Over the weekend Lamborghini unveiled the Egoista, a one-off concept marking the fiftieth birthday of the raging bull. Penned by the head of design for the Volkswagen Group - Walter de Silva - the Egoista is a carbon fibre strewn, aerodynamically designed single seater supercar with a 600hp V10 engine and aviation themed lights.
And somewhere Kourosh Mansory, chief of Mansory Design, is crying into his cornflakes. For those who do not know, Mansory is a Swiss 'styling' company that specialises in turning perfectly good cars into hideous monstrosities like the Ferrari F12-based Stallone and the Mercedes-Benz SLR-based Renovatio. Mansory is upset as, in the grand scheme of things, the company that bears his name is small and cannot hope to compete with a full scale manufacturer like Lamborghini in a game of 'Who can make the weirdest car?'
And (to these eyes at least) that is what Lamborghini seems to be doing. It all started with the Reventón, a re-bodied Murciélago LP-640 of which Lamborghini produced 21, with one kept for posterity in Sant'Agata. Launched at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show the Reventón carried a €1.5 million price tag, but that did not seem to upset the über wealthy buyers, including Khalid Abdul Rahim of Bahrain.
Obviously buoyed by the success of the Reventón, a roadster version was put into production and debuted in Frankfurt two years after the coupé. Cheaper than the original car at €1.1 million the Reventón Roadster is even rarer with only 15 cars made.
The following year Lamborghini unveiled the Sesto Elemento at the Paris Motor Show. Production of the Sesto Elemento (sixth element - in reference to the carbon fibre) was again limited to 20 customer cars with the latest information stating that all examples have been sold.
The car that followed the Sesto Elemento was remarkably normal in comparison, as the Aventador J did not proclaim to be anything other than an Aventador, albeit one without either roof or windscreen... Debuting at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, the one-of-a-kind car was already sold by the time the public saw it and the owner stumped up in excess of €2.1 million for the concept car looks.
Lamborghini reverted to type for the Aventador J's follow-up with 2013 Geneva Motor Show's Veneno. Making its debut as part of the Volkswagen Group's pre-event show, the car wowed audiences until they realised that the €3.12 million car was another reworking of an existing model with the Aventador supplying the basic ingredients this time. Three Venenos will be produced and like the Aventador J, all were sold before the car's debut.
Everything that has come before seems tame in comparison to the Egoista, which looks to have driven straight out the 'Speed Racer' cartoon. But here is the problem; while all of these concepts (and the Egoista is a concept, as it will never be produced), limited edition models and track day specials have been released the Gallardo remains relatively unchanged. When the V10-powered sports car debuted in 2003 its main rival was the Ferrari 360. While the Gallardo remains in production some ten years later the Ferrari 360 has been replaced by the 430 and the 430 replaced by the 458. How can a car whose direct rival has been replaced twice still be in production while silly concepts are being churned out left, right and centre?
Numerous special editions of the Gallardo have been produced over the course of its (long) lifetime, ensuring that the baby Lamborghini is the best-selling model in the company's history, but how much longer can it continue? There is not a motor show that goes by when a Gallardo replacement is touted only for a re-bodied special model to be wheeled out. With production of the Urus SUV seemingly confirmed for 2017 the designers are likely to be working on it and more ludicrous concepts for some time yet, leaving the Gallardo untouched.
Audi recently said it is trying to embrace its Italian side to bring some emotion to its otherwise cold, sterile cars. Can we ask Lamborghini to embrace its German side? Keep the fire and emotion we have come to expect of the company but with some Teutonic business sense that focuses on its core business rather than these limited edition monstrosities. Leave that to Mansory...