Publicity? Sure. Certainly the Megatron-esque looks of the new one-seater had tweeters and instagrammers frothing at the mouth mere seconds after the covers were thrown off, ultimately handing Lamborghini some much warranted time in the spotline.
Money? Why not. Several million of anybody’s hard-earned loot pays a fair few pay cheques. Or would do were the Egoista actually for sale (though a word or two in the right ear means that will probably change a few months down the line).
A technical exercise? With the productive might of big sisters Audi and Volkswagen behind it, here was an ideal opportunity to unveil a new, more capable aerokit or a stronger, more adaptable driver assistance system. But apparently not, a detachable cockpit aside, and we can’t really see that being the next big thing on the new Scirocco or S6. Indeed, wow factor aside, the Egoista above all else appears to be a missed opportunity, especially when we consider Lamborghini’s other publicised projects.
Taking the single make Super Trofeo racing series as read, which is now angling for a campaign in the United States, all eyes are now firmly on the Urus, Lamborghini’s second ever SUV which will hit production in 2017. All well and good since a vehicle as quirky and characterful as the Urus will surely rake in the sales, especially in the Porsche Cayenne-stuffed Middle east. Between then and now though, Lambo has the Aventador and the convertible Roadster – a brute no doubt but one which is already starting to show its age against the newly developed (and technically more savvy) LaFerrari and P1 – and the Gallardo, a model ten years old now with special editions aplenty but which since January is no longer being produced.
If only something could fill the void, and rather than pour money into outlandish concepts, who’s to say a reasonable investment into a slightly less exclusive model couldn’t end up paying dividends: many scoffed at the four-door Panamera when it arrived in 2009, and look how that now stands on Porsche’s balance sheets next to the favoured child, the 911.
This admittedly blinkered view of proceedings will no doubt rile a few of you, and we’ll admit that a ‘sensible’ Lamborghini would be going too far. But the likes of Iso Grifo and Jensen have shown that life as the poster child doesn’t last forever. The Egoista’s time on the bedroom wall may be over before it’s even started.
