At the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Sussex, Charlie Cooksey sat down with Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini. The conversation covered the newly launched Urus SE Performante, the brand’s shifting electrification plans, the balance between SUVs and super sports cars, and why Winkelmann believes scarcity, not scale, defines luxury.
Congratulations on the launch of the Urus SE Performante. What did this generation need to prove that the original Urus and Urus S hadn’t already?
I don’t think we have to prove anything with the Urus, because it’s been part of Lamborghini since 2018 and was immediately well accepted by the public, not only by customers. We have heritage going back to the LM002, so Lamborghini has always been a super sports car company, but with different body styles too. The first Performante was a big statement, and this one is performing even more than the one before.
Lamborghini recently shifted its electrification plans towards plug-in hybrids. What drove that decision?
We had a three-step approach. First was getting the full benefit out of ICE-only pricing, right after Covid, when there was this “you only live once” sentiment. The next step was hybridising the lineup, combining lower emissions with better performance than the generation before, which is key for Lamborghini. Only the third step would be a fully electric car. We’ve now done Revuelto, Urus and Temerario as plug-in hybrids, what we call high-performance electrified vehicles. We’d planned the first full electric car for the end of this decade, but looking at the market, we recognised our customers worldwide aren’t yet willing to buy one. So our fourth model, still coming at the end of the decade, will also look at hydrogen, because we don’t sell mobility, we sell dreams. That’s the big difference between us and other manufacturers moving into electrification.
When you do launch a full EV, will it follow the same design philosophy Lamborghini is known for?
At Lamborghini, every design has to be completely different from its predecessor. Look at the Revuelto or the Murciélago, and see how much they differ, yet they’re immediately recognisable as a Lamborghini. Even if you don’t know the exact model, you know it’s one of ours. That’s part of the brief we give our designers.
The Urus reportedly accounts for about half of Lamborghini’s global sales. Does that pull the brand towards being an SUV maker?
It’s more a matter of segment size. Super sports cars like the Revuelto sell a few thousand units worldwide, across all manufacturers. The SUV segment is much bigger, so naturally more are sold. But a good balance is 50-50 between the two, depending on where each model sits in its life cycle.
You delivered a record 10,747 cars last year. Is there a ceiling on growth?
With three cars in the lineup, we’re close to a plateau. It depends on the model cycle and the market, but broadly we’re there. The next real growth comes with the fourth model.
Lamborghini posted record revenue and deliveries in 2025 even as global luxury spending faces more scrutiny. What’s driving that?
The US is by far our biggest market, though Europe overall is larger, with the UK, Germany and Italy leading. Korea and Japan matter too; Australia is growing, and China is shrinking along with the wider luxury market there. The Middle East, including the GCC, though we’re currently facing delivery issues this year. Although all our dealers are open, and we expect things to normalise. For us, luxury means scarcity, balanced against residual values and products that meet our customers’ expectations.
What’s one thing about running Lamborghini today that would have seemed impossible back in 2005?
If I’d predicted our positioning today back in 2005, I’d have believed it. Whether I’d have believed the success story is another question. We did everything within our capabilities on the brand, motorsport and demonisation, plus an additional car line, and it worked out better than expected.
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