Lamborghini Portofino
Lamborghini Portofino
Overview
Manufacturer	Lamborghini
Also called	Chrysler Portofino
Production	one-off sedan
Model years	1987
Designer	Kevin Verduyn
Body and chassis
Class	Concept car
Body style	4-door sedan
Layout	Mid-engine rear-wheel drive
Doors	Scissor doors (front) Suicide Scissor doors (rear)
Related	Lamborghini Jalpa
Powertrain
Engine	3.5 L V8
Transmission	5-speed manual

The Lamborghini Portofino is a concept car developed for Lamborghini by Kevin Verduyn,^[1] one of Chrysler's chief designers. Introduced at the 1987 Frankfurt Auto Show, it was a fully functional, four-door, four-seat sport sedan.^[2]

Design

In 1986, Kevin Verduyn designed a concept car model for Chrysler called the Navajo.^[2] The concept never went beyond the clay model stage, but when Chrysler acquired Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. in 1987, the design was resurrected and with some fairly minor tweaks, turned into the Portofino.

The Portofino was built by Coggiola of Turin, Italy on a lengthened Jalpa chassis, giving the car a mid-engine rear-wheel drive layout. It also made use of the Jalpa's 3.5 L V8 water-cooled engine and 5-speed manual transmission. The engine could rev to 7,000 rpm, with 64.6 bhp/liter.^[2] The most interesting feature of the Portofino was the dual scissor doors, enclosing a pillarless passenger compartment. The front doors pivoted forward and upward, as in Lamborghini's Countach. The rears were also scissor-style, but pivoted upward to the rear. The logo on the hood featured the Lamborghini bull inside the Chrysler Pentastar.

While the Portofino was a one-of-a-kind concept car and while Chrysler ownership of Lamborghini would not survive, the concept's design would inform and influence Chrysler cars for the next two decades. The wide-and-low stance and the open-plan interior would become the hallmark of the Chrysler LH body vehicles and their "cab-forward" design standard (which was extensively marketed as such). The triangular headlights and dual notched rear indicators would find their way directly to the first generation Dodge Intrepid and would serve as key design points throughout that vehicle's existence.

Prototype

Only the single prototype Portofino, chassis #LC0001, was ever produced. In 1991, it was heavily damaged in an accident in transit. However, Chrysler had it restored by Metalcrafters in Costa Mesa, California^[2] for $300,000, and it is now on display at Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.^[3] From November 15, 2020 to January 9, 2022, the Portofino was one of 12 vehicles on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts, part of a special exhibit titled "Detroit Style: Car Design in the Motor City, 1950–2020".^[4]

The Portofino was notable for being an early example of cab forward styling, and many aspects of its design made it into the Chrysler LH platform which initially included the Chrysler Concorde, Dodge Intrepid and Eagle Vision.