OK, this one really blindsided me!When Lamborghini first started sending out teaser photos of the Estoque I was thinking it might be the modern-day interpretation of the front-engine Espada coupe, but there it was in the flesh at the 2008 Salon d'Automobiles in Paris a few weeks and a half-dozen teaser shots later, quite possibly the most desirable four-door coupe ever.
Yes, by the visuals alone it should elevate the Italian super-brand's recent sales success in the ultra-premium market. Some would say that Porsche's Panamera Gran Turismo is the pinnacle of four-door performance and prestige, especially Porschephiles not disgruntled with Stuttgart for building the car in the first place, but most will agree that Lamborghini should be deemed a little higher on the social pecking order than Porsche, at least where price is concerned.
Not counting the Aston Martin Lagonda from the late ‘70s, early ‘80s Mercedes-Benz was first to this market, effectually creating the segment by introducing the stylish CLS, and others have followed, with the most premium so far being Aston Martin with its gorgeous Rapide that will soon get in on the action. Alas, the financial crisis has claimed its first victim in the segment, the stillborn BMW CS Concept which was slated for production. A stunningly beautiful creation, the CS was poised to pull BMW back into the near-exotic segment, much like the beautiful Z8 did years ago. Let's hope the folks at VW, who are now going over the business case proposal to build Lamborghini's quattro-porte coupe, have the necessary anatomical appendages to give the go-ahead.
Why should we care? Well, for one, if you're reading this you're probably a petrol head and want to see any good design come to life, but for another, it's a beautiful design that allows Lamborghini to expand from its two-door, two-seat format into an entirely different category, much like it entered the 4x4 arena back in the ‘80s with the fabulously fast and outrageously capable LM002. Off-roaders aside, the Estoque would be a great platform to spin off a larger front-engine, four-seat, two-door coupe, a modern-day Espada, for instance, and maybe even a conventional four-seat convertible model. As nice as such thoughts are, the four individual Nappa leather covered sports seats in the Estoque show what Lamborghini could create now, and very close to what is expected to be production trim if Wolfsburg gives it the nod.
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这真的让我很震惊！当兰博基尼最先开始发出Estoque的那些诱人的照片时， 我想这可能是用现代语言诠释的前置引擎Espada轿跑车，但在巴黎的2008年汽车工业沙龙的后几个星期，我认为这很可能是最让人渴望的四门跑车。
它的独特的视觉效果应该提升了意大利超级品牌的销售成绩，虽然是在近期的一个超溢价市场。有些人会说，保时捷的Panamera GT赛车是四门轿跑车的性能和威望的巅峰，尤其是那些不满斯图加特是汽车制造第一城市的Porsche忠实车迷，但多数会同意，兰博基尼应被视为略高于保时捷的社会认知度，至少在价格方面。
如果不计算70年代末的阿斯顿马丁的Lagonda，80年代初的奔驰CLS创造了这一市场。随后其他厂商加入，迄今为止最优质的就是阿斯顿马丁华丽的Rapide。唉，金融危机已宣称了他的第一个受害者，宝马CS概念车取消本已定为量产的计划。CS美丽的外表本可以像前几年的Z8一样把宝马带进一个另一个境界。让我寄希望于大众，他们正在通过分析一些商业案例去造车兰博基尼的玛莎拉蒂轿跑车。
我们为什么要关心这些？第一，如果你阅读这些，你可能是一个忠实车迷，并希望看到任何好的设计，另一个，这是一个漂亮的设计，使兰博基尼从其双门双座格式扩大到一个完全不同的类别，很像在80年代末进入4X4舞台的时候他们创造了强悍的LM002。撇开越野车来说， Estoque将是一个巨大的平台，扩充了前置引擎， 4座，双门式跑车的范畴，这就是现代Espada，甚至转变为传统的四座敞篷模式。从此看来，Estoque展示了兰博基尼的创造力，已经非常接近他们希望的量产目标，如果沃尔夫斯堡给了一点头。
