Automobili Lamborghini achieves another record year: 3,815 cars delivered to customers in 2017, 10% more than 2016. These numbers mark record sales performance for both model lines V10 and V12 across the areas of EMEA, America and Asia Pacific.
SEE ALSO : Retail in Asia partners with DesignInspire in Hong Kong
Not only sales, but also milestones such as the opening of the new Polo Storico Facility in March 2017, a center dedicated to Lamborghini classic cars and the preservation of
Lamborghini heritage. In the new facility Polo Storico receives classic Lamborghini owners from all around the world and supports historic models and Lamborghini’s heritage through four main areas: restoration of historic Lamborghini models, archive management, original Lamborghini spare parts and official certification of Lamborghini historic cars.
In Asia Pacific, besides the opening of the new showroom in Hong Kong and one in Macau, Lamborghini presented The Aventador S Roadster at the DesignInspire 2017 exhibition at HKCEC in Wanchai. With Automobili Lamborghini supporting the “Italy Makes a Difference” exhibit (Hall 3E-D01), the new open-top flagship Lamborghini was on display from 7 to 9 December2017.
Furthermore, on 8 December 2017, Mr. Mitja Borkert, Director of Lamborghini Centro Stile (design center), made a special appearance in Hong Kong as guest speaker at the Business of Design Week 2017 conference (co-organizer of DesignInspire) to share his expert insights and experiences in designing some of the world’s most evocative supercars.
Retail in Asia took the chance to interview Mitja Borkert to know more about his experience as Head of Design at Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., the launch of its trio in 2017, and more about the design component which drives style, clean lines, innovative materials and increasingly advanced construction method.
RiA: Lamborghini is very well known for its high-level design and refined details. The website says “Lamborghini’s cars were conceived to thrill not only the drivers, but also the people around as they went past”. What are the main design features which make Lamborghini cars appealing?
Mitja : It is the Lamborghini design DNA. Everything started with the Italian designer Marcello Gandini from Turin, who in 1971 created the first concept car Countach. If we sketch a Lamborghini, you will see there is an unmistakable simple and timeless silhouette. Even 3-years old son can recognize it, it is its brand.
If you see a Lamborghini arriving, you will see the very specific architecture of the car, low front-end, typical of sports car, but you will notice the remarkable angles on the side windows. When you see a Countach from the front view, it is a Lamborghini. It is about the diagonal lines.
On the back we have tail connected lights, and you can still see the strong angles. I like using a philosophical concept which is “expect the unexpected”, that’s my way of defining Lamborghini design.
When I design a Lamborghini, everything is about innovation and radical changes, but these core elements represent the basic ingredients for the Lamborghini recipe.
RiA: Which features reflect the Italian design in general, and can be found in other sectors as well?
Mitja : Being German, learning about Italian culture is strictly related to Italian design. Being at Lamborghini is a dream, and it is linked to Italian culture.
Italians and Italian design is attention to details, matching colours, for instance. Lamborghini is about simple shapes, which have become iconic.
Lamborghini applies the attention to details with its hexagons by Gandini, but also deeply embedded in Italian design from the 60s.
For example, the new Aventador presented here for the DesignInspire, part of the Business Of Design Week, or the new concept car Terzo Millennio, we play with the tail lights deriving from the hexagon.
RiA : Throughout time we have seen Lamborghini developing new models, you actually supervised the trio for year 2017, Terzo Millennio, Huracán Super Trofeo EVO racecar, and Urus Super SUV. In which way Lamborghini style is preserved, and which one is innovative?
Mitja : This is our trio for 2017. Terzo Millennio is my concept car, and it represents my idea of Lamborghini and it marks my belonging to Lamborghini family.
In November 2017 Lamborghini, in collaboration with two laboratories of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, gave an outlook onto a possible future Lamborghini electric super sports car. The concept car, Lamborghini Terzo Millennio, physically imagines design and technology theories of tomorrow, while sustaining the visual intrigue, breath-taking performance and emotion found in every dimension of a Lamborghini.
Huracán Super Trofeo EVO racecar is the brand new race-weapon for the 2018 Lamborghini Super Trofeo. Lamborghini Squadra Corse, Centro Stile Lamborghini and Dallara Automobili created the totally brand new bodykit of the car, which is a masterpiece combining functionality and style in a refined mix of geometries.
The highlight of the Fiscal Year 2017 was without doubt the world premiere of the new Super SUV Lamborghini Urus in Sant’Agata Bolognese in December 2017. With its third model Lamborghini creates a new niche in the luxury segment with benchmarking power, performance and driving dynamics, unparalleled design, luxury and daily usability.
RiA : As digital is pervading all the sectors, automotive as well, from the apps for car owners to marketing strategies, in which way it enhances the design process?
Mitja : Digitization has been disrupting the retail industry and for automobile industry there are definitely some touchpoints in the customer journey that have been improved and can still been improved through digital solutions. However, my focus is more on the digitization at the creative stage.
I still believe that hand-sketching cannot be replaced, and Italian design is very well known for its craftsmanship and manufacturer’s heritage. It stands for the sense of continuity from the Renaissance and it still plays an important role at Lamborghini house.
Today, design also means technology, so we have currently created a new internal team looking after graphic design displays. This decision comes from the fact that being Lamborghini synonym of Italian luxury, we pay attention to details, and nowadays it also means connecting with technology and work on the best customer experience. The aim is to provide the drive with one display with separate pages carefully designed to improve the interface and enhance interaction between the driver and the car.
SEE ALSO : Lamborghini Terzo Millennio : a future based on research and innovation
For 2018 Lamborghini confirms a confident outlook for the Fiscal Year 2018. In spite of lingering political uncertainties in the EU and on a global level, the key economic denominators remain generally positive.
With sustained growth expected in the large economies around the world, the business outlook for Lamborghini continues to be solid.
Due to its young and attractive product portfolio as well as the entry in the growing SUV segment, Lamborghini expects further growth with new dimensions of both unit sales and turnover in the medium term.