Between Elsewhere and Here

The Lamborghini Estoque Concept


Four-door coupes are all the rage these days. Aston Martin has the Rapide, Porsche is taking a shot with the forth coming Panamera. So it’s not a total surprise to see Lamborghini toss its hat into the ring with the Estoque, whose images were leaked on a French site this morning a day ahead of the Pairs auto show.

The concept of a four-door coupe is a compelling one. Mercedes kicked off all the four-door craziness with its CLS, which is still the only Mercedes I like and still the best of the four-door coupes. What makes a four-door coupe work is that it doesn’t look like a Ford Taurus. The rear doors flow into the back of the car as if they were vanishing. Simply put, a four-door coupe is supposed to look like a two-door coupe.

The Porsche Panamera looks like a four-door Porsche, and looks awful (thus far, I reserve the right to change my opinion when we get to see the car in full). The Aston Martin Rapide does a much better job of this, but it still kind-of looks like a four-door Aston instead of a two-door coupe. What’s interesting is Audi’s two-door A5, which is a two-door coupe, looks like the four-door A4. The A5 is nice, but its a little odd that they got the formula backwards and wrong.

That leaves us with the car pictured above; the soon to be Lamborghini Estoque. My immediate reaction is that I like it. It’s definitely a Lambo but it’s not a super-car, which does – admittedly – beg the question, “Why?” But I’ll get to that in a minute. The Estoque has the DNA of the amazing Reventon and the classic Miura. It has a nice long hood, aggressive DRG (those scoops under the front bumper), strong but subtle stance and (my favorite part) an elegant A-line that blends nicely into the rear. Initial reviews, however, are not kind. When seen from the side, it looks like it could use a few inches off the length.

All that said, I can’t help but ask why? Why is Lamborghini bothering to make a four-door car? Is there really someone out there saying, “Man, I really wish I could pick up my kids from school in my Lamborghini.” Okay, scratch that. Everyone who drives a Lamborghini just wants more excuses to show it off. But, does anyone really feel any strong desire to put kids in the back of their Lambo? What about groceries? Golf clubs?

In the end, while I like the concept (since that’s what this is), the Estoque is going to suffer from the same fault as the Porsche Cayenne: why did you make it? I fear the answer is: to make more money. And that’s never a good reason to make a car.

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By Christopher on 10/01/08 02:33 PM | | Link | Comments [0]

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