Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali has confirmed that replacements for the Aventador and Huracan supercars, due in around 2020 and 2022 respectively, will be powered by plug-in hybrid powertrains.
On the face of it, this is troubling news. Batteries and motors mean more power, but also more weight. And as we all know, weight is the enemy. However, get ready for a silver lining.
“As long as I’m technical director, our super sports cars will not have a turbocharged engine, Maurizio Reggiani, Lamborghini’s chief technical officer, told us. “It’s about emotion. If you don’t have emotion, then you have nothing,”
What this means, Reggiani later clarified, is that the naturally aspirated V12 and V10 engines will live on for another generation, but with hybrid assistance, and a small electric-only range to help the company reduce its average emissions.
“The big questions are packaging and weight. Yes, this will be a silent Lamborghini, but push the accelerator and the engine will come. Silence will only last for some seconds then comes the sound.”
We can speculate all day about what form this hybrid assistance will take… so we will. Let’s assume Lamborghini borrows Porsche’s hybrid module from the Panamera Turbo S e-hybrid (that’s the Panamera that combines a 542bhp/568lb ft 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with a 134bhp electric motor, energized from a 14kwh lithium-ion battery pack, to boost total outputs to 671bhp and 626lb ft. This itself is a powertrain that’s hotly tipped for a plug-in hybrid Lamborghini Urus, but I digress).