Lamborghini LB744 supercar gets three-motor PHEV … with a V12
What do you do when you want to unleash a new V12 and give it some semblance of environmental cred?
Surround it with electric motors to create the most powerful road car on the market.
That’s what Lamborghini has done for its upcoming new supercar that will replace the long-running Aventador.
Rather than downsizing the engine or switching only to electric motors, the Italian sports car maker has instead added three electric motors to the supercar mix.
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On top of that, Lamborghini hasn’t just given it a V12 engine but instead developed a new 6.5-litre V12.
Yep, you read that right. Just as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are working to phase out their V12 engines, Lamborghini has spent big bucks on a new engine.
That suggests Lamborghini sees a prosperous future for the V12 despite the imminent banning of petrol-burning ICE in some parts of the world.
No doubt synthetic fuels or biofuels will eventually allow such engines to have the effect of running CO2 neutral. Porsche and Audi are investing in the development of e-fuels; for Porsche it gives it a way to keep the 911’s iconic six-cylinder powerplant while hitting the all-important CO2 requirements.
But there’s no getting around the hideous inefficiency of an internal combustion engine, with at least 60 percent of the energy going into them being wasted in heat. Electric motors, on the other hand, are usually upwards of 90 percent efficient.
Still, it allows Lamborghini to get that “uniquely emotional and unmistakable sound” that is so important when you’re shelling out the best part of $1 million.
Lamborghini says “particular attention has been lavished on the ‘soundtrack’ of the new L545 to emphasize the tone of the engine, already melodious at low revs and then rising to a natural harmonious crescendo”.
Of course, that new V12 is only part of the performance equation with the new yet-to-be-revealed supercar, which for now is codenamed LB744.
There’s also a trio of electric motors that combine with the V12 to make a combined 1015CV, or 746kW of power.
The first e-motor makes 110kW and 150Nm and provides assistance to the mid-mounted V12, which makes a somewhat heartier 607kW and 750Nm on its own.
There’s then a 110kW/350Nm electric motor for each of the front wheels.
The new Lambo can run briefly in EV mode using a 3.8kWh battery pack (no word on its EV range just yet) at which point it can make a combined 220kW and 700Nm – about as much as a peppy electric car.
So the front-drive all-electric performance of the LB744 should be respectable.
But it’s the V12 that’s clearly still the heart of the upcoming supercar.
