Lamborghini is riding on its success in 2021, during which it outsold 2019 by six percent and 2020 by 23 percent. Driven mostly by the popular Urus SUV and a clear understanding of both the market and what its customers want, the Raging Bull is poised for an interesting 2022. Rumors are swirling about the successor to the Aventador throne, and according to UK-based site CAR, Lamborghini chairman and CEO Stephan Winkelmann said this week that the replacement will be a plug-in hybrid model.
“In 2023, we will have the follow-up for the Aventador, which will be the first plug-in hybrid, with a complete new V12 engine,” Winkelmann told CAR. “And then in 2024 we will have the Urus and the Huracan follow-on as well, plug-in hybrid cars. This will close the first step of our strategy, which will cut CO2 emissions by 2025 compared to today by at least 50 percent.”
A Lamborghini spokesperson confirmed Winkelmann’s statement, saying, “The follower of the Aventador will be a plug-in hybrid with a brand-new V12 engine developed by Lamborghini.”
Winkelmann’s comments track with what then-Chief Technology Officer Maurizio Reggiani (recently appointed Vice President Motorsport) told me in August: “The V12 is our heritage, and we want the sound of the engine to remain one of the most important characteristics of our future cars,” he said. Even though the brand has made it clear that it’s marching toward electrification, that doesn’t mean it’s leaving its iconic, roaring V12 behind.
At this juncture, the brand isn’t in a hurry to push an all-electric model into the universe. The Lamborghini boss says they are still in the strategy phase, and that will be the realm of Rouven Mohr, who recently returned to Lamborghini to serve as the new Chief Technical Officer. Mohr oversaw the development of the Aventador, Huracán and Urus models before jumping over to to Audi as head of energy and weight management in 2017.
“We have plans for a fourth model, the first all-electric Lamborghini,” the Lamborghini spokesperson confirmed via email. “However, this model has not yet been given the final green light by the group and, thus, can’t be confirmed. If approved, it would arrive in the second half of this decade, no earlier than 2027/2028.”
YouTuber Varryx caught footage of what is believed to be the Aventador-successor mule, wearing heavy camouflage at the Lamborghini factory. Its hexagonal side mirrors and exhaust tips feel familiar, but the new model is reportedly new from the ground up. In the video, you can faintly hear that recognizable growl. Of the hundreds of cars I’ve driven over the years, my experience with the Lamborghini Aventador in 2017 remains on my list of Best Rides Ever. I’m confident Lamborghini isn’t going to muck this up. I’m encouraged by Lamborghini’s verbal commitments to what makes the brand stellar; it’s looking forward without forsaking its roots.
‘With hybridization, it’s important that you combine the two things and you do it right. It’s about cutting emissions for sure, but you have to ensure the performance is better,” Winkelmann said. “You have to keep the sound of the engine, a powerful engine, delivering the performance you need.”
Amen, sir. Keep up the good work.
UPDATED January 24, 2022 10:41 AM ET: This piece has been updated to reflect an official statement provided by a Lamborghini spokesperson.
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