Four-door diesel Lambo suggested; world wobbles on its axis

A few hours ago, at the Parc de Expositions in Paris, sex-drenched hyper-sports car manufacturer Lamborghini revealed the Estoque concept car, a huge, long (16.73 feet) and sleek car with four doors. As in sedan. As in, not a crazy-cramped, scissor-door mid-engine felon of Italian road rage. The Paris Motor Show, which begins on Thursday, is getting off to an interesting start.

Lambo -- a subsidiary of VW Group -- is drunk with cash from the emerging BRIC market. With marquee players such as Porsche (Panamera) and Aston Martin (Rapide) jumping into the family grocery-getter segment and the deep engineering and design reserves now available to the Sant'Agata Bolognese company, the Estoque makes a lot of sense. Even if the back end does look like a 2010 Chevy Camaro.

The language of the presentation is even more audacious, suggesting that the Estoque will be only the first of a new line of gran turismos from Lambo. And, get this, the possible engine package for this mid-front engine, all-wheel-drive sedan coupe could include a diesel plucked from the shelves of the VW parent company.

A front-engine four-wheel drive diesel sedan from Lambo? Check the weather. The world might be ending.

A couple of notes: This is not the first four-door Lambo. I can recall at least one other, the LM002 sport-utility. It's certainly not the first four-seater. Recall, with dreamy desire, the Espada.

By the way, in keeping with the company's convention of using hallowed names of bullfighting, the Estoque name refers to the blade that brave young matadors (sarcasm beams to maximum!) use to dispatch bulls in the arena.

-- Dan Neil

Photos: Lamborghini

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Comments

[rjr]

For those of us with chipped VW TDIs or who have ridden in the 4 wheel drive VW 10 cylinder TDI Phaeton - Lambo getting a diesel engine is a great idea - 750 Nm of torque at 2000 rpms is a kick in the pants . Oh yeah. the V10.... it gets 24.8 combined mpg...

[AmbroseKalifornia]

Not pleased after all the tease.

[Adam]

Would be nice if they stuffed a tuned V10 TDI in there... i would imagine not too hard to get 500hp and 750 torque. Perhaps they should limit the torque, that much at the low RPM could mean a short trans life.