Lamborghini CTO: Customers Need a Supercar That Can Carry a Mountain Bike

Among the many new car launches held at the 2023 Quail show during Monterey Car Week, one of the most daring might have been Lamborghini's Lanzador concept. A sort of Sterrato on stilts with the ride height of a Urus but the profile of a Huracán, taking the hybrid tech of the Revuelto to an all-electric, four-motor conclusion, the Lanzador would be a standout in the EV market, and a unique addition to Lambo's hypercar stable. We had a quick chat with Lamborghini's chief technical officer, Rouven Mohr, about the creation of the Lanzador, and if Lambo can keep its sense of self once it goes electric.

Car and Driver: How did the idea for the Lanzador concept come about? Did it come more from the idea of the off-road supercar, the Sterrato that came out this year, or does it come more from the side of the Urus and SUV success?

Rouven Mohr: It's important to underline that we are coming from the super-sports car. If you sit in this car, everything is like a super-sports car. The seating position, the height of the dashboard. Just from the view of the A-pillar, you have the feeling you're sitting in a sports car. This was the idea, to make the super-sports car feeling combined with a little bit more usability. We call it a GT 2+2. But it's a usable four-seater. The second row is roomy and you have a big tailgate, so you can load, say, your mountain bike in. We think it's a sweet spot that so far is not addressed by any other car because while you have the SUVs, which are very big and also roomy, they don't give you this kind of supercar feeling.

You think someone will drive up to the trail in this and unload their mountain bike amidst a parking lot full of Subarus?

This is exactly the coolness of the concept because you can combine these dramatic aesthetics--the car looks really elegant, but it's quite spaceship style--and to combine this with this activity that usually you would do with a station wagon...Imagine you go to the beach with a surfboard on it. I think it's cool.