Early October 2008, 15 years ago, the Paris Mondial de l’Automobile, or the Paris Car Show, and Automobili Lamborghini SpA reveals something truly amazing during their press conference … the dark grey metallic Estoque concept, a four-door, four-seater concept car, rumored to have been powered by a V10 engine derived from the Gallardo but positioned at the front, I was actually present at the 2008 Paris Car Show press conference days, and I tried to photograph underneath the front bumper to catch something from the engine, but security didn’t like that idea, so that photo never happened.
Fast forward to August 2023 and we see an announcement from Lamborghini stating they are ready to reveal something new and exciting at this year’s Monterey Car Week, for now, they only show a profile shot that doesn’t reveal too many details, only that this one will most likely be the all-electric GT they’ve been talking about to be released after 2025, but one thing that did catch my eye is the fact the profile looks a lot like the one from the 15 year old Estoque concept.
Some mention the new all-electric Lamborghini GT will be a mix between the 2008 Estoque and the 2014 Asterion, and while the Estoque was intended to be a V10 powered sedan, the Asterion was a V10 Hybrid, hence the LPI910-4 naming, and while the Asterion might look like a front-engined two-door GT, the V10 was still situated behind the seats. Make no mistake, the Asterion could be driven, it was a fully functional prototype (Lamborghini even tested this V10 with three electric motors setup in their Tosca prototype, hiding underneath an Aventador bodyshell, making the Tosca the only V10-powered Aventador in the world), but in the end, the concept was retired into the official factory museum.
The response to both the Asterion and the Estoque was mainly positive, but somehow management decided to shelve both concepts and go for an SUV as the third model in the line-up, so the 2012 Lamborghini Urus Concept was shown at the Beijing Auto Show, and the Estoque never made it into production, and it would take another five years of development and a massive expansion of the factory in Sant’Agata to get the Lamborghini Urus Super SUV ready for production by late 2017 with deliveries in early 2018 … many clients were actually hoping for Lamborghini to bring the Estoque back, but the market for a large, high-power sedan just wasn’t there anymore, so it made no sense for Lamborghini to put resources into that market segment … until now it seems.
Just take a look at the two side profiles put together in one image, the Lamborghini Estoque design looks really similar to the one Lamborghini just revealed, it even seems the cockpit area is larger on the new electric concept car, possibly offering more interior space, which makes sense as there is no need for a large V10 engine in a mid-front position as we’ve seen on the 2008 Estoque concept. This brings me to the next point, some state the new Lamborghini GT would be a 2+2 model with just two doors, but take a look at just how long this initial profile looks, it wouldn’t make any sense to have just two doors with that body style, so my guess is we will really be getting a four-door Super GT from Sant’Agata this time.
We’ll only have to wait a few more days as the unveiling is set for 2023 Monterey Car Week, more specifically on August 18, 2023, and I for one can’t wait to see how close this new all-electric GT will look to the Estoque or the Asterion, let’s hope it isn’t just a lowered Urus redesign as that would really not make too much sense, but one thing that will be more or less certain is the fact we’ll be getting a four-seater car, perhaps even similar to the Urus the option of either a bench with three seats at the rear or a two-seat rear configuration, that would be amazing if you ask me.
I know the Lamborghini Estoque concept is 15 years old by now, and that is ancient in car history these days, but you’ll have to admit the styling of both the exterior and the interior of this prototype has aged pretty well, sure the angular styling dates the car to the Gallardo and Murciélago era, but is that such a bad thing? I think the interior still looks really nice, even today, most likely the displays will need some upgrading, but other than that the entire design language of the interior just needs a little refresh and we’re good to go.
I am really looking forward to seeing what Lamborghini comes up with for their fourth model in the line-up, an all-electric four-seater to join the hybrid Revuelto after 2025, by which time we’ll most likely have the Huracán successor as a hybrid with either a V8 or even a V6 hybrid setup, and naturally the Urus Ibrido evolution, Automobili Lamborghini SpA is taking on the ‘electrification’ route slow and steady it seems, and it sure looks exciting.
