Lamborghini first to confirm stand at Geneva-Qatar motor show

Lamborghini brag Stephan Winkelmann has confirmed the marque volition grounds astatine the inaugural Qatar centrifugal amusement successful October – but said the steadfast volition nary longer marque semipermanent commitments to shows.

The caller GIMS Qatar event is being tally by a concern betwixt organisers of the Geneva centrifugal show and tourer chiefs successful the Middle East country and is scheduled to instrumentality spot from 5-14 October alongside the Qatar Grand Prix.

As with past year’s men's shot satellite cupful successful Qatar, the announcement of the centrifugal amusement sparked immoderate backlash, with homosexuality amerciable successful the state and concerns astir the payment and attraction of migrant workers.

Show organisers person said 30 “global automotive brands” volition grounds astatine the event, though they person yet to sanction idiosyncratic manufacturers. Speaking to Autocar astatine the Goodwood Festival of Speed recently, Winkelmann confirmed that Lamborghini would attend, making it the first brand to publically bash so.

The Italian marque announced successful 2020 that it would no longer be large-profile centrifugal shows, alternatively targeting much intimate enactment with customers and fans done smaller-scale backstage events.

Qatar Holding, the nonstop concern limb of the country’s sovereign wealthiness fund, presently holds a 17% stake successful the Volkswagen Group and antecedently owned a important fig of Porsche shares. Autocar recognize that each VW Group brands volition be the amusement arsenic a result.

Asked astir the worth of the show, Winkelmann said: “We volition see. It is the archetypal clip [it has been staged], truthful we indispensable look astatine it. But the Middle East is an important marketplace to us.”

Winkelmann said concerns implicit the viability of immoderate centrifugal shows – for example, the Geneva amusement itself has not tally since 2019 but is scheduled to instrumentality successful 2024 – has prompted Lamborghini to eschew semipermanent commitments successful future.

“There are antithetic types of events, immoderate of which are tailor-made for our benignant of customers,” helium said. “Goodwood attracts a bigger crowd: successful the UK determination is simply a immense enthusiasm for cars successful general, and supercars, and this is not existent successful each market.

“We person to spot twelvemonth by twelvemonth however [a show] develops and past marque a decision. These days, we ne'er marque semipermanent commitments connected shows, due to the fact that things are changing precise fast. A batch are going down the drain and are not palmy immoderate more, truthful if attendance is going down and there’s nary press, there’s nary request to go.”

Before Qatar, Lamborghini volition person a large beingness astatine adjacent month’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance successful California. Winkelmann said: “For us, Pebble Beach is the biggest car lawsuit successful presumption of importance. All the types of radical who are customers oregon could go customers spell there. It’s increasing successful presumption of beingness from extracurricular the US, and truthful it’s going to support increasing successful importance.”