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Lamborghini caps 2020 production at 8,000 to preserve cachet, resale values

Lamborghini chairman and CEO Stefano Domenicali told Car Advice that the Sant'Agata Bolognese automaker will cap production at 8,000 cars in 2020. Even though the cap doesn't take effect for a year, it has caught us by surprise — we didn't realize just how well Lamborghini is doing. In 2010, Lamborghini sold 1,302 cars worldwide, while its rival in Modena sold 6,461 units. Last year, Lamborghini broke all of its records on the way to a 51 percent sales increase and 5,750 cars delivered. The cap maintains two post-sale hallmarks required to fuel Lamborghini's new-car sales: exclusivity and resale values. Ferrari has led the way with public declarations of voluntary caps to maintain brand cachet, and Lamborghini's happy to shadow that leader. Domenicali, an ex-Ferrari man, didn't miss an opportunity to put the running bull's nose ahead of the prancing horse's in his comments, though. He told the Australian publication, "I can also say that for us, Ferrari has always been a reference ... as well as others in the super sports car segment, but we have already achieved higher residual values for our cars, especially with some of our older models." The boss marked out half the 2020 allotment for the Urus, two-thirds of the remainder for the Huracan, and the rest for the Aventador. We expect any 2020 cap to apply only to 2020, though. If Lamborghini can hustle a 40 percent increase in deliveries this year — 2,300 more units, and that's not outside the realm of possibility since this is the first full year of Urus sales — then in 2019 the carmaker will exceed the 2020 cap by 50 units. In such case, shrinking supply next year would help sustain the lather of acolytes, as well as copy another page from Ferrari's handbook. In 2013, then-Ferrari CEO Luca Montezemolo held production to under 7,000 units, after building 7,318 cars in 2012. In 2014, then-Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne said he'd stick to the "willful and intended" 7,000-unit cap. But when Ferrari announces its 2018 results soon, we expect uncapped shipments to exceed 9,000 units. Other upward pressures on Lamborghini's sales would be the success of the Huracan GT3 EVO, which won the GTD class in the weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona, a year after the Huracan GT3 won in 2018. Lamborghini Squadra Corse has built more than 200 customer racers, and no one would rule out a few more orders phoned in on Monday.

Fourth Lamborghini model could be an all-electric 2+2 GT

It was almost a year ago that Automotive News spoke to Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali about the carmaker potentially adding a fourth model to the lineup. Asked about the potential of a new 2+2 GT model picking up where the Espada left off in 1978, Domenicali demurred on the matter of a bodystyle. Instead, the CEO said the brand is "working hard to combine high performance with interior space and driving comfort in a package that, designwise, should be striking as well as highly efficient in terms of aerodynamics." A year on, Autocar spoke to Lamborghini R&D head Maurizio Reggiani, who hinted at how ideas have coalesced since. Autocar says a 2+2 GT "is due to be given the green light to arrive by 2025," and there's a chance the model could be all-electric. Last we heard, Domenicali was explaining to AN that buyers weren't asking for a battery-electric vehicle. With a five- to seven-year horizon for the introduction of a fourth car, however, the CEO allowed that customers could be ready for one by 2027, so Lamborghini should be ready, too; nevertheless, he hedged the battery-only offering by saying it would come "together with a high-performance plug-in hybrid." According to Autocar's story, the brand's got more bullish on batteries in the interim. Reggiani said, "If you look at the timing for a fourth model line, there is the potential that this will be the right time for a full-electric vehicle" that can do at least 350 miles on a charge. Not only could such a car make sense by 2025, Lamborghini could likely find some way to fit the model into the Volkswagen Group's scheme for EV domination. There are two electric platforms floating around the high-performance divisions that could get the nod; the J1 architecture under the Porsche Taycan and coming Audi E-Tron GT that will evolve into the J1 II come 2023, or the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture that will support a range of models and is already rumored for an all-electric Bentley.    In terms of styling, Autocar repeatedly mentions cues coming from the 2008 Estoque concept (above). The four-door GT unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show has been in limbo since then, the heart of rumors ranging from an Estoque range of everyday supercars to becoming a Lamborghini twin for an Audi A9.

Lamborghini's next limited-edition experimental supercar coming soon

Lamborghini plans to release a very limited-edition supercar, which is at the time of writing still unnamed. As the company's R&D director Maurizio Reggiani said to CarAdvice in an interview, "Soon we will present to our most important customers a new version of what we call a one-off." By "one-off," Reggiani says the company means a short run of experimental cars created to showcase a new design direction and to introduce new technology, like the Lamborghini Centenario did. Call the resulting supercar a sellable concept car, if you will. In the Centenario, Lamborghini brought out rear-wheel steering. The new car would show the design direction of the Aventador's eventual replacement. What's more, Reggiani expects the upcoming car to be sold out by the time it is announced, just as the Reventon and its roadster version, the Veneno and the Sesto Elemento did. " We will announce it with our loyal customers that wait for this, we don't need to do more, we arrive at the motor show and the production is already sold out." CarAdvice deduces that the new car will be announced at the Geneva Motor Show next March, where Lamborghini will also show the new Urus – which will break cover in December. It will be a plug-in hybrid with a twin-turbo V8 engine. When Reggiani discussed the Urus with Autocar in December, he said that Lamborghini will keep turbocharging out of its supercars; the Urus needs the grunt that turbos provide, but the supercars will need the responsiveness of a naturally aspirated engine. Whether the "one-off" series car will still be naturally aspirated remains to be seen.Related Video: