Lamborghini is set to pump up its Australian presence with a new focus on three key areas. 

Speaking with Drive at the 2018 Geneva motor show, Lamborghini executives Andrea Baldi, Federico Foscini and Maurizio Reggiani said the brand is looking to unlock untapped potential in Australia with its first SUV, more emphasis on motorsport and the local introduction of ultra-exclusive models. 

The new Urus SUV makes its Australian debut this week as part of a world tour intended to drum up demand for the brand’s first high-riding crossover. 

Acknowledging many Australian customers prefer to see and touch a car before ordering one, Baldi, the brand’s head of Asia Pacific sales, says Australian response to the Urus has been slow, and that local customers may face long waits to get hold of the car.

While the Urus is likely to be Lamborghini’s best-selling model, Baldi says Lamborghini “demand will be higher than supply,” and that “we will always make sure that this is maintained” in the future.

“Obviously that’s even more true for cars like the [Aventador] SV, that was limited edition,” he said. 

“In general at Lamborghini the supply/demand balance is normal and part of the exclusivity… we will keep it exclusive always.”

Baldi said shifting laws surrounding the use of limited-edition left-hand-drive cars in Australia had Lamborghini “definitely” considering a case for a next-generation successor to rare machines such as the Reventon and Centenario. 

“Demand is there,” Baldi said.

“If Australia will open up in terms of regulations in this sense it will make it easier when we do small, limited-editions like the Centenario.

“There's a lot of interest for special editions or limited editions in Australia.”

Lamborghini has a history of making boutique models for its most loyal customers.

Usually based on V12 flagships such as the Murcielago or Aventador, cars such as the outrageous Aventador J roadster push the limits of the Italian brand’s platforms.

Reggiani, Lamborghini’s head of research and development, said a potential successor to the $2.65m, left-hand-drive Centenario would have to be based on the Aventador.

“The halo car is Aventador,” he said.

“They want what Aventador can offer in terms of a monocoque chassis, pushrod suspension and a V12 engine.”

While the more compact Huracan is offered in two-wheel-drive form, Reggiani insists that Lambo’s big bopper must retain all-wheel-drive traction as a two-wheel-drive version would be “difficult to manage” at speed.

“It’s something we don’t want to have,” he said. 

“The four-wheel-drive system is the most safe and performance [focused] system we can have in their car.”

While competitors such as Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche offer more than 500kW of power in a rear-drive car, Reggiani says it would be a less-than-rewarding experience in an Aventador as “the traction control would be so invasive”.

“You would have a lot of customers disappointed because the system cuts in too much.”

Lamborghini’s latest two-door car, the convertible Huracan Performante Spyder (pictured), is based on a coupe that set a new production car record at the Nuburgring. Porsche eclipsed that mark with the new 911 GT2 RS not long after the Lambo went into production, and Reggiani has hinted a hotter Huracan in the works.

“Our job is to continuously develop cars to be better,” he said.

“Our strategy in terms of performance during the second life [of a model] is to grow, never to be flat.

“We work to increase again what we can have from our car… we will see what will be the future performance.”

Local Lambo fans should not be surprised to find more examples of the Huracan on track in the Australian GT Championship and Bathurst 12 Hour, as the brand is pushing to sell more cars in Australia.

Baldi said “we see a potential in Australia that hasn’t been exploited, partly because we are so far from the market”. 

“We couldn’t feel completely comfortable in supplying just a car, we also wanted to provide assistance during the race,” he said.

“Definitely, we are looking into this. It’s an area of expansion for us, it’s where we would like to push as much as possible.”

The Huracan Performante Spyder made its debut at the 2018 Geneva motor show, where rival brands such as McLaren and Aston Martin unveiled track-only hypercars.

Ferrari also offers track-only machines such as the La Ferrari FXXK that are not limited by road requirements.

While Lamborghini offers racing versions of its Huracan, it has not developed a track-only spin-off based on the Aventador.

“There are two different ways to develop the car - one is motorsport oriented, when you can take all the freedoms you want, more or less, and the other is a car that meets all the legal requirements,” Reggiani said.

“There’s a lot of profit when you don’t have to homologate the car, but you have to be ready who have customers who will use the car only to go on track.

“There are so many customers who say ‘yes, but I also want to drive it on the promenade’.”

Federico Foschini, commercial director for Lamborghini, said the brand was not ready discuss specifics around a potential rival to the track-only McLaren Senna GTR (pictured) or LeFerrari FXXK. 

“We are working on a lot of products.

“The brand of Lamborghini is available at the moment to develop and to supply each and everything.

“So for sure we are working on a lot of scenarios, we’re not here today to discuss this kind of project.

“I think you will see.”

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