Should the baby Lambo grow up?

Lamborghini has trademarked the Deimos name, and sure as night follows day, the internet rumourmill has gone into overdrive over what will wear the badge inspired by the Greek god of 'the terror of war.'

The first Lambo SUV since the LM002 isn't the really interesting upcoming project from Sant'Agata though. For a while now I've been more interested in just how Lamborghini are going to go about replacing the ageing Gallardo, especially given how the 'baby supercar' game has moved since it first emerged in 2003.

While the Gallardo has been on the scene as the crucial entry-level model in Lambo's two car lineup, Ferrari replaced the 360 with the F430, and then blitzed that with the 458 Italia. Lambo's VAG cousin Audi gave us the revelatory R8 V8, and followed it up with the V10 iteration featuring the Gallardo's own motor in the back.

And then there's McLaren, who, despite what opinion you may hold of the MP4-12C's name, styling, or emotional tendencies, undeniably rewrote the rulebook on sports car chassis setup and dynamics.

This leaves me wondering, as the Gallardo soldiers on via special editions and pretend road racers (STS anyone?), what direction should the new one take?

Parent brand Audi, itself bankrolled by VW, has enjoyed massive sales success of late and could potentially put its hand deep enough into its pockets to fund a techno-showcase supercar like the 12C or 458. However, with McLaren's hydraulic non-ARB suspension patented to within an inch of its life, how can Lambo challenge without plaigirism?

If they plump to win the outright power war instead they'll need over 600 horses to knock out the 592bhp Macca, yet alone the 562bhp Ferrari. But if the 'New-llardo' gets over 600bhp, it'll be catching up to the range-topping 690bhp Aventador uncomfortably fast...

Lambo don't have a dual clutch transmission either, instead going for neck-snapping 'drama' in the Aventador. Audi are developing one for the next R8, but how bespoke will that make the New-llardo if it gets the same 'box?

It seems to me as if Lamborghini, much as I love 'em, are slightly caught out in no man's land. They're not as innovative as the F1-manufacturer road cars, and while I admit the Aventador does bring pushrod suspension and a full carbon cell to a new area of the marketplace, it's still a class above the Gallardo.

However, Lambo aren't the lunacy big boys any more either, as Pagani and Spyker have cornered the boutique esoteric supercar niche. Lamborghini are in the mainstream, but don't have the mainstream supercar advancements, so where does that leave them?

Motoring hacks would surely love the New-llardo to be manual only, have a RWD option, and drop weight rather than add power. But buyers are a fickle bunch and 'less is more' tends not to be viewed as progress by the likes of Lambo's clientele.

I'm very much looking foward to the new baby Lambo, because it's got some serious choices to make as it grows into its second iteration.

(Hopefully it'll be better looking than the Aventador too.)

This is a dramatic-looking motor vehicle. Not a good-looking one.

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