From a multidisciplinary team to the Manifesto concept, the Sant’Agata hub defines the design language of the brand’s future
Sant’Agata Bolognese, 8th October 2025 – In the world of super sports cars, design is never just a matter of aesthetics: it is the spark that ignites every project, the defining element that turns engineering into emotion. For Automobili Lamborghini, design is inseparable from identity. And for the past two decades, this identity has had a home: the Centro Stile Lamborghini.
Founded in the early 2000s and fully operational from 2005, Centro Stile was born from the conviction that a brand like Lamborghini must safeguard its own creative voice. “A modern super sports car company cannot rely on external studios alone,” says Mitja Borkert, Design Director of Automobili Lamborghini since 2016. “Design is the number one reason customers buy a Lamborghini. It has to be developed in-house, in close dialogue with engineering and production, and in direct continuity with the brand’s DNA.”
Today Centro Stile is the beating heart of the brand’s creative process. Every modern Lamborghini, from Murcielago to Revuelto[1], from Gallardo to the new Temerario[2], has taken shape within its walls. The centre has sharpened and expanded this DNA, defining recognisable signatures such as the Y-shaped light graphic and hexagonal geometry, while ensuring that every new model remains unexpected.
The team: young, international, multidisciplinary
Two decades on, Centro Stile is a microcosm of Lamborghini itself: international, ambitious, and proudly rooted in Italy. The team today counts 25 specialists of different ages and backgrounds, with the youngest in their late twenties and the most experienced past fifty. Italians, Germans, Portuguese, Poles, Americans, Japanese and Chinese designers bring their own cultural perspectives to Sant’Agata, enriching the brand with global influences while staying true to its roots. Their skills span the full creative spectrum: exterior and interior designers, responsible for proportions, lines and ergonomics; Clay modelers, who give physical form to ideas in three dimensions alongside digital 3D modelers, producing virtual models and visualisations; Colour and trim experts, creating the palettes and materials that express Lamborghini’s personality and feasibility designers, who translate concept into production reality, resolving every millimetre of a model before it enters the factory.
“It’s like a football team,” says Borkert. “Each designer has their role – some focus on early sketches, some on production feasibility, others on the big picture of design strategy. My job is to coach them, to keep them inspired, and to ensure that all the work reflects our DNA while pushing boundaries.”
The philosophy: curiosity, recognisability, surprise
What unites the team is a shared philosophy. Borkert insists that curiosity is the essential trait of any Lamborghini designer. “You have to look at the world with a child’s eyes, always asking questions, always open to new influences. That’s what allows us to stay unexpected and futuristic.” At the same time, some elements are non-negotiable. The silhouette is paramount: the side view of a Lamborghini must be recognisable even from a distance, whether glimpsed on the road between Nonantola and Sant’Agata or on a poster in a teenager’s room. The “Y” graphic signature and hexagonal motifs are equally integral, linking Lamborghini design to its roots in 1960s Italian architecture and industrial design. Yet within these rules, every model must surprise. “Each car needs its own product identity,” Borkert explains. “Revuelto has one, Temerario another, Fenomeno[3] another still. Derivatives like Huracán STO or Sterrato are all clearly Lamborghini, but each speaks a different language. The challenge is to remain recognisable while constantly over-delivering on expectations.”
A “crazy corner” for the next 20 years
To keep innovation alive, Borkert has established what he calls a “crazy corner”: a small group within Centro Stile tasked with imagining Lamborghini 20 years from now. Their mission is to dream without boundaries on new forms of mobility, or radical reinterpretations of Lamborghini DNA. Artificial intelligence is also beginning to play a role, used to amplify creativity, generate visualisations and accelerate the design process. For Borkert, technology is a tool, but the final decision will always be human.
The clearest expression of this new vision is Manifesto, a concept revealed during the celebrations in the Sant’Agata Bolognese headquarters. Conceived as a “sculpture on four wheels”, it distils Lamborghini design into a philosophy of radical purity and powerful presence. Every surface, angle and proportion is sculpted to evoke immediate emotion, merging the essential with the iconic. Manifesto is a declaration of intent, created to guide the language of the brand in the years ahead. Just as the Terzo Millennio, presented in 2017, went on to inspire elements of the Revuelto and Temerario, Manifesto now takes on the role of the new reference point for future Lamborghini models. Its details, from the Y-shaped lights to the hexagonal patterns, reaffirm the marque’s DNA while introducing innovations that will influence tomorrow’s cars. More than visual recognition, it seeks to create lasting impact, transforming each design into an emotional statement and a cultural symbol. “Manifesto is fantasy and inspiration made tangible,” says Borkert. “It shows how we connect surfaces, how we create purism, how we project our DNA forward. It is not about an engine or technology, but about imagination – about keeping the Lamborghini dream alive.”
Looking forward
Asked what makes him most proud today, Mitja Borkert does not hesitate: “The team. Every morning, I run up the stairs eager to see what they have created. From sketches to clay to 3D prints, I can already glimpse the models of 2029. That is what Centro Stile is about: vision, craftsmanship, and the joy of creating the future.”
Twenty years after its foundation, Centro Stile Lamborghini is more than a design studio. It is a laboratory of imagination, a melting pot of cultures and disciplines, and the guardian of a dream that has captivated generations. With Manifesto as its latest expression, and with a team driven by curiosity and vision, its role is clear: to shape the Lamborghini of tomorrow while remaining unmistakably Lamborghini.
[1] Revuelto: Combined energy consumption: 10,1 kWh/100 Km plus 11,86 l/100km; Combined CO2 emissions: 276 g/km; Combined CO2 efficiency class: G; CO2 class with discharged battery: G; Combined fuel consumption with discharged battery: 17,8 l/100km
[2] Temerario: Combined energy consumption: 26,8 kWh/100 Km plus 11,2 l/100km; Combined CO2 emissions: 272 g/km; Combined CO2 efficiency class: G; CO2 class with discharged battery: G; Combined fuel consumption with discharged battery: 14 l/100km
[3] The vehicle is not yet offered for sale and is therefore not subject to Directive 1999/94/EC. The fuel consumption and emissions data is in the type approval stage
