In Fabio Mobilio's design these elements, alongside the uncompromising aggression that makes up the Italian firm's DNA, have been heightened: an even more difficult challenge when dealing with a four-seater. The windows give the feeling of being in direct contact with the road: well-held to the ground, with an almost athletic compactness, this is a strong, decisive car with a mysterious, threatening, provocative air.

Its general lines are taut. Despite the rear 12 cylinder engine, the windshield is very steep without obviously harming its habitability. The front has a strong look from a large central air outlet divided by a trapezoidal element. The rear optical groups have a triangular shape and are behind a dark panel.

To make the vehicle body more aggressive the front wheelarches are higher than the engine bonnet.

The rear also has a clear, sharp design. What stands out is the triangular element inside which are the three wide-diameter exhaust pipes. To heighten this version of the Espada, part of the rear wings have been removed making the wheels therefore half-covered.

The opening of the doors has always been something for Lamborghini to boast about: Fabio Mobilio has kept the classic vertical opening unchanged, but has made the door turn to the outside almost like a butterfly's wing. The interior design of this Grand Tourer imagines two distinct environments: one for the driver and one for the passengers. To intensify this concept the driver, equipped with a highly "wrapping" seat, is almost enclosed inside a shell where the commands are arranged. This solution provides a sense of protection as well as the illusion of being at the wheel of a single-seater.

Alessandro Salvagnin

Alessandro Salvagnin's interpretation represents an evolution of the brand with an eye on tradition. The new Espada is equipped with the family feeling and character of the previous vehicle. In the first place the vehicle inherits its profile, outlined in two curves, bonnet and roof, from the Marzal and the first Espada; initially this was not a desired choice: the same binds that had to be imposed in the past in order to respect the bulk of the engine and the passengers, keeping the curves taut, brought about the vehicle's profile.

A fundamental element in giving the vehicle character is the front and rear graphics: while the front has a more aggressive aspect, the rear is more neutral. A common denominator is the mysterious aspect: a Lamborghini mustn't wink but impress, it mustn't inspire sympathy but fear, due to the lack of visible elements able to communicate with the person looking at it. Here there are the double front headlights, hidden under a honeycomb-grill element that follows the whole profile of the mouth, spreading out almost to halfway on the bonnet, while the row of rear lights, still under a grill, is visible to the eye only when switched on.

On the one hand the massive use of grills reflects a technical demand; on the other it's the umpteenth traditional element. The front is highly important in the vehicle's design: it is particularly long since it conceals the engine and acts as the "binding" element for the whole vehicle; it also has two oblique mouldings on its surface that start off hazily from the badge and run curving away towards the C pillar.

A peculiar element in the vehicle's design is the door cut: a curve that originates in the front part and continues along the side flaring upwards. The design of this curve, a sort of evolution of the solution used on the Marzal, from a three-quarters view intensifies the strong three-dimensionality of the vehicle's side section, a dear element in Lamborghini's history. This inclination is kept on the side bodywork, accentuating it on the tail to guarantee the flattening to the ground effect typical of 60s and 70s Lamborghinis.

Andrea Borgogni

Andrea Borgogni's seeks to marry the proportions of a Grand Tourer with a particularly aggressive, wide front to emphasise the presence of the engine. The racy, designed lines reflect the Lamborghini vehicles' characteristics. This quest for fluidity here provides new, original successes through complex intersections of simple masses: the flat, continuous surfaces intersect creating clean cuts that run along the whole profile of the vehicle which ends up being almost sculpted.

The car body is lengthened in the rear creating the general sensation of feeling a whole volume with wide, windowed surfaces. The rear is raised up and recreates the same feeling as the front with surfaces that ideally continue to within the air outlets. The interior design is coherent with the exterior's general lines: the surfaces are clean and essential where the instrumentation, with sporty details and materials, is mounted.

Amir Zaid

In addition to the three works selected by Audi Group, other proposals achievied high quality results. Just to name a few, in the version by Amir Zaid (Israel) the new Espada is adapted to the language and philosophy of Lamborghini design by making the spirit of the classic 70s GTs contemporary. The result is a robust and muscular design, a fusion of current Lamborghni design with the common triangular shapes and the classic GT proportions. The bonnet is lengthened and reveals the vehicle's front motorization. The overhangs have been kept as short as possible to give the sensation that the wheels are sitting outside. The side view emphasises the large air outlets whose negative surface blends into the rear wheel.

The windows are one of the car's distinctive elements: the hidden A pillar creates a large triangular opening. From the C pillar though a horsehoe shape is created on the top.

The interior is warm and welcoming, characterised by organic shapes and lively colours to give a feeling of total comfort within the driving compartment.

Adrian Goring

The ambition of Adrian Goring (Canada) for the new Espada is to lead the Grand Sports Tourer Coupé sector, which is represented today by radically different vehicles: from the BMW M6 to the Aston Martin DB9 or the Bentley Continental GT. In this respect the design of Lamborghini's front engine four-seater Grand Tourer is summed up in one key word: hardcore. An aggressive character, extreme and exuberant, a dynamic and thrilling impact: these are the characteristics that distinguish the Canadian student's vehicle.

The asymmetry of the proportions and the fluid lines have been borrowed from the original Espada. The heavy rear volume is lifted by decisive, bluntly interrupted lines that give the car noticeable dynamism. The shortened rear overhang is balanced by an extremely racy, lengthened front of great appeal. Instead of rehashing old lines, Adrian Goring's offering wants to revive the spirit of the American Muscle Cars, with an added touch of femininity in the modelled surfaces. The new Espada realigns a Lamborghini icon with the familiar stylistic elements of today's leading models, such as the Murcielargo or the Gallardo.

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