Lambo V12 to go hybrid: report

LAMBORGHINI’S top-end V12 engine to debut in the Aventador’s successor is set to get a boost from electrification when it launches around the turn of the decade, according to UK publication Auto Express.

 

Speaking to the magazine at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali confirmed the current flagship 12-cylinder powerplant will be the last before the implementation of hybrid technologies.

 

“The next Aventador will be hybrid, with a V12,” he said. “The decision is made on that, and this is something that will keep us different from the others, and this is very important.”

 

Fitted to the Aventador S, Lamborghini’s 6.5-litre free-breathing V12 engine produces 544kW/690Nm, while the more hardcore SuperVeloce (SV) grade amps up outputs to 552kW/690Nm.

 

Therefore, expect the hybrid powertrain to lift performance even higher, similar to what Ferrari achieved in its LaFerrari that paired a 588kW/700Nm 6.3-litre V12 to a 120kW electric motor for a total combined output of 708kW/900Nm.

 

Acceleration times are also expected to drop, with the Aventador SV already able to sprint from zero to 100km/h in just 2.8 seconds.

 

Mr Domenicali said the Huracan’s successor could also carry an electrified V10 powertrain, as well as the recently-revealed twin-turbo V8 Urus SUV.

 

“The next step is that not only the Urus, but Aventador and Hurcan will be hybrid, that’s for sure,” he said. “Then we need to see how the solution will evolve.

 

“With regard to the super sportscar brand, it’s clear that we want to stay with the V12 to have with the top car. Then we can discuss what would be the right engine for the future for the Huracan. Of course, V10 would be the first priority, but we have the time to discuss it.”

 

With the Huracan currently topping out at 470kW/600Nm in Performante guise and the Urus belting out 478kW/850NM from its force-fed 4.0-litre bent eight, electrification could boost outputs further than Ferrari’s 492kW/760Nm 488 and Jeep’s 522kW/868Nm Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.

 

Specifically, the electrified Urus is expected to employ the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid’s 500kW/850Nm set-up.

 

Last year, Lamborghini unveiled an all-electric concept dubbed Terzo Millennio in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that could form the basis for the Aventador’s successor, while the brand could also dip into other Volkswagen Group brands, such as Audi, for hybrid technologies.

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