In the 1990s, an Indonesian-controlled investment group briefly became the majority owner of Lamborghini and explored using the Italian marque's technology and expertise in an Indonesian automotive project.
In 1994, Chrysler sold control of Lamborghini to MegaTech, a Bermuda registered investment company associated with Indonesian businessman Hutomo Mandala Putra, better known as Tommy Suharto, and Malaysian investment company MyCom Setdco.
Lamborghini's own historical record identifies MegaTech as an Indonesian investment fund and says it retained majority ownership until 1998.
The transaction was valued at approximately US$40 million in 1994, equivalent to roughly US$90 million in 2026 dollars. Contemporary reporting described the acquisition as potentially forming part of a Malaysian-Indonesian effort to develop a local automotive industry.
Lamborghini Under Indonesian Ownership
MegaTech took control when Lamborghini was still a small volume manufacturer.
The company had recorded losses in 1993, and its main production model was the Diablo. Volkswagen's corporate history records that Lamborghini's new Indonesian ownership introduced the Calà, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, at the 1995 Geneva Motor Show.
The ownership period also coincided with a rise in Lamborghini's reported sales during the mid-1990s. The company also introduced the Diablo SV in 1995, using a 5.7 liter V12 producing 510 hp.
The Calà was developed as a potential replacement for the discontinued Jalpa. The fully functional prototype used a 4.0 liter V10, a six speed manual transmission and a mid mounted engine. It remained a concept and did not enter production after Lamborghini changed ownership again in 1998.
An Indonesian Lamborghini SUV
One of MegaTech's projects was an attempt to revive Lamborghini's SUV program.
Lamborghini had previously produced the LM002, an off road vehicle that ended production in 1993. Under MegaTech, the company explored a successor known as LM003. The proposed vehicle was also referred to as Borneo or Galileo and was developed as an Indonesian joint project involving Timor, Indonesia's national car company.
The design work was assigned to SZ Design, the design firm associated with Zagato, under designer Nori Harada. The project was intended to occupy the luxury SUV segment and was positioned against vehicles such as the Range Rover. A mockup was produced in 1997.
The project never reached series production. Indonesia's financial crisis disrupted MegaTech and Timor, while Lamborghini's ownership subsequently changed.
From Indonesia to Audi
In 1998, Volkswagen Group subsidiary Audi agreed to acquire Lamborghini from its controlling shareholders.
At the time, companies controlled by Tommy Suharto held 60%, while MyCom Berhad controlled the remaining 40%, according to contemporary reporting. Lamborghini's own history records the transition into the Audi-Volkswagen Group in 1998.
The acquisition ended MegaTech's four year control of Lamborghini. Audi subsequently expanded Lamborghini's engineering, production and development resources. The first completely new Lamborghini developed under Audi ownership was the Murciélago, introduced in 2001 with a 6.2 liter V12 producing 580 hp.
The Indonesian ownership period therefore lasted only from 1994 to 1998, but it included the development of the Calà, the Diablo SV and an unsuccessful attempt to create a new Lamborghini derived SUV with Indonesia's Timor.
