The future of Lamborghini will, sooner or later, be hybrid. This is guaranteed by the CEO of Lamborghini, Stefano Domenicalli, in a position reaffirmed now by the Sant'Agata Bolognese brand, with a new announcement: the next generation of the Lamborghini Huracán, which should reach the market in 2022, will be the first super sports car from the Italian manufacturer to have a plug-in hybrid engine. Which will be based on “new generation” batteries, lighter in weight and capable of guaranteeing use in an exclusively electric mode.
The first of many?
After the official announcement of a hybrid version in what will also be the first SUV in the history of the Sant’Agata Bolognese brand, the Urus, Lamborghini promises to extend this type of propulsion also to supersports. For now, only the Aventador seems to move away from this possibility, whose arrival of the new generation on the market should happen even before the launch of the Huracán, faithful to the naturally aspirated V12.
“The next Huracán; this, yes, will be the first model to use a hybrid system. Hybridization is the answer, not 100% electric propulsion”, said Domenicalli, in statements to Autocar. However, it should be noted that “there is still enormous potential in the V12, so the correct approach for us is to keep the V10 and V12 engines, to the satisfaction of our customers, while preparing for, at the moment right, make the change."
Hybrids still with little receptivity
Moreover, as the commercial director of Lamborghini also revealed to Autocar, hybridization is something that still has little acceptance among customers of the Italian brand. Stressing that, “when they come to us, customers basically want the power and performance of our naturally aspirated engines. That's why we've already decided to keep the next generation V12 naturally aspirated, and that's also why the Aventador remains a unique proposition.”
However, despite the decisions already taken for the nearest times regarding the Aventador, Lamborghini does not neglect the future and continues to invest in hybrid engines. In particular, through the investment in research and development of what will very possibly be the technology of the engines of the future. Not just for 2022, but for years to come.
Partnerships are key
Moreover, Lamborghini announced, still in 2016, a partnership with the North American Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with a view to a project that “seeks to write an important page about the future of supersports in the third millennium”. Project that, according to the latest information, should focus on ultra-light composite materials, as well as alternative energy and energy storage techniques in batteries.
In fact, not so long ago, the head of research and development at Lamborghini, Maurizio Reggiani, recognized that the main issues that forced the brand to compromise, in the domain of hybrid technology, had to do, basically, with the aspect of autonomy . Although he was confident that the solution for the supersports will appear within "four to five years".
Maurizio Reggiani“The issue these days has to do with energy storage. From the moment I decide to take my car to the track, I want to be able to do the laps I want. But at this point, if I decide to go, I can't do more than a lap and a half"
For Reggiani, plug-in electrical technology still cannot be effective enough for use in a super sports car that must be driven for long periods of time.
“Let's imagine that we are going to Nordschleife with a hybrid. We are guaranteed to be faster in 0 to 100 km/h than with a combustion car; but we certainly won't be able to do much more than one lap of the circuit”, says Reggiani.
Solid state batteries can be the solution
Remember that Porsche, one of the brands, together with Lamborghini, which are part of the Volkswagen Group, has been investing heavily in research with the objective of developing lighter solid-state batteries, for use in its future models with more performance. Something that Reggiani admits Lamborghini could use in the future as well. Although he believes that, due to the very specific character of the supersports of the Sant’Agata Bolognese brand, the integration of Porsche technology can happen in a way that is not so easy, as, for example, in the SUV Urus.
“I think it will be easier to apply to our first plug-in hybrid model, the Urus, a model where integration and weight will not be so important. Only this is a mission only. It's not something for a Lamborghini supercar”
In fact, and according to the same responsible person, “we are working in different partnerships, with some of the most important researchers in the world, as we need ideas for the future. I believe that the new frontier, in the field of supersports, will increasingly be hybridization, although there are still some questions regarding the weight and storage of batteries”.