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#1 ·


AUTOCAR
CEO Stefano Domenicali's five-step plan for Lamborghini
Stefano Domenicali hit the turf as Ferrari’s F1 team leader. But now he rides again, on the horns of Lamborghini
Stefano Domenicali Lamborghini boss
"Time is going fast. But if time is going slowly something is wrong"

by Dan Prosser
9 March 2019
In a makeshift office at the Bahrain International Circuit, Stefano Domenicali takes a moment to reflect on what for him will be a significant anniversary. “Time is going very fast, but that’s good,” says the ebullient 53-year-old. “If time is going slowly, there’s something wrong.”

This Middle Eastern circuit’s tree-lined paddock and the nine-storey Sakhir Tower that dominates the local skyline will be more familiar to Domenicali than to any of the travelling press corps or the dozens of visiting support staff. The grand prix track is hosting the media launch of the new Lamborghini Huracán Evo and, in his role as president and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, Domenicali is here to present his company’s newest supercar to the world’s automotive press. By the end of this month, Domenicali will have held his position for three years.

The Italian – whose forthcoming and easy-going nature seems to be at odds with the archetype of a hard-nosed, grey-suited automotive industry executive – has been driven through the circuit’s gates many times before, but always while wearing the scarlet red uniform of the Ferrari Formula 1 team. Between the end of 2007 and 2014, he served as its team principal. His memories of this Bahrain circuit from the early years will include dominant one-two race wins in 2008 and 2010, but just as those victories in the desert dried up during the second half of his seven-year stint at the helm of the Scuderia, so too did the world championship titles. In April 2014, Domenicali fell on his sword and announced his resignation – moments before, one imagines, he was shown the door.

Following a brief spell at Audi, Domenicali was appointed CEO by Lamborghini early in 2016. While history shows Lamborghini’s fortunes soared following his arrival, Domenicali would be the first to point out the framework that underpinned the renaissance had been put in place long before his appointment. Nonetheless, having sold 3245 cars globally in the year before Domenicali first set foot in Sant’Agata, Lamborghini last year posted record annual sales figures, moving 5750 cars.

So it is no longer the case that the role of president and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini is a palliative one, because although this brand has peered over the edge and into oblivion countless times during its 56-year history, today Lamborghini is alive and kicking. Instead, Domenicali is tasked with expanding sales even further and with introducing new models, making the company he oversees today a thorn in the side of the one he left five years ago.

What follows is his five-part plan to lead Lamborghini into a bright future – and consequently to tackle his former employer Ferrari head-on.

1. Increase brand awareness

“We saw there was the potential for big growth in terms of global brand awareness of Lamborghini,” Domenicali offers. “In new markets, our heritage has zero value. They don’t know about Lamborghini. Success in new markets is with the younger generation, which is why we must show that we are the coolest, the sportiest and the most dynamic brand.”

And in traditional markets? “We needed to position our brand in a different way,” he says. “We have to be seen to be less polarising. Before, you either loved Lamborghini or you hated it. Now, you either love it or you don’t like it. But whichever it is, you recognise this is a brand with a very strong identity.”

Having traded for so long on its reputation for building the wildest and most fearsome supercars on the planet, Lamborghini has tried in recent times to put forward a friendlier public face. In Domenicali’s words, Lamborghini now wants to be a “happy brand”.

2. Grow sales

Last year, Lamborghini’s global sales leapt up by almost 70%. Were Domenicali a less humble man he might attribute that particular success to his own radiant genius, but he’s quick to point out that a sizeable leap was inevitable following the launch of the Urus super-SUV. This being its first full year on sale, the marque will almost certainly post another record sales year in 2019.

The sweet spot for the time being, reckons Domenicali, will be 8000 cars sold each year: “That, in my opinion, is the right number for our portfolio and for our markets. If new markets come in, we will need to make an adjustment to that figure, but that is the right number for us to be a solid business right now.”

That figure will raise eyebrows 15 miles away on Via Abetone Inferiore, because last year was only the third time in Ferrari’s history that global sales exceeded 8000. If what motivates Domenicali in his new role is a vengeful desire to prove his worth to the company that allowed him to leave, he is far too diplomatic to admit it. But it is the case nonetheless that Domenicali might yet be the man to steer Lamborghini’s raging bull to within a nose of Ferrari’s prancing horse.

“Exclusivity for our customers is very valuable, however,” he says. “We could build a second SUV and grow sales very quickly. If I was a very selfish manager, that is exactly what I would do. But it wouldn’t be right for the brand. It would pay off rapidly in the short term, but in the medium and long term it would be a very big mistake.”

3. Continue building show-stopping engines

Manufacturers throughout the supercar sector have been moving away from normally aspirated engines and towards turbocharging – Ferrari very much among them. Tightening emissions legislation has all but dictated it. Domenicali knows very well that Lamborghini’s soaring V10 and V12 engines with their tuneful, normally aspirated soundtracks are what sets their cars apart from the rest. Lamborghini will therefore move towards hybrid powertrains for its supercars long before it adopts turbocharging.

“This is the nature of homologation,” says Domenicali, regretfully. “If I had only to respond to the needs of our customers, the next Aventador would have only a normally aspirated V12 again. But we need to respect legislation. In certain places, you will need electrification to go into the city. That is why the next Aventador will use a normally aspirated V12 but with a hybrid system.” The current model is still selling so well, incidentally, that we shouldn’t expect to see a replacement in the next two years.

4. Introduce a fourth model line

If sales continue to grow as Domenicali forecasts between now and 2025, his company will then be in a position to introduce a fourth model to complement the entry-level Huracán supercar, the range-topping Aventador and the Urus. “The idea is for a grand tourer, a 2+2,” he says. “That is something we are working on already. This car could help us reach 10,000 sales. “I can see that if we are able to stabilise volumes over the next few years, we can manage a fourth model. But we are not strong or stable enough to invest in a fourth model right now.”

5. Carry on building cars for people who love driving

“People have been in love with cars for a long time and they want to drive them,” says Domenicali. As the mainstream automotive sector hurries towards an autonomous future and a short-term rental rather than ownership model, Domenicali believes there will be demand for high-end performance cars for a long time yet: “The world is so big, so different. We have to consider if cars are to be used to transport us, or for enjoyment. If you want to enjoy a car, you cannot have it driving itself. There is definitely a future for people like us, for sure, because it is connected to the passion of life.

“On the future of mobility, the complexity goes beyond cars – it is about an entire ecosystem that has to grow. Good luck with that!”

Never forgetting the past

Will Lamborghini ever revive its famous old nameplates – Miura, Countach and Diablo among them – by building all-new recreations? Domenicali chooses not to answer either way, but he does say that Lamborghini “wants to celebrate the anniversaries of these models in the right way”.

“We are developing something special to celebrate these models that were very important to the brand,” he continues. We can read that as confirmation that somewhere down the line Lamborghini will unveil very limited-edition, exceedingly expensive models – in the manner of the Sesto Elemento, Veneno and Centenario – in tribute to its more famous cars. But which will be first? The Miura’s 50th anniversary came and went three years ago while the Countach won’t reach that age for another five years. In 2020, however, the Diablo will turn 30 years old…
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/features/ceo-stefano-domenicalis-five-step-plan-lamborghini
 
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#2 ·
Maybe they should focus on making cars that fit people who are 6'-3" so us tall folks can buy them. Open offer to Stefano to measure my 12C to learn how a real car interior should be sized :)
 
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#4 ·
CARandDRIVER
2020 Lamborghini Huracán Evo, Now with 30 Percent More Oversteer
Lamborghini's V-10 supercar is now available with rear-wheel drive at a 20 percent discount.
By Clifford Atiyeh
JAN 4, 2020
image

Lamborghini
  • The 2020 Lamborghini Huracán Evo RWD replaces the current Huracán LP580-2 with extra power (602 horsepower vs. 572) and more advanced traction control for bigger drifts.
  • The base price is more than $50,000 cheaper than the regular Evo.
  • You can't buy another brand-new rear-wheel-drive supercar with a V-10.
    What better way to celebrate 2019's record bull market than with a bull stamped on the nose of a shiny 10-cylinder supercar? Certainly, Lamborghini would have introduced the 2020 Huracán Evo RWD without a six-year high from the S&P 500 or double-digit spikes in the Dow and Nasdaq indexes. But upgrading to the latest Lambo is now unavoidable. It's promising more powerslides and a brand-new body kit for a lot less money.

    The Huracán Evo made its debut last January as the first mid-cycle refresh since Lamborghini's "entry level" model came out in 2014. Replacing the Performante and carrying that car's 631-hp tune, the Evo added rear-wheel steering, torque vectoring, revised aero, and a new computerized brain called LDVI that makes minute adjustments to the entire car 50 times every second. We've tried it, twice. Now subtract the front axle, the rear steering, and 29 ponies from the 5.2-liter V-10. That equals us having to get behind the wheel again. As before, Lamborghini could care less that this 602-hp Huracán is slower on the track than the more powerful all-wheel-drive version. But the Evo RWD should be faster than the LP580-2 that's been on sale since 2016, and not simply because of a 31-hp advantage. In Sport mode, the older rear-wheel-drive Huracán softened its adaptive dampers and incorporated a trick front-braking system to ensure long-lasting,repeatable drifts.
The newest solution is the P-TCS (Performance Traction Control System), unique to the Evo RWD, which lets the car "slide and skate during acceleration." Lamborghini says that P-TCS never cuts torque abruptly. Instead, in Sport mode, it'll feed extra torque before the car gets into an epic slide and then will back off more gently. In Corsa mode, it assumes the driver is smarter and will allow the car to exit corners more quickly. A retuned steering rack helps the driver better master the slip angle. Using its proprietary fun calculator, Lamborghini says oversteer is up 30 percent versus the LP580-2, which had overloaded our expert butt sensors in 2016. This is valuable data to every Lamborghini customer.

In a parking lot, you'll notice the RWD model up front rather than behind. The front splitter has been reshaped with a simpler design connecting the outer air intakes to the nose in a single, body-color piece—much like the final Gallardo models. That's to help generate more airflow underneath the car and pass it to the revised diffuser, increasing overall downforce on the rear wheels compared to the regular Evo. While the human eye can distinguish between millions of colors, the Evo RWD wears its own shade, Giallo Belenus, along with matching leather and microsuede trim. To our eyes, it's just another hot yellow Lambo.

Most compelling is the price, which at $214,366 starts at a cool 52 grand less than the all-wheel-drive Evo. Until Audi imports a de-axled 2020 R8, this Lambo will be the only new car on sale with rear-wheel drive and a V-10.
 
#6 ·
Well you will probably not feel the less hp ... 4wheel drive and its additional weight certainly need 40-60hp more to have similar acceleration as long as traction is of no concern ...
 
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