After years of casting about for third model, Lamborghini has settled on what Manfred Fitzgerald, head of brand and design, rather than the alleged call “the world’s first super sedan”, the Estoque dramatic, revealed in concept form at the Paris auto show, no four-door coupe at the request of the maker, but it would definitely riding on the job as a tire extra wide Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide, both the market would follow in 2012. Mechanically, the front-engine Estoque is unlike either of Lamborghini’s current offerings, both of which are mid-engine two-seaters. The Estoque is loosely based on the ASF (Audi aluminum spaceframe) platform shared with the next Audi A8 and Bentley Continental families. For production, an ASF architecture is bound to be the most practical choice in terms of investment, weight savings, and commonality. A front-mounted engine is a given, and odds favor a twin-turbo V-8. To be on the safe side, the engine bay is just big enough to house Lamborghini’s V-10, but that thirsty and expensive engine is more appropriate for a hard-core sports car. The show car’s V-8 is derived from the V-10, but for production, Lamborghini is more likely to modify the next A8′s new 4.0-liter, direct-injection twin-turbo V-8. Rated at about 420 hp and 400 lb-ft in A8 guise, it would probably get a power and torque boost to 500 hp and 480 lb-ft (although that would still put it behind the 620-hp, Lambo-sourced V-10 in Audi’s next S8).

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