Lamborghini and a Side of Pasta

Fast Cars, Fantastic Cooking

The Lamborghini Lounge kitchen in New York City.

When Lamborghini opened the doors to its new invite-only lounge in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City in May, I was drawn first to the car, and then into the kitchen.

A pristine Lamborghini Huracán STO was on display prominently up front. The STO — Super Trofeo Omologato — might seem more suited to the track than in a static position. It’s a lightweight, motorsport-ready aerodynamic beast. It is a sculpture to behold in a building surrounded by blue chip art galleries. Unlike most silent art spaces, Lamborghinis are architected to make lots of noise. The Huracán STO, and its zesty 640 horsepower V10 engine, is meant to make a bristling entrance. There’s nothing subtle about the Italian brand, in or out of Italy. Enter the Lamborghini Lounge. Welcome to the land of fantasy cars and fine food.

For almost five decades, Lamborghini has produced exotic sports car in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy. The Italian automaker’s relationship to the region is tied to a century old culture, where food and cuisine are as passionate a pursuit as race car driving.

Lamborghini was founded in 1953 by Ferrucio Lamborghini, an Italian businessman. The first model, the 350 GTV, debuted in 1963, designed by the legendary artist Giotto Bizzarrini.

The Huracán is one of its four current models that also include the Aventador, the Urus SUV, and the hybrid Sián. Each model has several variants, all with distinct personalities and varying degrees of dizzying performance and flash.

Outside of the race track, it’s easy to imagine these cars on spectacular stretches of the Autobahn, or as futuristic props in the backdrop of a Missy Elliott video. Wherever a Lamborghini appears, it causes a stir. They aren’t for everybody. Cost and the sheer hubris it takes to drive a Lamborghini around make this club a finite one. But once on board (even for a lucky journalist who gets to try a Lambo on for size) there’s a delirious element of good fun that’s undeniable.

Lamborghini Lounge

Lamborghini like all carmakers is in a moment of transformation. Lamborghini is under the umbrella of the Volkswagen group, which is chipping away at ambitious carbon-reduction plans. By 2030 Lamborghini will be a fully electrified portfolio. “Lamborghini’s electrification plan is a newly-plotted course, necessary in the context of a radically-changing world, where we want to make our contribution by continuing to reduce environmental impact through concrete projects,” Automobili Lamborghini’s President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann said in a statement.

The brand has taken steps to minimize its consumption habits. The company received a CO2 neutral company certification in 2015. In 2016 it launched a bee biomonitoring project in Sant’Agata Bolognese, where it has grown to twelve hives, with a population of about 600,000 bees.

For now, the super cars made by Lamborghini are predominantly gasoline-driven, anchored by two new hefty V12 vehicles coming to its lineup. But by 2024, only hybrid models will be made, leading up to a full EV in the 2020s. It’s a delicate balance for a company to carry over its rowdy spirit into a new kind of mindful performance experience that’s socially responsible.

Visiting the Lamborghini Lounge in New York is not quite as exciting as driving a Lamborghini, but there’s still plenty of panache. The lounge gives Lamborghini a space to double down on its cultural heritage, and to educate its customers on its product lineup evolution, outside of the dealer environment. Lexus and Cadillac have also experimented with Manhattan experiential spaces. (Cadillac closed its doors when the brand moved back to Michigan a few years ago.) Lamborghini has had other gathering spaces in the city, but not on this scale. It’s an interesting time to open up in Manhattan, in a near post-Covid climate. The Lamborghini crowd is smaller and more exclusive than most automakers, by design. The whole point of the lounge that you have to be a Lamborghini client or dealer, or a friend of one to get in the door.

Once inside, there is plenty of succulence to soak in. The space is sleek, furnished by Living Divani. The La Dolce Vita-designed kitchen is immaculate. Roger Dubuis’s 45mm Excalibur Huracán STO timepiece dangles from a “Gravity Window.” In another room, Lamborghini offers the Ad Personam experience. Picture the ultimate craft table with swatches of leathers and color palettes at the ready to customize interior patterns. Then there's the display of an over-the-top Bang & Olufsen sound system.

“Cooking, like driving laps on a track, is relaxing.”

During my visit, back in the kitchen area, Chef Andrea Zanin prepared fresh pasta on site. Soon, I found myself in an apron, feeding semolina-based dough through a pasta maker. Chef instructed me on how to scoop dollops of ricotta onto circular ravioli pieces. I learned how important it is to use a good quality flour in to make pasta. I lost track of time, and even forgot for a moment that we were still in the last leg of a global pandemic. Cooking, like driving laps on a track, is relaxing. In addition to hosting dinners, Lamborghini will offer occasional cooking classes for friends-of-the-brand. When it was time to leave the lounge, the staff packaged up the ravioli I had helped prepare. I slipped back into the New York City streets, on foot, carrying a small container of fresh pasta and the Italian vibes home with me.