Detore: Inside Lambo Lounge luxury meets indecision

In the last month, I've come to one startling conclusion: It's far easier to make decisions when building a house than building your own Lamborghini.

While the options can be overwhelming when building a house — ours is slated to be ready in a month — the builder usually limits some of those options in an effort to hold down cost and force the buyer into easier decisions. Thank goodness our builder limited us to a certain level of granite; if we had been able to consider others, we still might be sifting through slabs and remnants.

When you build your own Lamborghini, though, all options — including ones never even considered — are on the table. Literally.

In late June, Pirelli North America Inc. invited the North American tire trade press on a unique ride-and-drive with North American CEO Claudio Zanardo. The press began their trip with a visit to the Lamborghini Lounge, a nondescript facility in New York City's Chelsea district. Pirelli has served as the official fitment for the Lamborghini since the first Lambo was manufactured in 1963.

Lamborghini's VIP Lounge in New York — others are in Tokyo, St. Moritz, Melbourne, Monterey and Porto Cervo — not only serves as a quasi museum to the Italian sportscar, but it also a virtual showroom for those with the means and desire to configure their own Lamborghini.

The 5,400-sq.-ft. facility features two floors of private rooms, including a kitchen with a designated Italian chef. A personal concierge helps guide the customer through what can only be described as a series of painstaking decisions.

Most customers know which model they want — the Huracan, the Aventador or Urus — before starting the process. But other decisions await.

A case sits near the table in the main conference room, filled with more paint colors than is available at a Sherwin-Williams factory.

Swatches of rich Italian cloth hang along one wall — all of various colors and hues, each available for the vehicle.

Alongside another wall are three different styles of seats to choose from, along with three options for a steering wheel.

Then there is the color of stitching to use, the style of stitching and selecting the type of wheel that is most appealing in the type of vehicle being configured.

No experience would be complete without selecting the style and color of the seat belt that will keep you and your new vehicle closely connected.

It would take me and my wife a good part of a week to make half of those decisions.

How long does it take for a Lamborghini customer?

"We are usually wrapping things up in an hour, hour and a half," a spokesperson said. "If it goes on past two hours, I usually recommend that they take some time to sleep on it, come back and finish up."

Then comes the real waiting. You wouldn't be able to test drive your new Lambo and its set of Pirellis for at least a year. That is the current lead time.

The auto maker clearly is doing something right. Last year, it delivered 8,405 vehicles globally, the most in its history. Sales in the U.S. jumped 14%.

With an MSRP starting at $200,000, there is no doubt that these vehicles exhibit style, grace and speed.

It's just a good thing my visit to the Lamborghini Lounge occurred well after we made the decision to build a house. We could have finally made all those decisions for the vehicle, but looking at the size of the Lambo — that would have been a little too much downsizing.