Lamborghini Estoque 2013

Consumer Guide's Impressions of the 2013 Lamborghini Estoque

What's this? A Lambo sedan? Yup, a high-power, high-fashion concept suggests the Italian sports car legend might follow Porsche to Four-Door Land. But the Estoque is still years away, and its path to showrooms could be a dead end.

What We Know About the 2013 Lamborghini Estoque

Alarming financial news cast a pall over the October 2008 Paris Auto Show, but storied Italian sports car maker Lamborghini provided a feel-good respite by unveiling a stunning concept sedan. Yes, a sedan, only the third 4-door design in the company's 40-year history. Named Estoque (say "es-toe-kay") for a sword used in bull fighting, it's as sexy as any Lambo ever built. It also looks showroom-ready. Jaws dropped and tongues began wagging when Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann told assembled reporters that the concept is a fully operational prototype that could go into production.Could, mind you. For several reasons, the Estoque is not yet approved, and some reports say it won't be. And even if it is, Winkelmann says that Lamborghini would need at least four years to put it on the road, which suggests a 2012 arrival at the absolute earliest. But if it does go ahead, the Estoque is projected to more than double Lamborghini sales, to around 4,000-5,000 per year. That compares with a record 2,405 deliveries in 2007, divided between slinky V10 Gallardo and burly V12 Murcielago coupes and spider convertibles. Lamborghini is in the black, and the Estoque signals that it intends to remain there, recession or not. As Winkelmann told trade weekly Automotive News Europe, "If it's a feasible dream but an economic disaster, we cannot propose it." 

For more inside information on hundreds of new cars of today and tomorrow, check out:

• C­onsumer Guide New Car Reviews and Prices: Road test results, photos, specifications, and prices for hundreds of new cars, trucks, minivans, and SUVs from the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide.
• Lamborghini: Read Consumer Guide's full reports, including ratings, prices, specifications, and fuel economy.
• Premium Large Cars: The 2013 Lamborghini Estoque will compete in the premium large car class. Here's Consumer Guide's roundup of all the premium large cars on sale today.
• 2009 Consumer Guide Best Buy and Recommended Award Winners:
  Check out which cars won our Best Buy and Recommended awards for 2009.
• Future Cars: Step into the automotive showroom of tomorrow with reviews, analysis, pictures, prices, and preliminary specifications on scores of vehicles that will be appearing next year and beyond. 
   Improved sales are also the motivation for Porsche's 2010 Panamera. The first production 4-door from that hallowed brand is one possible roadblock for the 2013 Lamborghini Estoque. That's because Lamborghini is owned by Audi, which is part of the whale-size Volkswagen Group that could also take a significant stake in minnow-size Porsche. The betting is that if Porsche joins the family, it would try to block development of Lamborghini's obvious in-house rival for the Panamera. Indeed, executives at both Porsche and VW were reportedly "less than pleased" with the Estoque, partly because they were told about it only a couple of weeks before the Paris premiere.  The 2013 Lamborghini Estoque faces other potholes on the road to showrooms. First, this is hardly a good time for another high-power bling machine that's expected to cost at least $200K. It's not just the turbulent global economy. It's tightening fuel-economy standards in the vital U.S. market and a scheduled 2012 CO₂ emissions cap in Europe. VW/Audi must meet these new limits, so every car it sells must help, including the relative handful of Lamborghinis.
  Second, cost considerations suggest the 2013 Lamborghini Estoque would need to share a platform and many components with other models in the vast VW/Audi empire. The concept, despite its fully finished nature, was built without regard to this not-so-small matter. Lamborghini is said to be studying various options, but is still far from a final plan.