Soaring sales and record profits at Sant’Agata mean that Lamborghini won’t need to lean on Audi for the successor to the Huracán.
That’s according to Lamborghini’s Asia-Pacific region boss Francesco Scardaoni who told drive.com.au “Since we’ve been so profitable, we got the green light to develop our own platform.”
The Huracán, and its predecessor the Gallardo, were both very closely related to the Audi R8, keeping Lamborghini’s development costs down, and adding new levels of reliability and ease of use to the Italian brand. However, the next baby Lambo will be an all-Italian affair as the company’s bulging bank balance means it can afford to go ahead without Audi.
In 2022 Lamborghini sold 9233 cars (of which over half were Urus SUVs) for a profit of £525 million.
“Being able to design our own platform gives us even more freedom to create the platform that best fits the Lamborghini DNA without any compromise,” said Scardaoni. “It’s more difficult, it requires larger investments—and this is why we’re able to do it now. The company is setting records, quarter over quarter, year over year in terms of financials so … we are able to invest a huge amount of money in terms of research and development and to design our own platforms.”
Another factor in Lamborghini’s decision will be Audi’s commitment to electrification, with a third generation R8 being axed from the product plan. Lamborghini is determined to stick with internal combustion for as long as possible and the Huracán replacement will most likely be V-8 with a plug-in hybrid system derived from the Revuelto.
It’s expected to debut in 2024, and if it’s anything like the Huracán, which is sold out until the end of its production, the new model will be a major money maker.
