Even as it takes on the challenge of electrification along with the rest of the auto industry, Lamborghini isn’t too keen on letting go of its famed internal combustion engines just yet. The Italian supercar maker hopes to keep making petroleum power units even after the current decade.
Lamborghini hopes to keep its combustion engines burning alongside electrified models
A report by Reuters quotes Lamborghini President & Chief Executive Officer Stephan Winkelmann as saying that combustion engines are not completely being stricken off. “After hybridization, we will wait to see whether it will be possible to offer vehicles with an internal combustion engine beyond 2030,” he told German weekly newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
The Lamborghini boss adds that one option for the company is to use synthetic fuels, emulating its Volkswagen Group corporate sibling Porsche. The parent company is based in Germany, and despite increasingly stringent European emissions regulations, the German government is reportedly willing to make concessions for synthetic fuel-powered vehicles.
The Italian supercar maker launched its first hybrid model, the Sián, in 2019
Winkelmann’s remarks come weeks after he announced that the company’s first all-electric model, originally scheduled for launch by the middle of the decade, would instead premiere in 2028. Lamborghini already has a hybrid model, the Sián, which made its debut in 2019.
The carmaker is slated to unveil its final four models powered solely by combustion before 2022 ends. These comprise two variants each from Lamborghini’s Huracán and Urus lines, with all units sold out even before launch. A follow-up to the Aventador will also make its appearance in 2023, featuring a plug-in hybrid powertrain anchored on a new V12 engine.
Lamborghini will begin its electrification efforts in earnest with the plug-in hybrid version of the Aventador next year
Traditionally known for gasoline powertrains, Lamborghini is investing 1.5 billion Euros (more than Php 87.2 billion) towards an electrification roadmap it calls Direzione Cor Tauri (Towards Cor Tauri). The automaker is currently in the first of a three-phase strategy, with a transition to hybrid powertrains expected to begin in 2023 and a fully hybridized lineup by 2025.
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