Lamborghinis and electric supercars: starting with Revuelto?
Lamborghinis and electric supercars
The electric transition has forced almost all manufacturers to review their development plans by providing, in the medium or long term, a gradual conversion of the range of vehicles. Lamborghini, like Ferrari, last year shared its roadmap which can count on an investment of 1.5 billion euros over four years; the largest investment of the Italian brand ever.Waiting for the first electric from the Sant’Agata Bolognese house, a hybrid model will arrive, expected for 2023 and by 2024 the whole range will have a sort of electrification. At that point, everything will be ready and routed for the electric Lamborghini. For Winkelmann, the brand's number one, as announced in some previous interviews, the time would be ripe for the brand's electric breakthrough. Of those 1.5 billion euros, most will be destined to convert Huracan and Aventador, without neglecting of course the evolution of Urus.
In any case, at the moment it is not clear what will happen to Lamborghini's V10s and V12s, it cannot be ruled out that they may remain in circulation if properly combined with synthetic petrol, that special fuel known as e- fuel capable of reducing CO2 and thus falling within future limits.
The idea of marketing an electric car represents an important turning point for the brand, like when in 2018 it decided to present the Urus SUV. Although the car was and is outside the “classic supersport perimeter”, it managed to be appreciated and established itself as a high-performance SUV. Urus has brought Lamborghini to an exceptional position allowing it to record record numbers in terms of turnover, a situation that could soon be repeated with the first electric car. But what will this mysterious model look like?| TEST] adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_motorlabs_d_mh2_1 slot id: th_motorlabs_d_mh2 "); }
The full electric, as mentioned by Winkelmann himself, will most likely be a 2 + 2, or four-seater, of the grand touring class. Despite the "anomalous" forms, the DNA will remain unchanged and able to excite all customers. | crm_srl-th_motorlabs_d_mh3_1 slot id: th_motorlabs_d_mh3 "); } Those who know the history of Lamborghini and have visited the Sant’Agata Bolognese museum will surely remember the Estoque and Asterion prototypes, two four-seater GT cars. While the Estoque (2008) was largely inspired by the futuristic and boxy lines of the Reventon with a completely new rear, the Asterion (2011) followed the classic stylistic features common to today's cars of the brand. The latter was also a full-fledged hybrid GT equipped with a 5.2-liter, 610-horsepower V10 plug-in (PHEV) engine. The power of the electric thrusters was 300 horsepower and necessary to move the wheels positioned on the front axle; in this configuration, the Asterion was in effect an all-wheel drive capable of burning 0-100 in 3 seconds flat.
In short, Gran Turismo cars have been in Lamborghini's sights for some time and would place the brand in an almost unexplored market segment. Lamborghini could re-attempt Urus' winning strategy and find an as yet unknown clientele.
Little information regarding the platform; as previously reported on the net, Lamborghini was initially interested in using Audi / Porsche's DPI platform specific to electric vehicles, however the timing suggests that the first car could use the SSP architecture that combines elements of the PPE and MEB platforms.
The car should take advantage of the Volkswagen Group platform that will be used on Audi A6 e-tron and Porsche Macan EV, while for the powertrain it is legitimate to wait for higher numbers than the already encouraging ones shared by Audi. For those unfamiliar with it, the A6 e-tron will benefit from a 470 horsepower and 800 Nm propulsion system, with a 100 kWh battery.
Lamborghini to have e-fuel powered supercars beyond 2030, says boss
Wednesday 01 June 2022 9:33 am
Lamborghini will have at least two supercars powered by e-fuels in its range beyond 2030, according to chief executive Stephan Winkelmann.
The German executive told Italian newspaper ‘Il Corriere della Sera’ the entire fleet will transition to hybrid between 2023 and 2024 without losing its renowned high performance.
“We want to carry on creating emotions, as we have always done with combustion engines,” Winkelmann said.
Also known as synthetic fuels, e-fuels are being developed alongside biofuels as an alternative to petrol and diesel.
Manufacturers are lobbying for the development of e and biofuels, as they will allow for modified versions of combustion engines to be used, avoiding a complete switch to battery electric vehicles.
According to Winkelmann, legislation on e-fuels remains way behind and it could lead to shortages if legislators don’t pick up the pace.
“We do not yet know if there will be a large enough quantity of this fuel to meet the needs of all manufacturers,” he added.
“We need lawmakers to follow us on this path.”
Lamborghini announced that its first fully electric car will be rolled out in 2030, while rival Ferrari will deploy the first vehicle in 2025.
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