Before becoming one of the most influential designers in the recent history of Lamborghini, Mitja Borkert was once a child of East Germany, driven by a vivid imagination and an often inaccessible outside world. In his latest official video, "Lamborghini and Hot Wheels: design unites big and small", he recounts growing up near a Russian air base, watching MiG planes fly overhead and drawing everything in sight: motorcycles, helicopters, planes... and the rare cars that were on the road, like the Trabant.
It was in this environment that he began redesigning cars he didn't like, improving them, and even making his own wooden models in the family garage.
Cars can create emotion
Despite limited access to Western cars, the passion grew. One of the key moments was a childhood trip in a Citroën 2CV, when another 2CV full of students approached, triggering a spontaneous connection between the two vehicles. "Cars can create reactions in people," he said to himself at the time. At the age of five or six, he already understood that the automobile was not just a transportation tool, but a vehicle for emotions. When the Berlin Wall fell, his world suddenly opened up. He finally discovered Western cars, Formula 1 racing, and above all Ayrton Senna in his red-and-white single-seater. It was a seminal period in his career as a designer.
The first car: an iconic Honda CRX
In this whirlwind of discoveries, one car will become a true travel companion: the Honda CRX. A small, light, lively, simple but incredibly well-designed Japanese coupe. A car that has become legendary among enthusiasts for its agility, featherweight, reliability and timeless design. "It was my brother for 200,000 kilometers," he says.
The CRX wasn't just a first car. Its unique silhouette made a lasting impression on him, the kind of shape you hold on to forever, like a first automotive love. "Every CRX I find, I buy", he says. A sentence that speaks volumes: despite the hypercars he designs today, despite the millions of people who admire his Lamborghinis, that little Honda still holds a sacred place in his heart.
What's fascinating today is to see how this Japanese coupe has influenced a designer who now shapes Lamborghinis. In the video, he explains that the rhythm of a car should be like that of music: changing, lively, expressive. It's an idea he's carried with him all his life, and one that can be traced back to the CRX's effective simplicity.
Even when he talks about Lamborghini design, he remains true to this vision. The silhouette must be instantly recognizable. It must last for decades. Like the Honda CRX, which, despite its age, remains instantly recognizable, and today collected. He knows: the objects that stand the test of time are the ones with a real identity.
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