The 2016 America Auto-Show circuit started out in Detriot with the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), where Robb Report participated as the only media sponsor present and hosted an impressive, 6,500 square foot display on the COBO Center floor. The venue included a custom-built studio, featuring a two-story stage hosting a live-to-tape television show called Robb Report LIVE that included interviews with Lamborghini Club president Andrew Romanowski as well as Maurizio Reggiani, Director R&D at Automobili Lamborghini. Below the stage were featured a dozen new and historic sports and luxury automobiles; marques and models not otherwise present on the show floor.
The theme focused on great design and the people who create it. Interviews with today’s most talented and influential automotive designers, as well as collectors, curators and other industry professionals were highlighted by the presence of two cars that virtually stole the show. One was a bright blue Lamborghini Aventador SV Roadster and, significantly, a red 1969 Lamborghini Miura on loan from Andrew Romanowski. Many of us believe that the Miura is the most beautiful design to emerge post-war; a mid-engine marvel that put Lamborghini on the map and a design that remains the defining automotive styling statement into the 21st century. To prove that the sighting of any Lamborghini is an occasion to be relished, one only had to see the crowds pressed around the Miura and Aventador.
The Miura sat in stark contrast to the hundreds of 2016 production models and cutting-edge new concept cars, whose lines suddenly seemed to be fleeting design trends compared to the 50-year-old Lamborghini that looks as fresh today as when Marcello Gandini first penned its lines in 1966. Supporting this were comments from industry design insiders, most of whom seemed to agree that the Miura is a stroke of timeless brilliance that continues to inspire professionals in the field almost as much as it inspires fortunate owners and Lamborghini enthusiasts around the world.
One Detroit sponsor even commissioned a series of six life-sized ice sculptures in downtown Detroit. When it came to choosing the significant automobiles portrayed, the Aventador and Miura were two of the choices. While those pieces of art have long since melted, the real cars will doubtless endure as high watermarks in the history of the automobile.
Thanks to Andrew Romanowski and Automobili Lamborghini for the chance to bring some Lamborghini excitement to Detroit and a broader Robb Report audience.