Hybrid technology means a car uses both a regular engine and an electric motor. This helps the car use less fuel and produce less pollution while still being fast.
Electrification means using electricity to power cars. This can be in cars that are fully electric or in hybrid cars that use both electricity and gas.
Supersports cars are very fast and powerful cars that are built for top performance. They often have the latest technology and are made with high-quality materials.
Pebble Beach is a famous car show in California where people display and admire beautiful and rare cars. It's a big event for car lovers and collectors.
Monterey Car Week is a week-long celebration of cars in California, featuring various events where people can see and buy amazing cars. It's a big deal for car fans.
A vehicle unveiling is when a new car is shown to everyone for the first time. It's a way for car companies to get people excited about their new models.
The Lamborghini Reventon is a very special sports car that was made in small numbers and is famous for its cool, sharp looks and fast speed. It's a car that many people dream of owning because it's rare and powerful.
Car
Lamborghini Reventón
The Lamborghini Reventón is a very rare and expensive sports car that was made by Lamborghini. Only a few were built, making it special and sought after by collectors.
Car
Lamborghini Murciélago
The Lamborghini Murciélago is a high-performance sports car made by Lamborghini. It's known for its powerful engine and unique design, making it a favorite among car enthusiasts.
Technical innovation means coming up with new ideas and technologies that make things work better. In cars, this could mean better engines, safer designs, or more efficient ways to use fuel.
A dream car is a car that someone really wants to own, often because it's very special, fast, or beautiful. For many people, a Lamborghini is considered a dream car.
'Uncompromising extreme' means that Lamborghini makes cars that are very powerful and stylish without cutting any corners. They focus on being the best in performance and design.
Hybridization is when a car uses both a traditional gasoline engine and an electric motor. This helps the car use less fuel and produce fewer emissions, making it better for the environment.
The Lamborghini LM002 is a luxury SUV made by Lamborghini in the 1980s. It was one of the first SUVs to be made by a company known for sports cars, and it had a very powerful engine.
A luxury SUV is a fancy type of vehicle that can drive off-road but also has a lot of comfortable and high-quality features. They're usually more expensive and made for people who want both style and performance.
A plug-in hybrid is a car that can run on electricity and gas. You can charge it by plugging it in, so it can drive a long way on just electricity before using gas.
The Ford Model T is an old car that was made a long time ago, and it was one of the first cars that regular people could buy. It changed how cars were made and helped many families own a car for the first time.
Gran Turismo, or GT, is a type of car that's made for fast driving over long distances. They are usually comfortable and luxurious, making them great for road trips.
The Lamborghini Countach is a famous sports car that looks very unique and has doors that open upwards. It's a classic car that many people admire.
Car
Lamborghini Revuelto
The Lamborghini Revuelto is a new sports car from Lamborghini that has a lot of power and a stylish design. It's part of the same family as the Countach, which is a classic car.
The Lamborghini Aventador is a very fast and expensive sports car made by Lamborghini. It has a unique look and a powerful engine that makes it one of the most exciting cars to drive.
A hypercar is one of the fastest and most expensive types of cars. These cars have amazing technology and performance, making them very special and rare.
The Nürburgring is a well-known race track in Germany where many cars are tested and raced. It's famous for being very difficult and is loved by car enthusiasts.
The Amalfi Coast is a beautiful area in Italy known for its stunning scenery and winding roads. Many people love to drive there for the views and experience.
LIVE
The automobile is one of the most important inventions that revolutionized the modern world.
In America, the rich history of car culture runs deep as technology continues to shape the future of the industry.
Jason Stein is here to share the stories of people passionate about cars, from industry leaders and innovators to car obsessed celebrities.
Buckle up as Jason takes you inside the boardroom onto the track and around the bend on Cars and Culture on SiriusXM Business Radio.
We welcome you into episode 222 of Cars and Culture with Jason Stein here on SiriusXM, Business Channel 132.
Great to have you along for the ride again this week.
Each August, the Monterey Peninsula becomes the epicenter of the automotive world where history, design, technology and passion collide.
And there may be no more fitting brand to discuss in this setting than Lamborghini, the Italian brand that has redefined performance and style for decades.
Lamborghini has always been more than just about cars, it's about cultural statements about design language that sets trends and about performance that pushes boundaries.
At Pebble Beach this year, the brand once again took center stage and it was a moment to celebrate Lamborghini's past to showcase its present and to provide a glimpse into the bold, electrified future that lies ahead.
Under the leadership of Stefan Winckelman, Lamborghini continues to balance tradition with innovation, combining legendary V12 performance with cutting edge hybrid technology and a clear pathway to electrification one day.
Winckelman's career is linked to Lamborghini. He first joined the company in 2005, guiding it through more than a decade of growth and global expansion, introducing some of the most iconic models in its modern history.
After successful leadership roles elsewhere in the Volkswagen Group, he returned to Lamborghini in 2020, once again charged with steering the brand into a new era.
Despite a small lineup, Lamborghini is reaching new heights and under his guidance, the Italian exotic brand's global sales even reached a sales record.
The lineup also took significant strides in 2024 and into 2025 as part of its focus on electrification.
Its three-model lineup has been hybridized, giving customers new technology and more power.
From new product debuts to the boldness of hybrid supersports cars, Lamborghini is rewriting what it means to be both emotional and sustainable in a changing industry.
So today, live from Pebble Beach, we'll talk about the brand's present, its electrified future and its enduring cultural impact with the man at the center of it all.
This is Cars and Culture with Jason Stein and my guest, Stefan Winckelman.
I'm Stefan Winckelman and this is Cars and Culture with Jason Stein.
What a pleasure to be here in this beautiful setting with you, Stefan. Congratulations on another Pebble Beach and another Quail.
You always save the best news for other Quail. What is it like for you to be back here enjoying this beautiful time and these beautiful places and of course a big launch too?
I think for me it's the 20th year that I'm coming to Pebble Beach, the Monterrey Car Week and the Quail Lodge.
So for us not only because the US is the most important market but also because this week especially is one of the most important ones in the year
in terms of customer relation, press contact and also environment and therefore at the Quail in the last years we always had world premieres
which is something which paid a lot into the brand and so far it was very positive for us.
So today when we were at the Quail we had this unveiling and again I think we were the talk of the day.
Phenomenal, right? That's the vehicle. Tell me a little bit about the development of this vehicle and I know you're only going to do 29 units.
3.1 million dollars, is that right?
3.5.
3.5 million dollars.
Yes.
And this falls in the tradition of many other fuel off, so-called fuel off vehicles.
Tell me how important it is for the brand, what it means for you?
You know we started with the fuel off almost 20 years ago with the Reventon.
At that time we had two models, now the Gallardo and the Murcielago and we had a discussion with our engineers and the designers
and also with the marketing guys, they told me we need to do something special because with two cars we only can show so much
but we have so many ideas, let's do something and then we said together also with the sales department
at the end of the day we decided we do it but I said we only can do it if we sell them before we start with the project
and this worked so the Reventon was a huge success, it was the first time we did this and it's really paying into the brand
it's design and technical innovation and this is holding on until now and also with the phenomenal
still we have the same approach and we pre-sold all the cars before presenting.
Amazing, amazing.
What was the reaction yesterday?
I was on stage presenting the car so I always get an immediate sense of the feedback and it was very positive
so the applause was there, everybody was there with their phones filming and then I was really attacked as soon as the press conference was over
everybody wanted to see the car so it was really good and I checked constantly, I started yesterday evening and also this morning
and once in a while I looked into and speaking also to our press guys how the feedback is and it's very very positive
also in social media so I think we did the right thing.
It's kind of the ultimate expression, a design manifesto as I guess the way that Lamborghini describes it
stylistic elements to the extreme, is that what you wanted to really show here?
Was it unique design, custom aerodynamics and a V12 which is the most powerful V12 in Lamborghini's history
which says a lot when you talk about Lamborghini's history.
No, it's two things.
One is the design always to showcase what we can do by doing every time something unexpected and different and on the other side it's innovation
so the combination of the two things which is part of the DNA of Lamborghini
if you ask give me a definition of a Lamborghini car, it's about design, performance and technical innovation
and I think this has to be inside those cars and it's also a bit of an anticipation of what might come next
at least to some extent and therefore it's a very important use case
but also a business case and we want to continue to do those things once every three or four years.
Wonderful. Lamborghini when we talk about 20 years of you being at Pebble Beach and at Quayle
and we talk about your own history of 20 years ago with the brand
how much has the brand changed during that time?
I mean you've grown exponentially but what was the vision for Lamborghini when you first took control of it
and maybe what developed, what changed?
When I first joined in 2005 it was clear that we needed to work on the two most important things
which is the brand and the product and on the product for sure it was always to get the people to buy something
which is exceeding the expectations. Always it has to be something which is better than your dreams
and you never buy mobility when you drive a Lamborghini but you buy a dream car
and this is one thing so in all technical innovation, design, the combination
and also the recognizability of our car immediately even if you don't know what type of model it is
you have to understand that it's a Lamborghini by always changing drastically the design
this is one thing and we worked on this including all the derivatization
so having open cars, faster cars, lighter cars, this was one of the things together with a few of us
to start to have a history which is consistent in terms of feedback from the customers
in terms of presence in the media and it's one the most important part
and then for sure on the brand we said we have to have a very clear and easy message
so the colors we went away from the yellow, we picked only black and white
and we said for at least one decade Lamborghini is uncompromising extreme and Italian
and this should stick and this was very clear and sharp positioning
and once you have done this and once this was going into the mind of the people
we were also when we started to work on the third model, the Urus
we wanted to be more open so we had to change the approach
so the brand is something which is constantly moving
and today we say when we speak about the brand it's brave, unexpected and authentic
and this is what also is the history of our founder
when you want to change things you have to be courageous, you have to be brave
and then you are unexpected but being unexpected is not enough
you have to be true to yourself, so the authenticity
and these are the things where we are today and this is also reflecting in our models
now we have three models, they are all successful
we moved from internal combustion engines only into hybridization
so it's really something which is on a constant move
it never stands there, there is always something to do
I want to talk about hybridization in a moment but I also want to focus on Urus
and what Urus meant, it was a game changer really for the brand
there were some purists who doubted it but it became a best seller
how did that decision come about, what was the pathway to develop a vehicle like that
and was it a big risk?
I start with the end, no it was not a big risk for me personally
I was convinced 100% that this was the way to go
we are a super sports car company yes, but if you look into the history of Lamborghini
Lamborghini did GT cars, super cars as we do also today
but we also did cars like the LM002
so back in the 70s beginning of the 80s there was this first SUV
which was a very exclusive car which was done by Lamborghini
so we showcased already at that time that we could do more than just the pure supercars
so this was therefore in terms of the segment, in terms of the idea of putting it into a Lamborghini
was for us set, we analyzed all the segment and the opportunity
so we were the first ones to get into it
and we created the sub-segment
and to the purists at that time
also when we moved from one model to two models
when we started with the Gallardo there was also the discussion that there will always be
but at the end of the day you have to have an approach which is coherent
which now has a strategy, a long view
and for sure you have to create the critical mass to reinvest into the future of the company
to die in beauty is something which is not paying off
The hybridization piece of this
there's been so much talk of electrification in the midst of a major shift that's going on
and the pendulum that goes back this way and then the pendulum comes back this way
especially in this country now, obviously with some of the latest news
I know electrification is no longer a question of if but when
and maybe even how
where do we sit now, now that you're fully hybridized
across all of your products
and we're considering, maybe still considering electrification
So the most important decision we took is to hybridize all the line-up
at that time there were people telling us
but you are very late in doing this, you should go electric or not
but you are late
and we always said we don't need to be the first ones doing these type of things
because this is not about Lamborghini in say
it's about when are we ready to do a perfect car
which is combining sustainability with more performance
because the promise we made to our customer was easy
so hybrid we will be more performing than the generation before
and this is something which immediately gets into the brain
and it's something which is clear and acceptable
so we did this and we have all the line-up which is very successful
and hybridization is accepted
we are constantly making analysis on the acceptance of the full electric cars
and we're not speaking only about the United States
we're speaking worldwide how this is moving also in terms of regulations
and the acceptance curve is flattening
generally speaking and this is even more valid for our type of cars
so we took the first decision that the follow-up of the Urus
is going to be again a plug-in hybrid car
we are working on the model number four
and here we have not taken a decision so far
so the model four is still on
there are various things under consideration as it relates to that
is basically what you're saying
yes we decided on the type of cars, on the body style
because when we look into the supercars or the luxury cars
or the sports car brands
then everybody has a Gran Turismo or GT car
and this we had in the past and this is missing today
so this is the car we are going to add to the model line-up
so we will have two low flat super sports cars
we will have the SUV and then we will have the Gran Turismo
the GT which is a 2 door 2 plus 2 seater
the open topic is the type of engine we are going to present
design has always been so central to Lamborghini
aggressive, unmistakable, emotionally charged
you know to some extent
how do you define where Lamborghini's design language is today
and maybe where it needs to go
but we have a design DNA
but there are two rules in the design of Lamborghini
one is that every car has to be very different to the generation before
and this is one of the key elements
which we need to continue to work on
the second rule is that there must be some elements
which make the cars recognizable
even if they are different in terms of design
one is the stance line which is going from the front of the car until the rear
and the other one is to have a squared greenhouse
not this bublish greenhouse which other brands have but a squared one
and for us which is a bit difficult to understand
but the key element is that for us
function follows form and not the other way around
because we think like Ari Stortel has said
the form is a substance itself
so for us being made in Italy the design is so predominant
that it has a really immense rule
there's so much emotional connection
it's so high among owners and the brand
they feel it
how much of that is engineered and how much of it is intangible
the fact that you have to instill in our clients
the DNA of Lamborghini
which very often they have more than we have as employees
or as people which work in Lamborghini
in the brand and the factory
is that we have to exceed everything
what the imagination is able to do
so we have to continue to work where the others stop
we have to go the extra mile to fulfill what is necessary
so it's clear that heritage is what is intangible
if you come from the Countach and you see the Ruelto
you have an idea that it's clear
it's the kept forward design, the scissor doors
the fact that you have this tense line
all these things they give you an idea of continuity
but also a clear cut
and this is what we have to tell them
so it's a lot, I'm not saying storytelling
because storytelling without the substance
would be very soon be spoiled
so you have to walk the talk
this is in my opinion the key element
better to do less but to do it right
than to try to do everything
and you have to, the authenticity is something
which our customers are appreciating
I don't know if I answered but it's very difficult to nail it
and have a couple of words
for sure, when you think about 20 years here
and you think about the legacy of the last 20 years
and maybe the legacy in general for you
and for Lamborghini
what do you want to be remembered for as a leader at this brand?
I have to say this
but at the end of the day is that
let's say the torch is passed to somebody
that received something which was better
than when I got the torch myself
so I think that this is important
that in this period of time
we prepare the company for more
and that it's a lasting heritage
What are some of your proudest moments as you reflect back?
I know I'm very related to human beings
so there are two things which for me are
paramount which is for sure
we have to be focused
we have to be looking to the brand
being responsible, doing the best we can
to make the brand grow
but it's not something just for making cars
it's also when I look at my employees
with their families
I feel the responsibility
that they go home every day
and they don't fear that tomorrow it can be all over
and this is for me
when I step in front of them
and they cheer and they applaud
is for me the best thing which can happen
and also for sure when the customers come
and say
you and your team
you did the best job that I can imagine
and here you're surrounded by customers
the ones who I've talked to
who have been here are extremely happy
with what's happening with the brand
there must be an enormous sense of pride
in knowing that
directionally where the brand is going
that you're feeling good about it
yes for sure, for sure
but the brand is one thing
the team is what
it's about the people
it's about
for me it's the most important thing
Lamborghini represents so much more than cars
it's lifestyle, it's aspiration
rebellion even to some extent
being a little bit rebellious
how do you
make sure that you keep those elements
intact as you go forward
this is something which is
not easy to
to pursue because
you have to be a rebel with a cause today
you can't be a rebel and that's it
on the other side
with the politically correct it's very difficult
to stay sharp
and to be different
and for me this is something
which we have to continue
to pursue and to
really to foster
and not to be
in a cage
of the moment
of the fashion
we have to be the trendsetters
we have to be able really to be the ones
which are aspirational
as a brand also in the future
couple of final questions
your favorite Lamborghini
of all time
it's always the first
the last one
the one that's sitting out here
the next one which nobody sees
because we are always
now looking forward
a car in terms of development needs
four years plus eight to nine years
of life cycle so
once we see the car it's already done
but throughout history
which ones do you
tick off as your favorite
for sure the Kuntouch
because it's representing a bit the DNA
of the brand
everybody had the poster on the wall
and for me personally
for sure the first car I followed
from scratch is the Aventador
ok
what is it that
stirred your soul
about the Aventador
at that time it was
it was almost a hypercar
the price of a supercar
so it was an incredible car
and it still is when I see one
I'm really proud of
what we made at that time
another quick question
do you prefer the Nürburgring
or the Amalfi Coast
depends on the season
in summer
the Nürburgring and the Amalfi Coast
not in the summer because you can't move
if you were to
collaborate
in any way
who's an ideal partner
in the development of Lamborghini
where can Lamborghini learn
from others
there's not one
we have a constant benchmarking
of different
industries
to see
how the mega trends are moving
not only in the car business in general
but at the end of the day
we are aware of the fact
that we have to be the ones
deciding
where to go because otherwise
you will never be a trendsetter
as we look around the world
where are pockets of
growth that you believe
could occur for Lamborghini
in general the big markets
are all covered
in North America
in Europe
in the Middle East
they are here and there open
spots
which can be
larger cities which we have to
still go into
but there are no big markets
or surprises around the globe
does the competition
in this space getting more
severe it seems to me
between startups
and maybe more traditional
OEMs
there's a chase for this pocket
that we are in now
where maybe before there was white space
and now it seems to be rather crowded
I have to say we have
just a couple of real
competitors
and
I don't see a time being
but never say never
but I don't see a time being
anybody who is
invading this field
because who is looking into it
low volumes
and being global
and this can only work if you have
the right image
the right pricing and you have to have a history
so you cannot just
do it
congratulations on everything that you've done here
at your 20th
Pebble Beach and your 20th Quail
and your unveiling that you had here
thank you so much for spending time with me
I appreciate it
thanks again to my guest CEO of
Lamborghini, Stefan Winckelman
to see the full interview, visit the Cars & Culture
YouTube channel
like, subscribe, and dive into our growing library
of more than 200 episodes
where the road always leads to the people
who shape the ride
that's episode 222
I'm your host Jason Stein
we'll see you down the road
About this episode
Stephan Winkelmann, CEO of Lamborghini, discusses the brand's evolution and future during the prestigious Pebble Beach event. He reflects on Lamborghini's journey from traditional supercars to hybrid models, emphasizing the balance between performance and sustainability. Winkelmann shares insights on the brand's design philosophy, the success of the Urus SUV, and the importance of maintaining Lamborghini's rebellious spirit. With a focus on innovation, he reveals plans for future models and the significance of customer relationships in shaping the brand's legacy.
