With Lamborghini at Art Basel Miami Beach for a dealer meeting, TheDetroitBureau.com secured a chance to sit down and talk with Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann one year into his current stint.
It’s Winkelmann second run as CEO, having helmed the brand from 2005 through 2016, before being named CEO of Audi Sport in March 2016. Nearly two years later, he became president of Bugatti Automobiles before returning to Lamborghini in December 2020. He remained president of Bugatti until its sale to Rimac in October.
Here’s an edited transcript of our conversation.
TheDetroitBureau: What brings you to Miami?
Stephan Winkelmann: I had two reasons. We are visiting our dealers, so we have business meetings with them. And then we are here because of Art Basel. We are exhibiting two cars, and I think this is a good match; our type of cars with the with Art Basel Miami.
TDB: Would you say it has the same artistic flair of the sort of art you see at Art Basel?
SW: No, I would not call our cars art. They are design icons, for sure, and what we see is that a lot of our customers enjoy the Art Basel Miami exhibitions.
Lamborghini — The Sequel
TDB: It’s been about a year now since you’ve returned to Lamborghini. Why did you leave in the first place?
SW: You know in a big group, they ask you to do different things. After 11 years, they asked me to do something different, so I went to Audi Sport, and then I was in Bugatti for almost four years. Then last year, I did Bugatti and Lamborghini together. The opportunity to go back to Lamborghini, I have to say, was very unexpected, but I’m really happy to work with this wonderful brand.
TDB: Now that you’ve stepped back into it, how is it different now?
SW: Due to Urus, the size is different, but the atmosphere, the mindset of the people, the passion and the way of doing the things is exactly the same.
Getting charged up without changing up
TDB: For many, the Countach is very much the essence of the brand for so many people. How do you channel that going forward with electrification?
SW: When you’re a brand like Lamborghini, one of the things you have to keep in mind is that you have to be looking forward. You have to be a trendsetter. You have to always reinvent yourself. And it’s clear that you have to have strong roots in your history. But the roots are only there so that you know where you’re coming from and you know what you did in the past. But you should not repeat what you’ve done. So a strong brand should always be recognized as innovative. Time changes the brand appearance, the brand perception and you always have to be in front of the wave, never behind. This is something we always have to think about. When I wake up in the morning, I have to think at least 10 years ahead of now.
TDB: You say that a brand’s perception changes over time. How do you think Lamborghinis is changing?
SW: When it was founded, Lamborghini was known for icons, for wonderful cars and models; but it was not perceived as a real brand. Over the last two decades, we have had a very distinctive view of the brand as being black and white, call it uncompromising, extreme and Italian to have a very sharp positioning. And then, in the last 10 years, we are adding more and more of the human touch, and this is important because you know, society is changing. But the heart the DNA is always there. It’s about passion. It’s about design. It’s about performance. This is what stays the same.
TDB: So that is despite whether it’s gas or electric.
SW: Yes, but it has to be done in the right way. So the performance has to be better than the generation before; otherwise, it’s not going to be accepted. And we hope that in the future with synthetic fuel, there is, maybe, no need to go full electric on the super sports car side. On the more versatile side, by the end of this decade, we will have electric cars, including Lamborghini.
TDB: Given that some of the competition in the sector are going full electric right away, is that too quick? Do you think it pays to be more gradual in your changeover?
SW: If you buy a Lamborghini, you also buy something which is a collectible. You buy something because it’s an investment, not only because of passion and performance and design. So it’s also important that it holds value, and it’s coming at the right time. Not everything we do must be at the latest thing on the market, but it has to be there when it’s mature. But every brand has to find his own way.
Changing at the right speed
TDB: So there’s no concern for instance, that, you know, there’ll be competitors they’re just going straight on electric out of the box.
SW: I don’t know any who are doing this, so these are not competitors in our eyes.
TDB: Given its performance image, can Lamborghini paint itself in a more environmentally friendly way without harming the brand?
SW: Yes, I think so. The first thing is to hybridize the line-up, to have Plug-in Hybrids and continuing to have internal combustion engines. We will change the entire line-up between 2023 and 2024. And this means that we are going to cut CO2 emissions by at least 50% starting from 2025. Also, we have to keep the promise that the next generation, the hybridized generation, is better performing than this one.
TDB: So your line-up is scheduled to be fully plug-in hybrid by 2025.
SW: There will be plug-in hybrids, so we will stay with internal combustion engines. For example, the Aventador will still have a V-12 aspirated engine and this is a good sign. So we will keep this heritage and this positioning which is not typical for Lamborghini.
TDB: Going forward, is there a segment of the market that you perceive Lamborghini possibly entering into?
SW: Yeah. The first model would we are looking into is an innovative body style. We are looking into something which is a two-plus-two, which in our opinion, could be a positive for us. But on the other hand, it has to be in terms of design very different from what we had in the past.
TDB: So are we going to see a change in design then or design direction for Lamborghini as well?
SW: No, the design is always very, very revolutionary in Lamborghini. It’s important that when you see a Lamborghini, you unmistakably understand that this is nothing else but a Lamborghini, even if you might not know what Lamborghini you have in front of you. And this has to be kept also for the future.
Moving forward
TDB: Being within the Volkswagen Group, how often do you get engineering assistance from other divisions? Is there is there some kind of platform sharing of underpinnings? You’re not doing this in a vacuum by yourself.
SW: Well, this is the big competitive advantage we have inside the Volkswagen Group. For example, the two new super sports cars, (the Aventador and the Huracan), we will do on our own. We have the expertise, we have all the things which we need. On the more versatile models, for example with Urus, we have a group platform. But it’s important that the touch, the feel, the performance is Lamborghini-like. And it’s something which is incomparable with other brands of the group and this is important.
TDB: What is the biggest challenge as we’re going through all this change and everything appears to be changing?
SW: It’s not an evolution anymore, it’s really a revolutionary approach. But we are already in the midst of it, so the acceptance of the hybridization is already in front of us. Now we have to get things done. All the cars are in the development phase, and we have to deliver. This is one of the challenges. The other challenge is that in the second half of the decade, we have to accomplish the task of getting the first model, which has to be full electric, to be accepted in the market. And also, it’s not important to be the first one doing this, but to come when things are mature and that people really want the car. And we should never dilute the values of the brand; being brave, authentic and unexpected in whatever we do.
TDB: Do you find that as you start electrifying vehicles, it becomes more challenging to keep a character of a vehicle? There does tend to be a certain generic feel from vehicle to vehicle.
SW: I was a bit like you; I had the same feeling. But we are extensively testing all types of electric cars and if you drive a lot of electric cars, there’s a huge difference in the driving, in the driver’s experience. So I’m confident that in terms of electric cars, there will be a Lamborghini experience possible.
TDB: Are you finding as younger customers come into the brand are not as maybe averse to hybridization or electrification as some of your older customers are?
SW: The younger generation is taking for granted that what you do is sustainable, so they accept that. But they also want performance, so this has to go hand in hand. I am the older generation, but I’m ready to change and when I speak to our customers, they understand. And also, our people are entrepreneurs, so they know exactly what’s going on. Sustainability is something which is important to all of us, and we have to be responsible for what we do in the future.
TDB: So it seems that we are at the start of the three-part plan you’ve already announced earlier this year.
SW: Yes. The first phase is to celebrate the internal combustion engines this year and next year. The second phase is hybridization, and the third one is then electrification.
TDB: So we have more to look forward to as far as celebration of the internal combustion engine in 2022?
SW: We will have new cars coming out which are I’m very excited about, and I think that they will be very successful.