Hasta La Ideas

With its edgy Urus-meets-Model-S design, the Navetta Volante concept is the perfect blend between Lamborghini’s raging-bull sports cars and a street-friendly high-end sedan. The concept comes from the mind of Jamil Ahmed, an automotive designer who’s love-affair with the Lamborghini brand started when he saw a Diablo for the first time back when he was younger. The Navetta Volante, which translates to Flying Shuttle, comes with a 2+2 design (hence the term Shuttle) and feels like a cross between the Urus, and what Jamil cites as his true inspiration for the car, a lesser-known Lamborghini concept from 2008 – the Estoque.

The Estoque came as quite a surprise in 2008, since it was a clear deviation from what Lamborghini had built its reputation on – 2-door sportscars. The first-ever 4-door modern Lamborghini to be unveiled to the public, the Estoque never made it to production, however the chairman of Lamborghini, Stephan Winkelmann was spotted saying that they hadn’t ruled out a 4-door Lamborghini in the future. A decade later, the company launched Urus – a 4-door SUV aimed at diversifying Lamborghini’s lineup. Jamil’s Navetta Volante concept sits square between the Estoque and the Urus – borrowing the super-saloon proportions from the former, and the design language from the latter.

Jamil clearly sees the Estoque as Lamborghini’s missed opportunity to build a street-friendly car for the average joe (with the right amounts of money to spend). “I believe at the time of the Estoque, 4 door super saloons were quite interesting and I guess it would have fit very well along with the Rapide, Panamera, and Quattroporte”, Jamil casually mentions. The Navetta Volante, however, represents what the Estoque would evolve into in today’s day and age. The designer imagines it with a Plug-In Hybrid Drivetrain, pitting it against other hybrid cars, and taking aim at Tesla’s own Model S – which holds the coveted spot among today’s super-saloons. “As we merge rapidly into the electric era, we know Lamborghini will have to make the transition at some point, I knew the Navetta Volante platform would be perfect for that transition due to its practical nature.”

Running on a hybrid powertrain, the car comes with the signature large air-intakes underneath Y-shaped headlights (both iconic Lamborghini features). It sports two charging ports, one on each side underneath the rear-view mirrors, making it convenient to charge your car no matter where the power station is located.

The taillights present a unique deviation. Unlike the Estoque or Urus’ Y-shaped taillights, the Navetta Volante uses three hexagonal shapes, staying square within Lamborghini’s language while clearly thinking outside the box.

Clearly built for a variety of scenarios (other than racing), the car comes with a skylight on the top, and the designer’s even visualized what the Navetta Volante would look like with a luggage carrier on the top. One would argue that any sort of consumer-based embellishment corrupts the car’s bad-boy attitude, but then again, the Navetta Volante wasn’t designed for the race track – it was made for streets, roads, and highways. Even for its broad approach, the Navetta Volante looks like it has the spirit of the raging bull in it. Its edgy, racy design would arguably put the Tesla Model S to shame… now if only Lamborghini built the damn thing!

Designer: Jamil Ahmed