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Lamborghini has shelved plans to produce the dramatic Estoque four-door supercar that was unveiled at last autumn’s Paris motor show.

Maurizio Reggiani, the firm’s head of research and development, said the Estoque has been put on ice for the time being. "The timing and market conditions are just not right for an additional model line," he explained.

The Estoque was a four-door, four-seat concept with a front/mid-engined layout and permanent four-wheel drive.

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Gutted .. . really gutted.

 

was looking forward to seeing these on the road, what an amazing looking car

Glad to hear about the lightweight LP560 (it definitely won't be called a Superleggera) and the continued use of natural aspiration. But a lot of owners seem to want dual-clutch transmission, and I think it would be a mistake to drop manuals entirely - it could alienate nearly 10% of their customers.

As for the Estoque... well, I liked the concept - not perfect, but good enough - and so did most of the motoring press, but a lot of Lamborghini fans and owners reacted to it in a very bad way. It's been 31 years since the company made a grand tourer, maybe they need to ease back into things with a more conventional two-door. But a bunch of people out there will be very happy that they're sticking to supercars for the immediate future.

Howey:

Gutted .. . really gutted.

was looking forward to seeing these on the road, what an amazing looking car

Me too. This was far and away the best looking 4 door sports car, easily outclassing the Rapide and Panamera. I think Lambo may come to regret this when they see the sales of the Panamera, or maybe Porsche had a say in it being dropped?

Orangewheels:

or maybe Porsche had a say in it being dropped

This is exactly along my lines of thought seeing as Porsche now own a controlling share in Volkswagen, maybe they don't want internal competition for their Panamera, which is strange seeing as the VAG group have being selling direct competitors for years. Im absolutely gutted also, because the Estoque looked sensational in the flesh at the Paris motorshow- would have put the Panamera in the shade. Lets hope that Lamborghini can retain some elements of the design for future models.

Orangewheels:

I think Lambo may come to regret this when they see the sales of the Panamera, or maybe Porsche had a say in it being dropped?

Well, there's an issue over just how profitable anything beyond supermini territory can be in the current marketplace. Lamborghini is still a tiny company (compared with Ferrari for example), and the titanic sums required to develop a new mass-market car like the Estoque need to see the maximum possible return on investment to be worthwhile for them - this isn't a company who can afford to develop a whole new car just to keep them afloat through a bad patch. The thinking may well be that they need to hold back and launch the car after the recession when they can reap maximum profits from it. Assuming that the recession does have an end, of course...

Until then, they can keep developing the Gallardo for much lower cost and benefit from the already-advanced development of the Murcielago replacement.

Chances are this has nothing to do with Porsche - Wendelin Wiedeking feels that Lamborghini and Bugatti should start making "sensible" cars, like the Estoque (which could have been fitted with the V12 and priced £100k away from any four-seater Porsche if internal competition was an issue).

I suppose it depends on how the Lambo finances are organised. - Audi have plenty of capital reserves, and with the Estoque being based on the A8, a big chunk of the development costs would be removed, as the floorpan is normally the priciest part of the car to develop.

 :(. How very dissapointing...

Couple of mentions of the Panamera here... Anybody else think that the Panamera platform could be hiding under the Estoque? It long, low and wide enough, the interior has the same raised centre tunnel and there's something about that rear door shutline... Just a wild stab in the dark.

And, the Lambo can share the Diesel engine of the Porsche.

A Diesel Lambo : what a dream!

 

 

 

HiltonH:

Couple of mentions of the Panamera here... Anybody else think that the Panamera platform could be hiding under the Estoque? It long, low and wide enough, the interior has the same raised centre tunnel and there's something about that rear door shutline... Just a wild stab in the dark.

No. Someone from Lamborghini said the Estoque had absolutely nothing in common with the Panamera, and that it was actually based on the upcoming A7 platform (as opposed to the A8 platform which a lot of outsiders had speculated).

This is sad news, this is a truly beautiful car, graceful, elegant with just a whiff of 70`s retro about its looks. fantastic.