In dramatic circumstances yesterday the Brazilian Federal Police shut down the Lamborghini stand at the Salão Internacional do Automóvel in São Paulo yesterday, seizing the five supercars on show. It was a disastrous about turn in the launch of the Bologna brand in Brazil, where its Gallardo and Murciélago models have been at the centre of attention since the show - the biggest and most prestigious automotive showcase in South America - opened to the public last weekend.

Federal agents arrived at the Lamborghini stand during the afternoon and apprehended the five cars on show, apparently they had been deemed to have been illegally imported. As the Brazilian media gathered the cars were covered by sheets and a nearby emergency exit was made ready to remove the four cars from the show, which was then undertaken by the Agents through a throng of onlookers. Local media reports suggested that the cars had been incorrectly classified on entry to Brazil thus paying lower than required import duties.

Lamborghini is a virtually unknown brand in South America and the the Bologna based carmaker is looking to open up a new market for its exclusive products, part of a global strategy that has seen it arrive emerging automotive markets such as Russia and China. The five sports cars seized by Federal police included four examples of the mid-size Gallardo model, which has a Brazilian market price of R$1.15 million (£285,000), while an example of the roofless Murciélago Roaster was also on display. This model is priced above is V10 sister, at a cool R$1.6 million (£396,000).
 

Also in São Paulo the new is the new Gallardo Nera, a limited-edition version of the car which has been specially created to demonstrate the depth of Lamborghini's personalisation programme. It made its debut in Paris last month. The cars are being imported and sold in Brazil by Auto Europe who have just inaugurated a stylish new purpose-built dealership building in an exclusive suburb of São Paulo. The story hit the headlines of the early evening television news with all the national channels giving the unfolding proceedings prominence, and a throng of TV crews and print journalists gathering at the now closed stand. Folha de São Paulo (the biggest newspaper in São Paulo) reported that it had attempted to talk with people responsible for the Lamborghini stand but all of them had already departed from the show.

Addition reporting by Claudio Perlini & Andre Pinto de Lima