Crazy but never chaotic: Mitja Borkert on Lamborghini's surfacing philosophy

For design director Mitja Borkert, surfacing is the language that gives every Lamborghini its distinct personality. Whether a car feels "more human", "sharper" or "more robotic" is determined long before production, with surface treatment established alongside the vehicle's design mission from the very beginning. 

Speaking to Car Design News at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2026, Borkert discusses how Lamborghini balances sculptural complexity with visual harmony and how decades of experience, rather than software alone, teach designers to recognise the perfect surface. He also reveals why the painstaking Strak and Class-A surfacing process remains one of the most important stages in bringing a Lamborghini from sketch to showroom. 

Car Design News: When you're developing a Lamborghini, do you think about the surfaces first, or the emotion you're trying to create? 

Mitja Borkert: Since Lamborghini is always following the silhouette principle we have from the Countach – the side profile with one line and the typical architecture, like a spaceship – it's important that every Lamborghini has different surface treatments. 

Not only different design treatments, but also the surfacing is different. Sometimes a little bit more human, sometimes a little bit sharper, sometimes a bit more robotic. For me, the surface treatment comes automatically with the mission. 

CDN: How do you stop complexity becoming chaos when you're designing a Lamborghini? 

MB: A crazy brand like Lamborghini could easily get lost. It would be easy to go crazy, to go crazier, to get lost. 

You need fixing points. Maybe in our case a Y shape or a hexagon shape, or at least a formulation of what Lamborghini form language is. Then you have some orientation within the jungle. 

So, we go crazy under control. Maybe form follows function, but in a Lamborghini way. We always try to find another interpretation of our surfacing. 

CDN: Many brands are simplifying their design language today. Does Lamborghini deliberately resist that trend? 

MB: These days you see a couple of brands going very simple with the form language. I appreciate what we see at Lamborghini because I'm always trying to swim against trends. There is always one student model or one specific car influencing everybody else, and I'm always trying to say, 'Guys, this shape is not what we should do just because it's trendy.' 

A Lamborghini has to look timeless. In ten years or twenty years you should still look at the Revuelto and say, 'This is the Revuelto.' It shouldn't look old already. 

Everyone has their own taste, but for me the inclination of the bodyside has always to find a certain point in the rear. If this isn't in harmony, then the rear is hanging and the car does not feel part of one piece

CDN: Can minimalism still be emotional? 

MB: Yes. With the Manifesto we explored our interpretation of something minimal. 

But minimal still needs to be... I don't know if sexy is still the right word these days... but minimal should still have a certain sculpture. There must still be something alive. 

CDN: Digital tools and AI are transforming the design process. Has that changed the way you develop surfaces? 

MB: I always love to experience new ways. For me, AI is a catalyst for my inspiration. It's helping me to very quickly visualise all these sparks in your brain. 

People say AI creates familiar surfaces because it knows all the pictures that already exist. But in the end, it's you treating the AI. If something looks like it’s already been seen, it's because you didn't tell it the right thing. 

The next step will be 3D. You create something with AI, combine different views and it's already creating a 3D shape. You don't need to wait weeks — you already have it. 

CDN: How do you know when a surface is right? 

MB: I think this comes with experience. Sometimes I look at the surface with a younger designer and I say, 'Look, here's a mistake,' and then they see it. But I guess this comes over years of practice. 

I'm from the generation where we were taping [models] a lot so we recognise a mistake in the surface. It's not so easy to explain. 

CDN: When you're judging a sculpture, what are you looking for? 

MB: For me it's important that the car has a very good stance. 

It's important how a sculpture sits on the wheels. The way you position the wheels, the overhangs, how the car looks in perspective. 

The sculpture is never really finished. You turn and turn the Alias model. You turn and turn the full-size model. You're always saying, 'We need two millimetres off here,' or 'five millimetres there.' 

Everyone has their own taste, but for me the inclination of the bodyside has always to find a certain point in the rear. If this isn't in harmony, then the rear is hanging and the car does not feel part of one piece. 

I learned a lot working in Class-A surfacing. We have a feasibility design team, and we curate every line until everything is perfect. The perfect car never exists, but at least you try to get as close as possible

CDN: Lamborghini designs are often very complex. How do you keep all those surfaces connected? 

MB: The Sián is so complex – almost in the jungle – but we took so much time to get the right balance. The fewer lines you have, the harder it is to find the connection between the front and the rear. 

For me the most important thing is that everything is connected. Usually when I explain to the team, 'Look, this goes with here, with there,' then people understand. 

CDN: Do designers underestimate production details like shut lines? 

MB: People are always underestimating a shut line. They design something and then I ask, 'Where's the shut line?' They put it in and suddenly it isn't working because maybe the door is too long or the shut line is cutting into a shape. There are so many little things you need to know about car design. 

CDN: When do you know a surface is finished? 

MB: You're never finished. One thing is the design model but then comes the Strak process when everything is translated into ISM (Interactive Surface Modelling) or Class-A surfacing. You don't lose the car, but it's the moment where you can add more design quality. 

When I designed my cars, I always followed them until they were in production. I learned a lot working in Class-A surfacing. We have a feasibility design team, and we curate every line until everything is perfect. The perfect car never exists, but at least you try to get as close as possible. 

For me it's very satisfying because you don't just give your car away for someone else to finish. You design it and then you finish it yourself, curating it until the last millimetre.