Lamborghini disdains 3,000 hp Chinese rivals: understand the brand’s argument

Lamborghini claims that Chinese super sports cars do not threaten it, and the argument is the engine. In an interview with British magazine Auto Express, the president of the Italian brand, Stephan Winkelmann, said that he sees no threat in the new Asian rivals “because they are making electric cars”. For the executive, Chinese brands do not compete in the performance, sound and emotion of Sant’Agata Bolognese’s cars.

The phrase has a recent context. Lamborghini shelved the Lanzador, which would be its first 100% electric model, and transformed it into a plug-in hybrid. The electric version of the Urus was also discarded. Winkelmann justified the change by saying that the acceptance curve for electric vehicles among the brand’s customers is “close to zero”. Today the entire line is plug-in hybrid, with the Revuelto’s V12, with 1,015 hp, and the Temerário’s twin-turbo V8, with 920 hp.

What Chinese brands already deliver

The Chinese numbers, however, are not negligible. In September 2025, the YangWang U9 Xtreme, from BYD’s luxury sub-brand, reached 496.22 km/h on the Papenburg track in Germany and became the fastest production car in the world, ahead of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+. There are four electric motors that add up to 2,978 hp, according to the manufacturer.

More recently, Denza, another BYD brand, launched the Z, a three-motor electric sports car with 1,604 hp. The track version accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 1.96 seconds and reaches 350 km/h. The appeal, however, is in the price: in China, the coupe starts at 680 thousand yuan, equivalent to about R$ 523 thousand. In Brazil, a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, a sports car of similar size, costs from R$ 1.52 million. Outside China, the Denza Z is much more expensive: in England, the same coupe costs practically double the Chinese price.

GWM prepares a twin-turbo

V8 The scenario is also beginning to change more directly. GWM develops a mid-rear-engine super sports car that will not be electric. The model will use a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 associated with a plug-in hybrid system, presented by the company last year, on a carbon fiber monocoque. The automaker itself has already stated that the target is the Ferrari SF90 Stradale.

Whether Chinese brands will be able to make combustion sports cars as well as electric ones is another question. For now, Lamborghini says it will only return to evaluating a purely electric model around 2030.