The CEO says Lamborghini’s first electric car “perfectly matches the DNA” of the brand

Italian exotic car maker Lamborghini was a huge success at this year’s Monterey Car Week, showing its first-ever EV years ahead of schedule.

The Lamborghini Lanzador concept is what the company calls a “high ground clearance GT,” featuring a 2+2 seating arrangement, but with only two doors. The Lanzador looks similar in footprint to the Urus SUV, though with more of a coupe or sedan in presence and footprint. Lanzador, part of Lamborghini Derezione Cor Tori Electrification strategy, scheduled for 2028, and therefore it came as a surprise to many that Lamborghini is releasing the model so far before its actual launch.

“When you’re at a super sports car company like Lamborghini, you have to see what’s missing from the lineup,” Lamborghini CEO Stefan Winkelmann says in an interview with Yahoo Finance from the Quail event during Monterey Car Week. “So with two super sports cars and one super sports SUV, it’s important for us to have what we’ve been doing for decades – GT cars – that’s what we’ve been missing. And I think that fits perfectly with the Lamborghini DNA.”

However, when most people think of tall cars with two rows of seats, a four-door usually comes to mind. Not for Lamborghini in this case, as the brand wants to maintain that sporty atmosphere. Winkelmann says the combination of high ground clearance and sporty two-door looks is the “best of two worlds” for the brand’s design.

In terms of the powertrain, Lamborghini says the Lanzador features an electric motor on each axle to provide an all-electric drivetrain setup that, under certain conditions, can deliver maximum power in excess of one megawatt, equivalent to over 1,000 horsepower. The all-wheel drive system also has electronic active torque vectoring on the rear axle, meaning left-to-right power can be focused on the rear axle, providing “dynamic cornering behavior,” the company says.

As mentioned above, the car is very different from other Lamborghinis, although its relationship to the newly reintroduced Countach and current Urus SUV is clear. Lamborghini’s head of design, Mitja Burkert, said the Lanzador was inspired by “spaceships,” and the cabin’s heavy front-end look and sharp lines and wrinkles give it the appearance of a space snake from another dimension.

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The interior features a Lamborghini’s fighter-like cockpit, with hard angles and an array of different textures and materials. Lamborghini says the interior will come in sustainably sourced leather, 100% merino wool and is primarily made from 100% renewable carbon and recycled plastic.

Since this is still a concept that will likely be very similar to the production model that will be released in a few years, Lamborghini has not provided price or the exact timing of availability, but the company says the 2028 debut of the production model is planned.

Pras Subramanian is a correspondent at Yahoo Finance. You can follow it Twitter and on Instagram.

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