Less than three years after Ferrari of Naples brought its flashy prancing horse to town, Lamborghini Naples’ raging bull charged onto the luxury car showroom scene this fall in Southwest Florida.
The Lamborghini Naples dealership opened Sept. 5 at 5154 Tamiami Trail E., next to The Isles of Collier Preserve luxury home community. The new dealership in East Naples is a division of Miami-based Warren Henry Auto Group, the same owner as Lamborghini Broward on Florida’s east coast.
Construction of the 18,000-square-foot dealership for the supercar brand broke ground in mid-2022 on a 2-acre vacant commercial parcel in the second phase of the Shops at Hammock Cove. The design of Lamborghini’s first regional dealership features understated elegance compared to Ferrari’s eye-catching, two-story, 57,000-square-foot location with its trademark red accent 14 miles away in North Naples.
Ironically, the high-performance Italian brands have been in competition from the start. Lamborghini was founded in 1963 to compete with Ferrari. The company now is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its Audi subsidiary. The Naples dealership’s grand opening celebration will be Dec. 5.
“We have a few events going on before the grand opening date,” said Jasmin Soler, communications coordinator for the Warren Henry Auto Group, noting that the first local event, Supercars and Espresso, is 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 14, at Lamborghini Naples.
“Supercars and Espresso are client-based events that we like to do,” she said. “On the second Saturday of each month, people come together with their Lamborghinis. They link up, hang out and there’ll be coffee to complement the morning.”
After a brief personal hiatus from the car business, Alessandro Ribola, general manager of Lamborghini Naples, looks forward to a new chapter filled with fast cars and adrenaline-fueled adventures in Florida, he said via LinkedIn. Ribola joined the local Lamborghini team this summer after a two-year stint as a real estate sales associate in Richmond, Virginia. He previously had a two-decade sales career with luxury car brands such as Mercedes-Benz, McLaren and Ferrari at dealerships in Virginia and California.
“The allure of Lamborghini was impossible to resist,” Ribola said. “And I’m very excited for the opportunity to reconnect with one of the best Italian brands, work with such exceptional vehicles, interact with car enthusiasts and contribute to Lamborghini’s legacy just as we are celebrating their 60th anniversary.”
Lamborghini vehicles, featuring names inspired by bullfighting or famous bulls, include the V10-powered Huracán supercar, and the Urus sport utility vehicle powered by a twin-turbo V8 engine. The flagship Aventador model ended production last year, but it will be succeeded by Revuelto, the 2024 V12-electric hybrid expected to be delivered this quarter.
While the new showroom is reserved for Lamborghini models, other certified pre-owned vehicles are available on the lot, including exotic or luxury brands such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Mercedes and Porsche.
