Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann has shrugged off any threat posed to the famous Italian marque by Chinese carmakers who are producing absurdly quick and powerful vehicles like the 1180kW Denza Z.

Winkelmann said he doesn’t view any Chinese manufacturer as a challenger to Lamborghini despite the Denza Z – which recently thrilled the crowd at Goodwood – firing a shot across the bow with its 349km/h top speed and 0-100km/h time of two seconds flat.

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“We don’t see this as a threat because they are doing electric cars, and if we say we are not doing electric cars for a reason, then there is also an idea behind how we look at our Chinese competitors or Chinese manufacturers,” Winkelmann told Auto Express.  

Lamborghini’s plans to introduce its first EV in 2028 were shelved indefinitely not long after the company unveiled the Lanzador EV (pictured, above) in August 2023. It’s a decision Winkelmann said he is very happy about, while pointing out that Chinese brands cannot compete “on the performance of our cars, the sound and the emotion”.

Winkelmann had previously announced that a new GT model with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain will be produced instead of a BEV. He said the decision to postpone the all-electric car was taken “due to the fact that we are ready to do so, but the market is not”.

“We have to be aware of the fact that we have to deliver what our customers desire. We don’t see in the short and medium term any change to this way of thinking, so this is the decision we took,” Winkelmann added back in February, promising there will be four PHEV Lamborghinis by the end of the decade.

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One of the brand’s product directors, Stefano Cossalter, elaborated on the standards a future Lambo BEV will have to meet, saying: “If we have to come out with an electric car, it has to be a masterpiece in terms of performance.”

The Denza Z isn’t the only Chinese supercar to take it up to the established marques. BYD’s Yangwang U9 Xtreme (pictured, above) became the world’s fastest production car last September, when it reached 496.22km/h, dethroning the Bugatti Chiron. The 2200kW model also holds the EV lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.