Lamborghini Lanzador concept signposts an all-electric future

This is Lamborghini’s first foray into pure electric vehicles. The Lanzador Concept, revealed to the world at Monterey Car Week 2023, is a strong indication of what the Italian manufacturer’s fourth model line will look like when it arrives in around 2028.

Blending the chunky ruggedness of the Urus SUV with the faceted form language of Lamborghini’s more traditional two-seater mid-engine cars, the Lanzador is shaped along the same lines as the Lotus Eletre and the Pininfarina Pura Vision – an electric hyper GT that attempts to blend supercar styling with a more practical, cross-over type body. 

Riding high above big wheels encased in flared wheel arches, the Lanzador is a 2+2 that looks ready for anything, with sci-fi and fighter-jet inspired design cues inside and out. Expect the production version to have four doors, rather than two, and perhaps a slightly toned-down interior.

The ultimate test will be how Lamborghini handles an electric drivetrain. After decades of designing cars around massive V12 engines, the company needs to tread carefully if it wants to take its most loyal fans on the zero-emission journey; for the next few years at least, hybrids will rule the roost in the Lamborghini line-up.

Don’t forget that Lamborghini has close ties to Audi, and therefore ready access to some of the best electric tech in the market. Even so, there’s still a need to do things differently, hence this concept’s incorporation of a new driving dynamics control system, the Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Integrata (LDVI). 

In essence, this allows drivers to tailor the feel of steering, suspension and throttle more precisely than ever before, making the most of electronic controls systems to make the car feel completely personal. Active aerodynamics are also deployed to make the absolute most of the range in Urban mode and roadholding in Performance mode.

Mitja Borkert, head of design at Lamborghini, says the form language is partly ascribed by spaceships (whether real or fictional is not revealed), with a distinctly divided cabin made up of four individual seats. There’s luggage space up front and under the glass tailgate, with a centre console that flows down between the seats. Screens are integrated into the superstructure, and Merino wool is used alongside ‘sustainably’ tanned leather and other visibly low-energy and CO2-neutral materials.  

All of this is a welcome shift in stance from a company that hasn’t always been particularly bothered about the environmental impact of its products - perhaps Lamborghini’s parent company (the Volkswagen Group) has had a quiet word. It remains to be seen whether the car previewed by the Lanzador will arrive before the pure electric next-gen Urus, also due by decade’s end. 

Lamborghini Lanzador, concept only, Lamborghini.com