Lamborghini CEO says Chinese electric supercars cannot rival it
Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann has said he is not worried about the increasing number of high-performance two-door cars emerging from China, arguing that these vehicles cannot match the emotional sensation offered by Lamborghini models.
Over the past decade or so, Chinese car brands have focused mostly on models for the mass market. However, some have begun to expand their line-ups by introducing high-performance sports cars and supercars.
These vehicles generally rely on compact electric motors and large-capacity batteries, according to a report by Carscoops on Tuesday (25/8) local time.
The YangWang U9 was one of the first. The car set a new top-speed record for a production car late last year. More recently, Denza also introduced the three-motor Z, which produces 1,582 hp and is priced lower than the Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS.
“If we say that we are not making electric cars for a reason, then there is also an idea behind how we view our competitors from China or Chinese manufacturers,” he continued.
He added that Chinese brands cannot compete in terms of “the performance of our cars, the sound, and the emotion.”
Some might argue that Winkelmann should pay attention to the performance offered by the newcomers from China. However, he does have a strong point when it comes to the sound and emotion produced by Lamborghini models.
No matter how fast an electric car is, it will always struggle to match the sensation provided by a supercar with an internal combustion engine that produces a distinctive sound and stirs emotion.
A number of Chinese brands appear to understand this. Over the past few years, Great Wall Motors (GWM) has been developing its own mid-engined supercar, and the car will not be fully electric.
Instead, the new GWM model will use a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) engine that the brand introduced last year.
The car will also use a lightweight carbon-fibre monocoque structure. GWM has previously said the model will be aimed directly at competing with the Ferrari SF90 Stradale.
It remains to be seen whether Chinese brands such as GWM can build combustion-engined supercars as well as they can build high-performance electric cars. However, as time goes on, Lamborghini may be forced to start paying attention to them.