Cor Tauri, Lamborghini’s roadmap, will comprise of three phases:
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Celebrating the combustion engine (2021-2022)
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Hybrid transition (by the end of 2024): in 2023 Lamborghini will launch its first hybrid series production car, and by the end of 2024 the entire range will be electrified.
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First fully-electric Lamborghini (second half of the decade)
Lamborghini’s recently concluded “Direzione Cor Tauri” event, marked a moment filled with mixed emotions for motoring enthusiasts world over as CEO Stephan Winkelmann placed emphasis on the “decarbonisation of future Lamborghini models and of the Sant’Agata Bolognese site”. While Winklemann, emphasised that the brand will continue to stay true to its DNA, this quite literally meant one thing & it was out there, Lamborghini is going electric.
Lamborghini announced that by 2024, all of its cars will be powered by hybrid powertrains.
This doesn’t mean the end of Internal combustion! Indeed, Lambo’s engineers talk about “celebrating the combustion engine” As there will be two new V12-powered supercars unleashed this year.
Starting 2023, all those screaming Italian speed machines will be accompanied by some form of electrification. The exact type of electrification is unknown for now but we can assume some form of battery-powered electric motor.
As the boys from Sant’Agata Bolognese march to their own drummer. Indeed, chief technical officer Maurizio Reggiani has been doing much work with supercapacitors, incorporating them into the company’s $3.6-million Sian hyper hybrid.
Supercapacitors are known for their capability of pushing their energy more quickly than a battery, promising even more immediate throttle response. The supercapacitor can be charged and discharged at the same rate, which means, each time the Sián brakes the capacitor is recharged 100 per cent.
That’s a huge advantage when speed is just as important as energy conservation.
More importantly, capacitors are extremely lightweight, Lamborghini claiming its supercapacitor and electric motor together weigh only 34 kilograms. That means the Sián’s e-motor puts out 1 hp/kg. Remarkable, isn’t it?
However, it’s unlikely that future Lamborghinis hybrid will be powered by a supercapacitor alone. For all its vaunted power capacity, their limited storage capacity would reduce their environmental impact.
While a lithium-ion battery/supercapacitor combination would marry the very best of both technologies.
We won’t know Lamborghini’s intentions for some time, but rest assured, whatever electrification strategy it chooses, it will be unique.
The company has announced that it intends to reduce its carbon footprint by 50 percent by 2025. Given that the decade’s halfway point is the marker for most European car brands to go green in some or the other way, it makes sense that Lamborghini plans to go all-electric by the end of 2024. Will Lamborghini continue to stop selling its pre-existing ICE supercars? No. But all developments, modifications and special editions will be focused on their EV performance cars.
Winklemann stated that Lamborghini will invest an unprecedented 1.5 billion Euros in its electrification project — over the next four years, with the first all-electric Lamborghini slated to debut in the second half of the decade. Much like the Sian, Lambo’s first hybrid electric supercar will surface in 2023.
Once this transformation to electrified powertrains is complete, Lamborghini will start work on fully electric supercars. With no other information regarding timelines except to say there will be an all-electric model introduced sometime in the second half of this decade & A promise of “remarkable performance” and “a position at the top of its segment.”
Other than the promises, a precious detail available is — The company’s Terzo Millennio — “third millennium” concept car was powered by supercapacitors, and Lamborghini has been working with researchers at MIT to try to enhance their energy storage capacity. However its powered, Lambo’s all-electric model line — its fourth, after Huracan, Aventador, and Urus — promises to hit Countach-like extremes.
Image Credits: Lamborghini