The automaker is going in a totally new direction.
Lamborghini has always been anti-convention. This is a supercar maker that has always done things its own way, but even the mighty Sant'Agata must bow to European legislation. Last year, the carmaker confirmed that an all-electric Lambo would arrive by 2030. Since that announcement in May, we've been fed little tidbits of information, including a report claiming that this first electric Raging Bull will be a 2+2 grand tourer. But what else can we expect from the Italian brand, and when can we expect to see these new vehicles? Well, Car Magazine in the UK has spoken with senior Lamborghini executives, uncovering some interesting info.
The automaker has just appointed Rouven Mohr as its new Chief Technical Officer (CTO), and his task is to bring Lamborghini into the electric age because, as CEO Stephan Winkelmann explains, electrification is imperative to the brand's survival.
“There's a new generation of customers which would not otherwise sit at your table anymore.” Thus, the brand is pushing ahead with its electrification strategy as part of its Cor Tauri grand plan that will see it invest €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) in electrification. Lamborghini already has its plans laid out for 2022, when two new Huracan and two new Urus models will be launched. 2023 and 2024 are also taken care of, as this is when new hybrids will launch. But the second half of this decade is where Mohr will be looking.
“We are almost sold out for the entire year of 2022,” says Winkelmann. “And 2022 will be the last year when we are launching internal-combustion-engined cars only. There will be two derivatives from the Huracan coming up. And there will be a facelift that will be split into two for the Urus. So there will be four new products that we will present this year.”
One of the Huracan launches will be for the off-road-focused Sterrato while the other has not yet been named but may be called the JV Stradale. This could be a pared-back version of the STO in the same vein as the Touring variant of the Porsche 911 GT3.
As for the Aventador, its replacement will be a plug-in hybrid that will thankfully retain a V12 engine. “In 2023, we will have the follow-up for the Aventador, which will be the first plug-in hybrid, complete with a new V12 engine,” says Winkelmann. “And then in 2024, we will have the Urus and the Huracan follow-on as well, plug-in hybrid cars. This will close the first step of our strategy.”
We hope to learn about the Huracan's replacement's engine soon, but Winkelmann is remaining tight-lipped: “It's three different engines: Urus has the V8, the Aventador will have a V12, for the Huracan we are not yet disclosing what type of engine it's going to be, but it's a completely new engine, nothing in common with the Urus or Aventador engine.” It has been suggested that this would be a bespoke V8 unrelated to anything offered by Porsche or Audi and would be able to run on synthetic fuel. Total system output including electric motivation is expected to reach around 850 horsepower.
Finally, we turn our attention to the electric grand tourer. Winkelmann says that he and his team have been testing a number of electric vehicles from other brands so that they can realize what it is that they want their first EV to feel like. “The power unit is one thing but the setup, the driving experience, brakes, suspension, power-to-weight ratio, is going to be even more important in my opinion than today.” He goes on to say that, while things are still in the strategic planning phase, he and his team have a “pretty good idea” of what the finished product will be like.
So Lamborghini is embracing electrification, but the internal combustion engine is not being put aside just yet. Here's hoping that the automaker can find a way to keep it around beyond the end of the next decade.
Keyword: Lamborghini Reveals Roadmap For Future Models