Now lightning is striking in Santa Agata. Because the well-known sports car manufacturer based in the small Italian community near Bologna is now gearing up for electromobility: Lamborghini! So far, the brand with the bull in its logo has been known for its uncompromising V10 and V12 naturally aspirated engines with high speeds. These are currently still shamelessly roaring from the tailpipes. But times are changing and the question of how the traditional brand should continue has led to stagnation at a high level in recent years.
Since the power SUV Urus 2018, the Italians have been practicing myths with refreshments or even more extreme sports versions. Yes, there was the Sián hybrid super sports car, but the 80 or so limited editions were already given to collectors before the car was even presented. A green fig leaf for the image of Lamborghini.
Tradition meets innovation
But now the Italians are serious about electrification. Inevitably, as Lambo boss Stephan Winkelmann admits between the lines: “Lamborghini’s electrification strategy represents a change of course due to a radically changed context.” The traditional brand wants to stay true to its roots. “Lamborghini has always stood for the highest level of technological know-how in the production of engines with outstanding performance: This will continue to have top priority in the development of innovations in the future.”
But it will be two years before the first Taurus model with a plug. A plug-in hybrid drive will come in 2023, probably in Urus. As the technology brother of the Audi RS Q8, the necessary technology is already available and quickly adapted in the parent company Volkswagen. The Huracan and Aventador super sports cars should also be available as hybrid versions by the end of 2024.
Hunt down the newbies
With the somewhat outdated Aventador, there are already ideas about how the electrification of the overdue successor could look: In addition to a carbon chassis and a martial design, there should be an electrically powered front axle and a roaring V12 vacuum cleaner as a mid-engine. In addition to all-wheel drive, the hybrid athlete is likely to have over 1000 hp. Urgently necessary if Lamborghini does not want to be bought off by up-and-coming electric brands like Rimac with their over 2000 HP strong car.
But in order to be able to catch up, Lamborghini needs an electric sports car. It should be on the streets in the second half of the decade, i.e. by 2030 at the latest. For this, Winkelmann sets ambitious goals: “We don’t want to be the first in electrification. We have to be the best! ” What the electric Lambo might look like is still open. First rumors suspect a 2 + 2-seater based on the model of the former Lamborghini Espada from 1968. Because the bigger the car, the more space there is for the necessary large battery.
As with the plug-ins, the technology is likely to come from Germany, more precisely: from Zuffenhausen. The Italian Stromer is likely to benefit greatly from the development of the Porsche Taycan. And that can also cost something. Over the next four years, Lamborghini will invest the equivalent of almost 1.7 billion Swiss francs in the new electric strategy. The largest investment in the brand’s history.