Will Lamborghini Drop a New Espada on Paris?

So what is Italian exoticar-maker Lamborghini up to now? A couple of years ago it was a new take on the classic Miura, the vehicle that redefined sports cars by placing its engine ahead of the rear wheels in what is now known as the mid-engine configuration, while variations on its two production models, the Gallardo and Murcielago, have been showing up each year.

Last year in Frankfurt the Audi-owned marque introduced the Reventon, which was really not much more than a heavily worked variation on the Murcielago theme, but this year the Sant’ Agate firm promises something entirely different, but that’s about as far as Lamborghini is willing to go in order to explain an extremely vague teaser photo of the new model.

“It’s not just a new Lamborghini. It’s a new world,” says the pre-release material, causing speculation as to where the brand might be taking us. Is there a four-door Lamborghini in our future, the next-generation Espada that’s been rumored on its way for years, or are we finally going to get an LM003 to complement the LM002 in the driveway.

Regarding the latter, a couple of years ago Lamborghini boss Stephan Winklemann told AutoExpress, “I’m a fan of SUVs, but making one isn’t on the radar for this decade. We’re such a small company, we couldn’t do one on our own. Still, it would make more sense for us to do one of those than a four-seater.”

Of course, while they’d never have to create an SUV or four-seat model on their own, with the strength of Audi and VW group behind them, much has also changed in the market now, with four-door, four-seat coupes all the rage, two of which are about to hit the road via Lamborghini’s parental lineage, Audi’s A7 and Porsche’s Panamera Gran Turismo. Lamborghini probably wouldn’t go the four-door route, mind you, with a more traditional four-place two-door model, like the beautiful Espada, more likely.

Winklemann wasn’t heading a company enjoying today’s sales volumes back in 2006 either, so rather than stay the course with lightweight rear-drive variations of its stable of supercars, there’s now money to grow the brand. So, whether or not we want to speculate on a comment that stated Lamborghini wouldn’t build an SUV in “this decade”, and that we’re fast approaching the next, we’ll just have to wait and see what surfaces in Paris.

For now, the single photo only shows radically angular dual center exhaust pipes surrounded by a carbon fiber diffuser, and above that a small portion of the engine vents’ mesh grille. It’s difficult to tell, but the body’s shape appears to taper inwards at the rear to a trapezoidal tinted glass “window” or blacked out panel, which if glass, would lean our crystal ball towards an Espada. It all looks good, but there’s not much to see.

October 1st is the due date for this mystery Lambo, so try to contain your enthusiasm until then.