One of the faces of supercar Lamborghini is planning to get into the league of electric cars. Though Aventador and Huracan have been hugely successful products for Lamborghini – but in just a few years, the two supercars will be off the market entirely, in place of more modern, probably more powerful replacements.
CEO Stefano Domenicali has confirmed that when those two vehicles are replaced, their predecessors will be hybrid powered.
Domenicali, in an interview with TopGear, confirmed that both the Aventador and the Huracan will be replaced with plug-in hybrids. The Aventador will meet its maker in 2020, while the Huracan won’t be discontinued until at least 2022. While the new supercars will be battery powered, at least in part, one thing they won’t be is turbocharged.
“As long as I’m technical director, our super sports cars will not have a turbocharged engine, Maurizio Reggiani, Lamborghini’s Chief Technical Officer, said in an interview with the publication. “It’s about emotion. If you don’t have emotion, then you have nothing. 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.”
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Domenicali further added that even though both the Aventador and Huracan replacements will be using a hybrid powertrain, that doesn’t mean naturally aspirated engines will disappear entirely. Both V12 and V10 engines will remain in the Lamborghini for another generation, but will be smaller, and aided by hybrid assistance with electric-only range. A fully electric Lamborghini won’t happen until at least 2026.
“I don’t think that the technology for a full electric Lamborghini will be ready until 2026,” he said. “Hybrids are a step towards that.” This isn’t the first time that Lamborghini has confirmed hybridization, though. Already we know that the Urus SUV will be the first Raging Bull to use a hybrid powertrain. The standard gas-powered Urus currently uses a biturbo 4.0-liter V8 to produce 641 horsepower (477 kilowatts).