5 Lamborghini Concepts That Should Never Have Been Made

Nor has it stopped Lamborghini from letting coachbuilders run wild with custom designs. Of course not all of these concept cars were winners. Some looked pretty damn atrocious. We already brought you five Ferrari concepts that shouldn’t have existed. Here are five Lamborghini concepts the world could've done without.

Our own Jay Traugott wrote back in 2013 that the Lamborghini Egoista “looks like the result of a Veneno and KTM X-Bow mating while on LSD – with some of Batman's Tumbler thrown in for good measure.” Upon further review that description holds up three years later. Lamborghini’s gift to itself—the one-off celebrated the automaker’s 50th birthday—was inspired by the Apache attack helicopter and fighter jets. It’s a cool idea but such a big milestone deserves a tasteful creation, not something that belongs in a sci-fi racing video game.

The Marzal should not have existed for many, many reasons. First of all, it looks like a greenhouse. The all-glass gullwing doors caused company founder Ferrucio Lamborghini to worry that “a lady’s legs would be there for all to see.” If the automaker’s founder could’ve seen into the future he would have also worried that the louvered rear window would make people think of the video game "Q*bert". In addition to its odd look the Marzal packed a straight-six—the only Lamborghini ever built with a six cylinder—good for 175 horsepower. That baby engine alone was enough to land the Marzal on this list, although it does get points for inspiring the look of the tamer Lamborghini Espada.

In all fairness the Sogna isn’t actually an official Lamborghini concept. But it is based on the Lamborghini Countach so we’re including it on this list. How could we leave something that looks so awful off? Designer Ryoji Yamazaki of Art & Tech horribly bungled the look of this car but at least he got the innards right. Powering the Sogna is a 5.2-liter V12 that sends 455 horsepower to the rear wheels. Its top speed is said to be 202 mph. That’s all well and good, but this car will never be fast enough to outrun its atrocious looks. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That’s the only explanation for how this car had a $3 million price tag when it popped up for sale back in 2013.

Before there was the Rambo Lambo, aka the LM002, there was the Cheetah. The story behind this 4x4 is long, but the gist is that in the later part of the 1970s Lamborghini took on a contract issued by the US military to create a new off-roader. The list of issues with the Cheetah is long: the design was a rip-off, it handled poorly thanks to its engine being mounted in the back and of course it was too damn heavy. The only good thing about this concept is that it paved the way for the Rambo Lambo, aka the LM002, and the upcoming Lamborghini Urus.

We end this list with the Pregunta, which in Spanish means “question.” Designed by French coachbuilders Carrosserie Heuliez with the Diablo as its base, the Pregunta was capable of hitting 207 mph courtesy of its 530-hp V12. What’s more is that it ditched the Diablo’s all-wheel-drive in favor of a rear-drive setup. While the French got that part right, the look of this car is something else. That “half roof” and the barely there lights are notable for all the wrong reasons. This was actually the last Lamborghini concept built by a coachbuilder, with the practice ending after Audi took control of the company in 1998.