The 'will we, won't we' debate at Lamborghini over the future of its Estoque concept saloon appears to have been resolved and it's a resounding "yes" in favour of building the stunning four-door.
One of the clinchers for the positive reaction to the Estoque's future is it will share the same platform as the next generation of Audi A8, Bentley Continental and Porsche Panamera. Looking at the production cycles for these models, it's likely the Estoque production model will not go on sale until 2017.
Lamborghini's boss Stephan Winkelmann is known to be very keen to broaden the Italian firm's model range without diluting its drama. The Estoque fits into this plan ideally, reckons Winkelmann, who is also thought to be supporting a two-door coupé version of the Estoque to take on Ferrari's 599, 612 and FF models. As Lamborghini already has access to four-wheel drive technology, it seems likely the Estoque and its coupé spin-off will come with all-wheel drive as standard.
Environmental concerns will also be taken into account by the Estoque, which will be significantly lighter than many rivals, but Lamborghini sources say a hybrid or diesel model is unlikely.
Porsche is known to be developing a new twin-turbo V8 petrol engine for its next Panamera, but Lamborghini is more likely to use a V10 or V12 engine in the Estoque. The V12 would be a detuned version of the new Aventador's 700hp 6.5-litre motor, mounted ahead of the cabin.