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Dear Lamborghini: You Should Build Gran Turismos Again!

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Lamborghini’s sales and marketing teams write their stuff like us, like they might technically be 12 years old. They use big words, metaphors and exaggerations, unlike say their German bosses might.
Despite this, they don’t seem to be thinking about us, the ‘kids’, the fans, they way they should. Sure, the Sesto Elemento is a bit crazy, but that’s racing car technology for billionaires. Sure, the Urus is a cool looking SUV, but it’s also practical and light and has an environmental focus, which makes it worse than the old LM002. Now that was a cool Lambo!

This brand isn’t about being green or practical, and it’s especially not about building road racers. When Ferruccio Lamborghini founded his company in 1963, it was because he hated the way his Ferrari worked like a racing car for the road.

Lamborghini is celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, and they are going to dump money into the ultra-expensive carbon fiber tub of the Sesto. It’s a nice car, but it’s also the wrong car to pay tribute with, and i’ll tell you why!

Ferruccio was a hot blooded Italian through and through, so he bought just about every cool car made during the 50s – Maseratis, Alfa Romeos, Lancias, and even owned a Jag. In 1958, Lamborghini decided to get the ultimate car of the time, a Ferrari 250GT two-seater coupe that he was very excited about. He bought several other Ferraris over the years but always found them to be sub standard.

The clutch in his cars always broke and the interiors were spartan, Ferruccio often saying they were like track racers poorly converted for road use. And so, he created the 350 GT, his first car, which had a smooth running engine, fitted luggage and plenty of leather. To give you an example of his thinking, the carburetors were on the side of the engine not the top, giving the car a bitt less power but better lines. Long story short, we totally agree with him on this one. Despite looking like punishing machines, current Lambos are still more fun to drive on regular roads, around town, where they don’t feel as disconnected as Ferraris do. Sure, the 458 is the car to drive at the limit, but that’s like buying a knife that only cuts at the tip.

Ferrari is making lots of money with front-mid-engined Grand Tourers, so much in fact that they usually have two different ones building at the same time – 599 and 612, F12 and FF… that sort of thing. But Audi’s bosses area having too much of their own way, first suggesting the SUV, then postponing it again. I bet there’s people at Lamborghini who would put their heart and soul into creating something very, very special. Which is why I’m not in the least bit concerned that a new Lambo front-engined car would be successful or not.

Somehow, after making the Miura, Lamborghini got the idea that only rear-engined cars work for them. But that can’t possibly be true, can it?

Think about it this way: while Lamborghini only put the engines in the front, there are equally famous brands that only put the engines in the front! Aston Martin has stuck with this formula and is all the better for it. And what about the Mercedes SLS AMG or the Bentley Continental GT.

Obviously, if I knew how to build a better Lamborghini, I would actually be working with them instead of telling you about this idea, hoping you like it. But I think the formula isn’t that complicated to get right. Instead of tying to outperform the 740 PS F12 Berlinetta, Lamborghini would be far better off with something more like 600 PS. That would be more than the SLS and the new Vanquish, and I believe owners of these types of cars only expect slightly sub-4 second sprints, not an all-out dragsters that ken keep up with the Nissan GT-R.

The 350 GT had a more advanced engine than the Ferraris of the time, but that’s change since then. Nowadays, you can pay €200,000 for a full-spec Porsche Panamera Turbo S, and that’s because not only is the engine powerful, but the equipment fitted is very special as well. Lamborghini somehow needs to figure out a way to sell gadgets with soul, and really make their Grand Tourer shine like no other for less money than the Ferrari FF.

As you can see, the logic is pretty sound. There’s no overlap with other models from Audi, Porsche’s Panamera platform is available and this is a tried and tested product for them, not like the Urus.

The decision to make a Gran Turismo again would only serve to massively elevate the brand with actual rich people, not just rappers who can’t help waisting their money just like they can’t help keeping their pants up.

So close your eyes for a second. Imagine you’re on a mountain road in the middle of summer. There’s a bit of mist in the distance, it’s a bit chilly and it was raining the night before. You’re carving through the tunnels until finally, you arrive at the destination quietly happy with your journey. I can only be a Lamborghini!
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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