The future of the supercar is safe thanks to SUVs

SUVs, the automotive world’s necessary evil. As much as we might complain that the high-riding crossover is eroding love for traditional sedans and wagons - even performance cars - we also have to thank them for supporting the future of supercars.

Lamborghini is one of the first of those niche car builders to enjoy a life-boosting injection from the SUV, having launched its Urus half-way through 2018 and now reaping the rewards.

Sales are jumping through the roof, and all of that cash will go into building cars more akin to what we’d expect of the Raging Bull badge; think the latest teaser from Bologna of a hybrid hypercar, doubtless to break at least some sort of record.

After its first half-year of sales in 2018, Lamborghini sold 1761 Urus units out of the 5750 cars it sold worldwide - an accomplished success. But now in the first half of 2019, the maker has delivered 2693 Uruses, bringing total sales up to 2553, which is an almost 100 percent increase on the same period last year.

That’s a pile more money that we’ll see materialise into future developments, and could spur Lamborghini to launch an IPO on the stock exchange after a valuation of USD$11 billion. It would follow in the footsteps of fellow Italian supercar maker Ferrari, but unlike the SUV-less Prancing Horse brand, Lamborghini’s burgeoning SUV should help elevate, rather than deflate, its share price.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence’s Michael Dean and Gillian Davis, the upcoming Aventador and hybrid supercar will lift margins above 30 percent, and provide a platform for the Volkswagen-owned company to launch its IPO.

“VW’s partial IPO of Traton trucks sets the stage for further corporate restructuring, which should include a Lamborghini IPO, in our view,” Dean and Davis said.

Lamborghini’s newfound success isn’t going unnoticed, with Ferrari’s upcoming SUV spotted testing already, and British company Lotus, renowned for producing lightweight sports cars, also getting in on the SUV act. But purists shouldn;t completely despair, as stalwart supercar marque McLaren says it has no interest in diluting a focused supercar lineup with a High Street tractor.