Lamborghini: New V12 coming but with electric help

Lamborghini Aventador LP580-4 Ultimae farewells the brand’s popular V12 hero model

Lamborghini recently unveiled its send-off for the 6.5-litre V12 – the Aventador Ultimae – but it isn’t the end of the road for the V12 engine.

Despite increasingly tight emission restrictions in Europe and around the world, and the brand’s recent confirmation it will launch its first electric model by the end of the decade, Lamborghini is also committed to building an all-new V12 engine for the Avenatdor’s replacement.

Interestingly, this new model will be completely bespoke, using a new plug-in hybrid system instead of the supercapacitor hybrid system used in the limited edition Sián; which is the Italian brand’s first electrified sports car.

Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann has been doing the rounds with European media revealing the first details of the brand’s electric future. Speaking to US publication, Autoblog, Winkelmann said: “The technology is different, it’s a completely new engine, a completely new drivetrain, a new battery, everything is completely new. There’s nothing out of the Sián or out of the Aventador.”

The Lamborghini Sian was the brand’s first hybrid model

In another interview with Autocar Winkelmann said the supercapacitor set-up in the Sián was a bridging technology but not enough to help the brand reach its target of cutting CO2 emissions by 50 per cent by 2025.

However, he vowed that despite the extra weight of the hybrid system the new V12 model would retain the kind of performance that made the Aventador so appealing.

“One of the most important is the power-to-weight ratio, and if this is greater, then the behaviour of the car has to be adapted and we are sure that this is going to work in a very smooth and positive way,” Winkelmann told Autocar.