First electric Lamborghini due by mid-2020s as two-door GT

Lamborghini’s bosses have approved an expansion programme for a long-mooted fourth model line for the the company's first battery-electric model, set to take the form of a two-door four-seat grand tourer which boss Stephan Winkelmann confirmed will appear “in the second half of this decade”.

The new machine will be the culimination of the firm's newly announced Direzione Cor Tauri road map, which will include electrifying its three existing product lines with plug-in hybrid powerrtrains by the end of 2024.

Winkelmann said initial development work on the new car has begun, but he said no decision about its final form has been made. “This will be at least a 2+2 or four-seater,” Winkelmann told Autocar. “We imagine a two-door car mainly at this moment, but we haven’t yet taken a final decision on the bodystyle or the power output.”

The Direzione Cor Tauri roadmap – referencing the brightest star in the Taurus constellation – which involves more than £1.3 billion of investment in PHEV technology in the next four years, and is driven by the need to reduce the firm’s environmental impact. But Winkelmann has vowed to “keep the DNA” of the brand and “take it to the next level”.

Autocar first reported that Lamborghini was likely to base its debut EV on a four-seat grand touring coupé in 2017, with insiders indicating that route is being pursued because it best marries the brand’s sports car heritage with the current performance of battery-electric vehicles.

Winkelmann added that a final decision on the basic specifications of the EV would be made next year, explaining: “There are two steps. One is the analysis of bodystyle and volumes in this segment, and the other is the match we have with platforms in the Volkswagen Group to find the best solution.”

A four-seat grand tourer would also sit in a new market segment for Lamborghini, therefore helping the Italian firm grow its sales volumes.

Winkelmann said that it’s too early to talk about sales targets for the new model but suggested: “If we speak about a two-door four-seater, it will be something in between our current models. It’s not going to be the volumes of a super-sports car, but it’s not going to be the [higher] volumes of the Urus [SUV].”

As previously reported, Lamborghini was in line to use the new performance-focused, EV-specific PPE platform developed by Porsche and Audi. However, the timing of the Lamborghini EV’s introduction closer to 2030 means it’s now likely to instead be one of the earliest vehicles to use the forthcoming SSP architecture, which combines elements from the PPE and mainstream MEB platforms. The SSP platform is designed to be hugely adaptable, with scope to accommodate a wide range of electric motors and battery pack technology.

The first car based on it will be the result of Audi’s ongoing Artemis project, due in 2026, and it will eventually underpin around 80% of all Volkswagen Group models.

In terms of powertrains, the Lamborghini EV is likely to use motors shared with Porsche and Audi, although an intriguing prospect could be a partnership with EV technology specialist and hypercar manufacturer Rimac. Porsche owns a significant stake in the Croatian firm and is currently in talks with it to co-run Bugatti in the future.