Stephan Winkelmann is not doing a victory lap. He’s doing something worse — he’s being polite about it.
The Lamborghini CEO told CNBC this week that his company’s decision to kill the all-electric Lanzador and pivot to plug-in hybrids was “the right way to go.” He declined to comment directly on the Ferrari Luce, the rival’s first electric vehicle that debuted Monday to a reception best described as hostile. Ferrari’s stock cratered 8% in Milan the day after the unveiling.
Analysts blamed “design hate.” Winkelmann didn’t need to say a word about Maranello. The timing said it all.
Lamborghini had been marching toward a full EV with the Lanzador concept, a four-seat grand tourer that looked like it had been designed by someone who actually liked cars. The internet loved it. But the company read the room — or more precisely, read its customers’ bank statements — and pulled the plug.
“The acceptance curve of EVs for our type of customers is not increasing,” Winkelmann said. That’s a diplomatic way of saying the people who spend $300,000 on a car don’t want to hear about kilowatt-hours.
Ferrari learned this lesson the hard way. The Luce arrived with a $600,000-plus price tag and styling that split opinion like a cleaver. Michael Field, chief equity strategist at Morningstar, told CNBC that “many fans are disappointed that Ferrari is embracing the EV concept, believing it dilutes the supercar brand.
That’s a polished version of what the comment sections actually said.
Winkelmann offered only that “innovation is paramount” but “shouldn’t be forced upon customers.” It was the gentlest knife twist in recent automotive memory.
The irony is thick. The Lanzador concept was genuinely stunning — aggressive, low, unmistakably Lamborghini. A production version might have landed differently than the Luce.
But Winkelmann decided the risk wasn’t worth it, and right now, with Ferrari nursing a black eye and a bruised stock price, that bet looks prescient.
The deeper current here runs beyond two Italian supercar brands sniping at each other through press interviews. The ultra-luxury segment is telling the industry something the mass market figured out two years ago: electrification on someone else’s timeline doesn’t work. Customers in this bracket aren’t motivated by fuel savings or emissions guilt.
They buy emotion, sound, and exclusivity. A silent powertrain is a tough sell when your entire brand mythology is built on mechanical fury.
Lamborghini’s plug-in hybrid path lets it check the regulatory boxes while keeping cylinders firing. The Revuelto, with its V12 hybrid powertrain, has a backlog stretching years. The upcoming Temerario follows the same formula with a twin-turbo V8 and electric motors.
Neither car requires Winkelmann to apologize for combustion.
Ferrari, meanwhile, is now in the position of defending a product its own fanbase doesn’t want. CEO Benedetto Vigna has staked credibility and capital on the Luce. The car will almost certainly sell — Ferrari always sells — but the reputational math is different when your stock drops billions in a single session.
Winkelmann knows this. He’s been in the supercar business long enough to understand that being second isn’t always losing. Sometimes it’s just letting the other guy step on the mine first.
Lamborghini’s EV is dead. Its CEO has never looked more alive.
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