Lamborghini has turned to electric motors to create what is set to become the company's most powerful car.
The addition of three e-motors has allowed the company to maintain its iconic V12 engine as part of a plug-in hybrid electric system (PHEV) while still meeting tightening global emissions regulations.
More than that, Lamborghini says it has developed a new V12, something unheard of in an era of downsizing and electrification (BMW, Bentley and Rolls-Royce are phasing out their 12-cylinder engines while Mercedes-Benz looks set to do the same).
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The new engine will eventually be used in the yet-to-be-named replacement for the Aventador two-door supercar that arrived here in 2011.
For now, there’s no sleek sheet metal to be shown, with Lamborghini instead releasing images of the new 6.5-litre engine and its hybrid electric system fitted within the chassis for the upcoming model.
The codename for the upcoming car is LB744 and it is claimed to make 1015cv, which is a different way of measuring horsepower that yields a slightly higher number.
It translates to about 746kW in the metric system, which is about five times more than your average family SUV – and more than double the outputs of some Porsche 911 models. It’s also a small but crucial 11kW more than the rival Ferrari SF90 that uses a similar three-motor PHEV system mated to a V8 twin-turbo engine.
Key to the stratospheric outputs of the new Lamborghini is the addition of three electric motors.
A 110kW/150Nm motor assists the mid-mounted V12 drive the rear wheels. There’s then a 110kW/350Nm motor for each of the front wheels.
The LB744 can use just its two front motors to create a combined 220kW and 700Nm and drive only the front wheels.
Those motors are powered by a 3.8kWh battery pack that fills the transmission tunnel, which no longer needs a drive shaft because of the electric motors up front.
But it’s the V12 engine creating most of the ferocity for the new Lamborghini.
On its own the V12 makes 607kW and 725Nm and is claimed to be “melodious at low revs and then rising to a natural harmonious crescendo”.
The company says it has paid “particular attention” to the car’s soundtrack, something that’s important given the history of loud V12s in Lamborghinis.
No word yet on how far the new Lamborghini will be able to travel only on electricity – or how much fuel it will use when that V12 engine is in full flight.
We’d expect it’ll slurp through its fair share of premium unleaded…
