2008 Paris Auto Show: Lamborghini's Four-Door Estoque

STORY TOOLS
Digg this	del.icio.us

PARIS — Lamborghini has unveiled a wild-looking four-door sedan named Estoque at the 2008 Paris Auto Show. The new car has 5.2-liter V10 power and should boast both a close-to-200-mph top speed and a $230,000-plus price.

Officially described as a concept, the Estoque is being seriously considered for production, well-placed Lamborghini sources in Sant'Agata Bolognese tell Inside Line. If that comes to pass, it would extend Lamborghini's flamboyant design language and emotional appeal to a third model line with a level of interior accommodation and practicality well beyond those of the Gallardo and Murciélago — and it should appeal to a wider customer base as well.

Described by Lamborghini as extreme and uncompromising, the Estoque aims to compete in an area of the market occupied by the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, the upcoming Porsche Panamera and the Aston Martin Rapide. Its name follows Lamborghini tradition in being a bullfighting term: "estoque" is the Spanish name for the traditional sword worn by a matador.

It's a car with a look of great strength and presence, helped by a wedge-shaped front end, tautly drawn surfacing and extremely unsubtle rear haunches that house giant 23-inch rear wheels shod with 295/30ZR-19 Pirelli P Zero Rosso tires. As with the Gallardo, it is based around a sturdy but lightweight aluminum space frame that draws heavily on the construction technology developed by parent company Audi for the A8.

At the heart of the new car is the Italian carmaker's mighty 5.2-liter V10 engine. In a departure from all other existing Lamborghini models — but with a nod to the classic Espada, which was also front-engined — the 90-degree unit is mounted longitudinally up front underneath the uncharacteristically long hood.

No power claims are being made, but in the Gallardo LP560 the very same engine kicks out 560 horsepower at a soaring 8000 rpm along with 398 pound-feet of torque at 6500 rpm. That would give the Estoque a 0-to-60-mph time somewhere below 4.5 seconds and a top speed above 190 mph. Drive is channeled to all four wheels via a six-speed robotized manual transmission with Lamborghini's E-gear remote shift paddles mounted behind the steering wheel.

Lamborghini interestingly hints at other engines that a production Estoque could get: a new twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8, a 4.2-liter V8 diesel — and possibly a hybrid, presumably drawing on the lithium-ion battery technology Audi is developing for its next-generation A8.

What this means to you: The Estoque has the typically flamboyant Lambo styling cues, along with a raft of new design details that should start finding their way onto new models in the not-too-distant future. — Andreas Stahl, Correspondent