Lamborghini goes all electric with the brand new Lanzador
Is it an SUV? Is it a sedan on stilts? No! The Landazor is something entirely new, says Lamborghini, an ‘Ultra-GT’ designed to draw a link between the Urus and its supercars.
The good news? It still looks like a Lambo – full of anger and angles – albeit one that’s been stretched and lifted into a shockingly different shape.
Oh, and it’s all-electric. Did we forget to mention that? Yep, this is the fabled fourth model that will join Revuelto, Urus and the Huracán replacement (all of which will be plug-in hybrids by the end of 2024) with first deliveries currently scheduled for 2028.
Which is a hell of a wait, but CEO Stephan Winkelmann definitely isn’t umming and erring on this one, it’s locked in, a “concrete preview of the production vehicle” we’re told.
So it’s a concept, officially, but we know a thinly-veiled showroom model when we see one, especially when the press release is jammed with juicy details. Like the fact it’ll have two e-motors, one on each axle, and produce over a megawatt of power – circa 1,350hp in old money.
It’ll deploy rear-wheel steering, self-levelling air-suspension and a “new generation high-performance battery, which also ensures a long range”, effuses the press release, exactly how long isn’t clear. We ask and Winkelman suggests 480km is a minimum these days, we suspect 650 will be nearer the mark five years from now.
The entirely new platform will be shared with other high-end VW Group EVs, but tuned by Lambo, which opens up a world of possibilities says chief technical officer Rouven Mohr.
“We are taking Lamborghini integrated driving dynamics control to a whole new level, which has not been possible for production sports cars before and offers our customers a completely new driving experience,” he says referring to the newly-developed Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Integrata (LDVI) driving dynamics control.
Translated into non-engineer: there are more sensors and actuators than ever working overtime and talking to each other to ensure fine control of the car’s handling.
The system can vary torque between the front and rear axles in milliseconds, while ‘active e-torque’ can shuffle it between the two rear wheels. Long story short, it should grip, shift and handle better than its inevitably-hefty kerbweight has any right to.
The exterior design takes inspiration from the new Countach (see razor slim headlights), Sesto Elemento and Murcielago, claims head of design Mitja Borkert.
All we know is the lifted stance and gargantuan 23-inch wheels are going to take some getting used to, but the body is low and wide in the finest Lambo tradition, while the front, rear and finely-creased surfaces aren’t nearly as challenging – they’re the Lambo we already know.
Active aero is cleverly smuggled away under the surface at both ends, boosting downforce in quick corners, and bleeding it off for minimum resistance and more range and high speeds.
Inside is even more radical – a skeletal Y-shaped centre console splits driver and passenger with fresh air underneath and a ‘pilot’s unit’ rotary control for the air-con and infotainment on top.
An entirely unnecessary flip-up cover and start button is carried over from the combustion cars, because theatre, and as well as an instrument screen for the driver, there’s a second one for the passenger to prod.
Lots of room for stuff, too – a frunk with made-to-measure luggage if a normal bag like everyone else won’t do, and the ability to fold the rear seats and raise the boot floor to create a flat(ish) loading area.
And then there’s the materials: recycled plastic stitching, 3D-printed recycled foam, merino wool, sustainably tanned leather… frankly if you’re not making your concept cars from as much reused material as possible these days, you’re not trying hard enough.
It’s certainly different, but perhaps not as wild as Lambo would like us to believe… after all, several early Lambos, like the Espada, were 2+2 GTs, so there’s precedence here, albeit without the jacked-up ride height to accommodate a skateboard battery and appeal to modern cravings for a higher-seating position.
Whatever Lamborghini’s up to, it’s working – the Lanzador concept arrives hot on the heels of record financial results for Lambo in the first half of 2023, with 5,341 cars sold (up 5 per cent vs 2022) and a profit of €456m (up 7.2 per cent).
STORY Jack Rix
Keyword: Lamborghini goes all electric with the brand new Lanzador