Will SUVs Ruin Ferrari and Lamborghini?
By Wade Thiel
Supercars are what made Ferrari and Lamborghini special. Will SUVs destroy them?
It seems that every company is getting into the SUV game at this point, even brands that historically showed no interest in anything but highly exclusive supercars. Lamborghini has the Urus now and Ferrari will have an SUV by the time 2022 rolls around.
There were rumors of McLaren and Bugatti creating SUVs, but that has been debunked at this point. A McLaren SUV is highly unlikely, and Bugatti recently sent out a press release that stated the company will not build an SUV in the future. So, there is some hope for supercar companies in general.
Still, that has me worried about Ferrari and Lamborghini. Will the SUVs from these companies irreparably mare two of the most storied and respected brands in the industry?
Exclusivity and Speciality are Key For These Brands
One of the things that give Ferrari and Lamborghini their brand status is exclusivity. The company’s high price and limited availability help keep expectations high. It’s what’s made these brands so iconic for so long.
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Part and parcel to that exclusivity is the type of cars the companies have historically built. They made some of the best, fastest, and most impressive cars from a performance standpoint. Those cars were anything but practical. They were purpose-built machines designed for covering distances a high speed.
With the addition of the SUV to their lineups, both Lamborghini and Ferrari change the game a little. Exclusivity will still be a persistent factor. Both companies will limit production of their vehicles to keep supply low and demand and residual values high.
However, adding a vehicle that’s more of a utilitarian machine and not as highly specialized means that the brands lose something. It changes them from companies that build machines to a certain subsect of high-earning sporting automotive enthusiasts to companies that reach the entire extremely high-end market. In short, it makes them more commonplace and less special.
Both Brands Will Need to Keep the Focus on Supercars
To keep their brand images close to what they are right now and have been in the past, the Raging Bull and Prancing Horse must continue to focus on their supercars. If managed properly, with the focus on supercars, both brands will be able to retain their image as supercar manufacturers and avoid being known as high-end luxury SUV companies.
Ferrari and Lamborghini will never be the same. They can’t add SUVs to their lineups and expect no change. However, they can limit the damage to their heritage by focusing on producing supercars that make people forget about their SUVs.
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Maybe I have a skewed or imprecise view of Ferrari and Lamborghini. Maybe I’m wrong and their brands won’t suffer at all from the addition of an SUV to their lineups. However, if I were in the market for a supercar, I’d think less of Lambo and Ferrari because they turned to SUVs in what appears to me to be little more than a money grab instead of staying true to their mission.