Stephan Winkelmann doesn’t sugarcoat it.
After the dust settled on Ferrari’s Luce reveal—and the backlash was immediate—Winkelmann told CNBC exactly how he felt about his own canceled project, the Lamborghini Lanzador.
He called it the right way to go.
Why? Simple.
People don’t want electric Lamborghinis yet.
Killing the Pure EV Dream
The Lanzador was supposed to be Lamborghini’s first fully electric grand tourer. Unveiled as a sleek 2+2 concept in 2023, it looked ready for the production line. But Winkelmann pulled the plug publicly.
Not a quiet corporate memo.
A direct pivot to hybrids.
Customers aren’t ready for a pure electric Lamborghini.
With the Urus and the Huracán successor likely getting electrified V-8s or V-12s, and the Revuelto already a hybrid monster, the roadmap is clear: keep the gas in the tank.
The engine stays the hero. Electricity is just the sidekick.
Lamborghini isn’t ignoring the future, but they are refusing to let a battery pack silence the scream that defines their brand.
Ferrari’s Luce Flop
Then there is Ferrari.
They showed the world the Luce, their first electric production car. Rumor had it starting at $640,00s. The reaction?
Harsh.
Almost instant.
Critics hated the looks. Enthusiasts hated what the car wasn’t. It wasn’t a Ferrari. Well, it wasn’t one that sounded like one.
Instead of faking a V12 growl with synthetic audio, the Luce reportedly chose something stranger. Silent. Or worse.
That was a mistake.
Ferrari sells the shriek of a naturally aspirated engine at the redline. Take that away, replace it with a hum or silence, and you aren’t selling a car—you’re selling a betrayal.
Stock prices dipped. The CEO had to jump in and defend the car, insisting orders were rolling in and interest was strong.
We’ll see how that narrative holds once the initial anger fades.
A Lesson For Everyone Else
It’s not just one brand stumbling. It’s two icons showing us the same trap.
Lamborghini saw it coming and stepped back.
Ferrari jumped in and got burned.
Together, they wrote a textbook on how hard it is to electrify supercars without alienating your core audience.
These buyers aren’t thinking about charging stations. They aren’t calculating cost-per-mile.
They pay for the feeling.
The vibration in your chest. The heat on the windshield. The sound.
You cannot replicate that with electrons.
It’s an auditory and tactile event that batteries just can’t match.
McLaren, Aston Martin, and Pagani are watching this closely. They’re probably holding back, waiting to see which way the wind blows before committing to a pure electric flagship.
Right now, Lamborghini looks like the smart money.
But for how long?
Europe’s emissions laws won’t wait. The UK regulations are tightening. Hybrids can only buy you so much time before the combustion engine is outlawed entirely.
This week proved one thing, though.
The supercar crowd has a voice. It is loud enough to shift billion-dollar strategies overnight.
The V-12 might still be breathing.
But for now, the engine rules.
