The Lamborghini Portofino was a four-door sports saloon concept shown at the Frankfurt motor show in 1987. Designed by Chrysler’s Kevin Verduyn and built by Coggiola of Turin on a lengthened Jalpa chassis, it was fully functional but remained the only one of its kind — and it influenced Chrysler’s cars for the following two decades.
Lamborghini Portofino at a glance
| Type | four-door, four-seat saloon concept |
|---|---|
| Designed by | Kevin Verduyn, Chrysler |
| Shown | Frankfurt Motor Show, 1987 |
| Built by | Carrozzeria Coggiola, Turin |
| Chassis | lengthened Lamborghini Jalpa |
| Engine | 3.5-litre V8 from the Jalpa |
| Gearbox | five-speed manual |
| Layout | mid-engine, rear-wheel drive |
| Doors | scissor doors front and rear |
| Cars built | one, chassis LC0001 |
There is no German article on the Portofino; the English and Italian pages are the sources, and they agree on the car’s technical basis.
History of the Lamborghini Portofino
From a Chrysler show car
In 1986 Kevin Verduyn, one of Chrysler’s designers, drew a concept car called the Navajo. It never went beyond the clay model stage. When Chrysler bought Lamborghini in 1987 the design was revived with relatively small changes and became the Portofino, a fully functional four-door, four-seat sports saloon. Lamborghini’s Italian identity was kept in the mechanicals: the car was built by Carrozzeria Coggiola of Turin on a lengthened Jalpa chassis, keeping the Jalpa’s mid-mounted 3.5-litre V8, five-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive. The engine could rev to 7,000 rpm, giving 64.6 bhp per litre.
Two pairs of scissor doors
The most striking feature was the door arrangement. The Portofino had scissor doors at both ends: the front pair pivoted forward and upward as on the Countach, while the rear pair also lifted but swung towards the back of the car. With no central pillar, the cabin opened up as a single space. The badge on the bonnet showed the Lamborghini bull inside the Chrysler pentastar, a neat symbol of the two companies’ brief marriage.
One car, and a long afterlife
Only a single prototype was built, chassis LC0001. In 1991 it was heavily damaged in an accident while in transit; Chrysler had it restored by Metalcrafters of Costa Mesa, California, at a cost of $300,000, and it is now displayed at the company’s headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Between November 2020 and January 2022 it was one of twelve cars in a design exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Although the Portofino never became a Lamborghini, its wide, low stance, open-plan interior and cab-forward proportions became the hallmark of Chrysler’s LH platform — the Chrysler Concorde, Dodge Intrepid and Eagle Vision — and its triangular headlights and notched rear indicators went directly to the first-generation Dodge Intrepid.
Design and features
- Four doors: unusual for a Lamborghini and the point of the exercise — a practical four-seater.
- Double scissor doors: front doors lifting forward, rear doors lifting backward, without a central pillar.
- Jalpa mechanicals: mid-mounted 3.5-litre V8, five-speed manual and rear-wheel drive.
- Cab-forward shape: a low, wide body with a long wheelbase that previewed Chrysler’s design language.
Lamborghini Portofino versions
- Portofino (1987): the only car built, restored in the 1990s and kept by Chrysler.
The Portofino used the chassis and engine of the Jalpa and shared its scissor-door idea with the Countach. More cars are in the Lamborghini collection.
Sources
- Lamborghini Portofino, English Wikipedia: design, chassis, prototype, influence
- Lamborghini Portofino, Italian Wikipedia: build, mechanical layout, doors
