Lamborghini doesn't appear to be done with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles just yet. The Italian luxury automaker is reportedly looking into using synthetic fuel, or eFuel, for future models.
In an interview with the Aussie website CarExpert, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann listed three points to consider in using eFuel.
"The first one is we might utilize synthetic fuels only for our race activities. The second thing is to protect our car parc, because the majority of our cars after 60 years still exist," said Winkelmann.
The European Union (EU) is set to ban the sale of ICE-powered vehicles by 2035, and Lamborghini knows this all too well. "So after 2035, there must be an opportunity, and this is what I think is very important. That all of our customers can continue to drive their cars," Winkelmann added.
"The last step is that hybrid drivetrains can be acceptable, as new cars, after 2035. Whatever it takes, we will have a clear understanding in some years about the legislation and regulations," he added, driving home Lamborghini's apparent stance of delaying production of full battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for as long as it can. The first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Lambo is due sometime this year, however.
And while the EU legislation in question is indeed tough on ICE cars, a provision in the law allows conventionally-powered cars to use "renewable liquid and gaseous transports fuels of non-biological origin and recycled carbon fuels."
That means eFuel is a real possibility for automakers, at least in Europe. Porsche is already capitalizing on synthetic fuels, opening a plant in Chile last year dedicated to producing carbon-neutral petrol.
But cost remains a significant barrier. Until Porsche, Lamborghini, and other interested automakers can innovate enough to drive production costs down, widespread eFuel adoption will be a steep challenge. So it might be a while still before we see a V12 Lambo sipping on synthetic fuel.