Two new supercars from Lamborghini

[igor@af]

From AutoWeek

Lamborghini, long considered an also-ran to Ferrari, has its rival Italian automaker square in its sights as it gears up for a major assault on the lucrative North American supercar market. And the newly emboldened car builder known for its Countaches and Diablos is starting its push by recruiting key technical talent from Ferrari's own U.S. service organization.

Ken McKay, who ran Ferrari's U.S. service network for two decades until the 1990s, has already recently recruited several veteran Ferrari technicians for his fledgling, Boston-based Lamborghini Technical Services. "The key is to have the talent-we really needed a good couple of guys," said McKay. "I thought I did pretty good."

Pretty good? Though McKay's forays so far have provoked a simple "no comment" from Ferrari of North America, others in the Ferrari ranks see where this confrontation is headed. A Ferrari dealer who asked not to be identified said the days when Lamborghini was content to sell cars to buyers who weren't able to get a Ferrari may be numbered.
"The first thing they need is spectacular product, which they don't have yet," said the dealer. "But it's not a question of 'if,' it's just a question of 'when' [Lamborghini will become a stronger competitor]."

Product is coming-thanks in no small part to Audi's acquisition of Lamborghini in 1998. Audi's parent company, Volkswagen, is known worldwide for its product leadership, and VW CEO Ferdinand Piech is bringing that same strength to bear on Lamborghini.

First up is the much-anticipated Diablo replacement, the L147. The super-luxury sports coupe will be unveiled in Frankfurt in September and will make its U.S. debut next January in Detroit. Deliveries of the first models to U.S. dealers could occur before the January showing.

Lamborghini CEO Giuseppe Greco has promised L147 will be better than the Diablo in performance and features. Pricing has not been determined.

The L147 will be powered by a dohc, 48-valve 6.0-liter V12-unique to Lambor-ghini-expected to produce about 600 horsepower. Like the Diablo, L147 is based on a tubular steel frame with carbon-fiber body panels and aluminum roof and doors.

Though the car will debut as a coupe, Greco says Lamborghini also plans each year to add other L147 variants, such as a roadster or higher-performance versions.

What Lamborghini is really after is a slice of Ferrari's bread-and-butter 360 Modena market. In summer 2003-Lamborghini's 40th anniversary-the company will end a two-decade hiatus from the medium-sized, mid-engined super sports car class: It will introduce a V10-powered, all-aluminum, all-wheel-drive coupe capable of rivaling the Ferrari's top seller. Reports that Lamborghini is drawing heavily on its Cala show car for the new L140 model mean the "baby Diablo" will likely come with Cala's 400-hp, 3.9-liter 40-valve V10. With a 2800-pound curb weight, the L140 is expected to turn five-second 0-to-62-mph times with a 180-mph top end. The Ferrari Modena has a 400-hp V8 capable of similar acceleration and speed.

For Lambo's product plan to work, the company must also boost production-and U.S. sales-if it aims to make serious inroads into Ferrari's market. With that in mind, Lambor ghini officials are preparing to build more than 400 L147s per year (35 percent earmarked for the States), along with at least 1500 L140s. That's a robust goal, considering Ferrari posted U.S. sales of 1024 cars in 2000. Lamborghini, by contrast, sold 30 cars here.

That's where McKay and his key service people come in, providing the kind of support that up to 18 U.S. dealerships will need to convince buyers that a Lamborghini should be their first choice.

"You want to try to give them the best technical support you can," said McKay.

[lambocars]

The new L147 prototype will finaly be presented during a special factory event in early September, which can be attended on invitation only.

Finaly the new car will be seen by a select few, as for the new V10 powered car, this one has been under development for some time now, and will probably appear as late as 2006, the Roadster version of the new L147 model should be ready by 2003, but knowing Lamborghini, this could be delayed during the next year.

Mark

[scumbag]

In an interview with Giuseppe Greco, President of Automobili Lamborghini, he said it was wrong to assume that the 'baby Diablo' will be small. He continues that he wants it to be the most powerful car in it's market segment (360 Modena) at more than 400 hp. (from Lamborghini Club newsletter).

I forget how powerfull the Modena is but you can bet that Ferrari will answer the challenge.

I really think that Lamborghini is going after a different market than Ferrari although on the surface they seem to be direct competitors.
Ferraris are becoming more refined and with the addition of the 'F1' style automatic transmission that means almost anybody can drive one.
A Lamborghini needs to be a tamed a little by a driver that wants to learn about the car and how extract the best performance from it.
I'm still trying to learn how to drive my automatic SHO!!!!

Scumbag