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Former Ferrari F1 chief could be new Lamborghini CEO

The word on the street in Bologna is that Lamborghini is in for a changing of the guard. Current CEO Stephan Winkelmann is tipped to step down after 14 years at the helm in Sant'Agata, likely to move to another role at Audi. And in his place, the German automaker is anticipated to appoint Stefano Domenicali. Domenicali was formerly the head of Scuderia Ferrari, rising through the ranks at Maranello to succeed Jean Todt as team principal in 2008. He resigned in 2014 to be replaced first by Ferrari US chief Marco Mattiacci and then by Marlboro man Maurizio Arrivabene as the team has struggled to find its form again. Shortly after leaving Maranello, Domenicali took up a new position at Audi, where he was rumored to be working on the company's anticipated foray into Formula One with Red Bull. But after that program was shut down in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal, Domenicali is now tipped to move back to Italy to take over the supercar business. Stefano would be the second Domenicali to head an Italian performance brand under the VW/Audi umbrella, joining Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali (they not believed to be related). The move would also be a particularly emphatic gesture to Sergio Marchionne. The Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief has previously lost top lieutenants to Volkswagen, most notably Luca de Meo, who headed up VW brand's passenger car marketing department before taking over at Seat. While previous Ferrari chiefs Todt and Montezemolo came up through the racing department, Marchionne assumed the chairmanship in Maranello and brought in outside talent instead. Meanwhile Winkelmann has been in charge of Lamborghini since 2005, when he was appointed by Audi to run the company it had just acquired a few years prior. Under the tenure of the German-Italian executive, Lamborghini sales have risen from 1,600 units per year to over 2,500 last year. The introduction of the forthcoming Urus crossover, birthed under Winkelmann's leadership, is expected to more than double that overall figure. Given his success in transforming Lamborghini, it isn't likely that the Volkswagen Group will simply show Winkelmann the door. Word has it that he'll receive another posting at Audi, potentially taking over the growing Quattro GmbH division in Neckarsulm. The division is responsible for all of Audi's RS models as well as the R8 – the latter of which Audi sells as many units as the entire Lamborghini division does in a year.

Join us for a closer look at the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato

Unveiled in November 2022, the Sterrato is the final and arguably wildest evolution of the Lamborghini Huracan. The limited-edition coupe isn't scheduled to enter production until February 2023, but Autoblog got to check it out in the flesh at a preview event held in Denmark. The first all-terrain variant of the Huracan looks just as cool in person as it does in Lamborghini's official photos. Seeing it up close reveals some of the finer design details that the press shots didn't show, like the subtle "Sterrato" logo on both roof rails and the exposed bolts that hold on the wheel arch flares. I also got to take a peek in the engine bay for a look at the other side of the roof-mounted intake system. While the Huracan STO also features a roof-mounted scoop, it's used to channel cooling air into the engine bay. Rouven Mohr, the head of Lamborghini's research and development department, told Autoblog that his team re-imagined the scoop as the intake system's inlet after realizing that dust clogs the air filters via the stock, side-mounted intake system. While that's not a huge deal in Los Angeles traffic, it's important off the pavement because the Sterrato's purpose isn't to crawl over boulders; it was designed to go very fast on unpaved surfaces. "Its purpose is fast off-roading," Mohr told me. "In my mind, off-road you're always going a little bit slow and climbing up somewhere. This is not the intention; this car can also climb but its intention is going sideways on gravel, rally-style." Zooming out, the Sterrato is a racing livery away from looking like a rally car. It's considerably taller than the other Huracan variants, and it looks even higher in person than it does in photos. If you see it in the right light you can spot some of the underbody hardware between the wheels and the arches in spite of the meaty tires. The side skirts and rear diffuser have been given a more off-road-ready design as well. We'll need to be patient to find out what the Sterrato is like to drive, but it's a recipe for fun on paper. It's powered by a version of the STO's naturally-aspirated, 5.2-liter V10 engine that develops 610 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and 417 pound-feet of torque at 6,500 rpm; the revised intake system is to blame for the 21-horse drop. Lamborghini quotes a 3.4-second sprint from zero to 62 mph and a top speed of 162 mph.

Lamborghini and Bentley rack up record sales in 2022

Sister companies Lamborghini and Bentley independently announced that they set a sales record in 2022. Both firms posted a big increase in deliveries, and their announcement comes shortly after Bugatti and Rolls-Royce released their own record-breaking 2022 sales figures. Lamborghini delivered 9,233 cars in 2022, an increase of 10% over 2021 (which was a record year as well). Its best-selling model is the Urus, which accounted for 5,367 deliveries (a 7% increase over 2022). That's not surprising; SUVs sell well. What's rather stunning is that Huracan deliveries soared by 20% to 3,113 examples in 2022. Finally, Lamborghini delivered the last 753 examples of the Aventador. Geographically, the United States remains Lamborghini's biggest market; the company delivered 2,721 cars there in 2022 (an increase of 10% over 2021). China takes second place with 1,018 deliveries (up 9%) followed by Germany (808 cars; up 14%), the United Kingdom (650 cars; up by 15%), and Japan (546 cars; up 22%). All told, deliveries in the EMEA region(Europe, Middle East and Africa) jumped by 7% to 3,484 cars. The company's outlook for 2023 is bright. It will notably unveil the Aventador's hotly-anticipated successor, and the yet-unnamed model will stand out as its first series-produced hybrid model. Its historic factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, will keep busy as well. "We now have the opportunity to focus on our next objectives also thanks to an 18-month waiting list," said company boss Stephan Winkelmann. While it's too early to tell if 2023 will be another record year for Lamborghini, executives stress that they want to keep the company's growth in check. The aim isn't to rival, say, BMW in terms of volume. "The idea will always be to have one car less than demand," Andrea Baldi, the head of the Americas region for Lamborghini, told Autoblog in 2022. "We will never become unexclusive. That is a promise." Bentley is celebrating for many of the same reasons: It sold 15,174 cars in 2022, an increase of 4% over 2021 and its first annual result above the 15,000-unit mark. Here again, there are some interesting surprises hidden in the numbers. Its best-seller was the Bentayga, it represented 42% of the firm's sales, and 2022 was the big SUV's most popular year — that's an impressive feat for a car released in 2015. The Continental GT range represented 30% of sales and the Speed variant accounted for 31% of those. The Flying Spur represented the remaining 28%.