It’s been two years since Lamborghini turned heads at Monterey Car Week with its Lanzador concept, a high-riding coupe with room for four that’s also, uh, an EV. It sounded weird saying it then, and it still sounds weird saying it now. The Lanzador teased a future where Lamborghini ICE supercars and high-performance EVs would coexist, offering clients of the Raging Bull the best of both worlds. Fast-forward to 2025, and things aren’t quite as clear for the 2023 concept.
The automotive industry is in a much different place now than it was two years ago, regardless of whether you’re talking about mass-market or niche cars, and the demand for EVs—especially outrageous ones—has cooled. (And if you ask Horacio Pagani, it actually never existed.) Nonetheless, Lamborghini has yet to decide on the Lanzador’s future. Specifically, its drivetrain, given that some reports alleged it could actually come to market as a plug-in hybrid.
Lamborghini Chief Technology Officer Rouven Mohr recently told The Drive that a decision on the Lanzador has yet to be made, but it shouldn’t be much longer.
“I would not say this, but at the moment it’s clear that since we will launch the car [at the] end of the decade, we are not closing the door to any option because at the moment saying what we for sure will do would be a mistake,” Mohr said when asked about a PHEV Lanzador.
“We are observing the market trends and if I look at the biggest markets that are important for us at the moment, there is not the push in the EV direction. Especially now, for us there is a change in the mindset and it’s clear that we cannot customize a car for every market,” he added. “So we have to be very careful which choice we make for the entire world and this decision is not yet taken. It’s right. We will make it by end of the year most likely.”
Lamborghini never quite revealed any specifics about the Lanzador’s electric innards, so it’s necessarily doing away with any concrete ideas. It did, however, say that it would be an EV, so switching to a PHEV would admittedly be a big change—a change that I’d dare say would please most fans of the brand rather than put them off.
While a high-riding EV may not be appealing to most Lambo clients, I’d argue that a two-door, lifted Urus with a PHEV drivetrain and room for four would likely sell like hot cakes, especially in the Middle East. Just look at how popular the Sterrato has been.
That said, the Lanzador’s design would have to be tweaked to accommodate a gasoline engine and other components vital to a PHEV drivetrain, but exactly how much? Mohr had something to say about that as well.
“In the detail, yes, absolutely. But overall it would be possible to have a similar appearance, for sure,” said Mohr. “Packaging for sure could be different, but from the customer perception, it would be also possible to do a similar car with combustion. But for sure it’s clear we are investigating this, we are also questioning what is the right body type because it can be that the body type for a full electric car is better, a different choice.”
The clock is beginning to run out on 2025, so it’ll be interesting to see when exactly we hear about the Lanzador’s official specs—and most importantly, what?
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