Lambo's Bahrain debut

SANT AGATA, ITALY // Stephan Winkelmann, president of Lamborghini, has confirmed that there will not be a four-door model based on the Estoque concept car or a Lamborghini F1 team any time soon. However, he did confirm that "in the next few weeks" a new Lamborghini showroom will open in Bahrain, the first one for the kingdom, and it will be run by the partners who already run the Lamborghini showrooms in Saudi Arabia. Speaking to The National at the GT1 championship races at Yas Island last weekend, he said that, while he did not expect the US or European luxury car market to recover "until at least 2011", the Middle East remains a "strong and important" market for the brand. Winkelmann offered a flat "no" to questions about a four-door car and an F1 team. "We have 800 people who work for Lamborghini in total," he said. "An F1 team alone needs 800 people. The Gt1 series better suits our needs - we can afford it and it is a customer relations exercise as well as a chance to show what the brand can do."