, including building a state-of-the-art production facility with the capacity for further expansion

Our sister publication Autocar UK reports that the front-running model for production is currently a front-engined, four-door four-seater. This body style was first previewed and evaluated with the Estoque concept revealed in 2008. However, development of that model was put on hold in favour of the Urus due to the global economic crisis, surging global sales of SUVs and the financial benefits of sharing the VW Group’s MLB Evo platform.

Now, some senior executives at Lamborghini see the four-door, four-seat concept as the ideal layout to bridge the gap between the Urus and its supercars.

The SUV is expected to double Lamborghini sales figures and generate profits required to justify further investment. Crucially, it should also change Lamborghini’s traditional customer demographic and attract more family-oriented buyers. Such a car would share its MSB platform with the new Porsche Panamera and Bentley Continental GT, which is due to launch internationally later in 2017.

“The Urus will change the dimensions of Lamborghini’s customer base completely,” said Foschini. “We require completely new standards and we have worked hard to achieve them. The Urus is a game-changer, not just in what it will do for volumes and profits but also in terms of how it will change our customer base. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for change that we must grasp fully. It is a car for Lamborghini customers of the past, most of whom have an SUV in the garage among their collection, and for the future, for customers who love Lamborghini but have always wanted a car they can use every day.”

A car modelled after the Estoque would offer customers a slightly more practical alternative to the Urus. Doubts that a model slotting here could potentially cannibalise Urus sales have been eased by the fact that most Lamborghini buyers today own multiple cars (an average of four for Huracán owners and seven for Aventador owners).

The Estoque-style car has yet to be signed off because a faction at Lamborghini remains keen to investigate the possibilities of developing a bespoke, carbonfibre-intensive platform structure that could underpin a three-strong supercar family. Such a move would either position the next-generation Huracán at a lower price level and move the Aventador further up, to create a gap in-between, or allow for an even more extreme model above the Aventador. Either way, the third model is being internally referred to as the new Miura, in the hope that its styling and performance would capture the imagination as the iconic 1960s sports car did.

However, this strategy would require the costly development of the platform technology. This in turn would need to fit with Audi’s plans for the R8 and leave Lamborghini’s fortunes tied to the supercar market - a strategy that the brand has tried to move away from with the Urus.

Last year, Lamborghini sold 3,457 units – the first time it topped 3400 units and a rise of 7 percent year-on-year.