Lamborghini boss zooms in to meet team

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NEW LAMBO: Lamborghini boss Stephan Winkelmann has visited New Zealand after opening two new dealerships in Australia. He is flanked here by Colin Giltrap, founder of the Giltrap Group (L), and Michael Giltrap (R), CEO of Independent Prestige.

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Lamborghini boss Stephan Winkelmann had to suffer in alternative luxury on a visit to Auckland because his luggage would not fit in one of his cars.

The president of Automobili Lamborghini flew into Auckland to visit New Zealand's only dealership but the entourage was not greeted by one of its own.

"There's three of them and their luggage so we sent a four-door Bentley out to pick them up," Lamborghini Auckland general manager Mike Clark said.

The 24-hour visit was part of a tour to open two new dealerships in Australia and meet the New Zealand sales team.

The Auckland dealership had seen something of a renaissance for the Italian supercars since the company was taken over by Audi. "That was like a breath of fresh air," Mr Clark said.

Since then the Gallardo and Murcielago models, released in 2004 and 2005, had been very popular and had invigorated demand.

Only six Lamborghinis a year are sold in New Zealand, and only 2000 a year are made.

The usual models sell at between $365,000 and $575,000.

New Zealand did not get any of the most recently produced Lamborghini Reventon - only 20 were made and pre-sold for 1 million (NZ$1.83 million) each.

However, Mr Clark said one limited-edition Lamborghini Murcielago Versace model was sold in New Zealand last year for $820,000 - but he declined to say who bought it.

The car was number 19 of 20 produced and was internally decorated by Versace, complete with a pair of Versace shoes, a Versace clutch-bag, a three-piece Versace leather luggage set designed to fit the Lamborghini's "boot" - and all numbered 19 to match the car.

There was a simple answer to the question of who bought Lamborghinis, Mr Clark said. "Very rich, very successful people. There is no typecast."

Lamborghini owners owned the cars for the pleasure of owning them, and the fact New Zealand roads were unlikely to let the cars reach full throttle was not a typical pre-purchase concern.

"We get that lot from people who have no aspiration to buy the car."

- © Fairfax NZ News