The Lamborghini CEO says the Italian luxury brand has no plans to ditch the V12 engine and will continue to use its iconic engine throughout its hybrid era.
Despite countries such as Australia introducing stricter CO2 emission targets, Lamborghini plans to retain its iconic V12 engine for at least another decade.
While the brand has acknowledged it needs to transition to lower-emissions models, a key executive from the brand said it will continue to feature the halo ICE engine during its hybrid phase of this decade.
Speaking to international media, including Drive, Stephen Winkelmann, Chief Executive Officer of Lamborghini, said retiring the V12 engine is dependent on legislators.
“This is a point that is always in our discussions is how long we can keep this type of engine [V12] for. What is key for us is to maintain the V12 as long as possible.
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“But it depends very much on the rules and emission laws that we are getting in the future. It seems quite possible to get [the V12 engine] at least to the year 2035; we might get an extension also after 2035,” he said.
Winkelmann added that the luxury car maker has two choices when it comes to tightening global CO2 emissions laws: either absorb the cost and “pay to maintain what you have” or develop a synthetic fuel that allows “you to reduce the emissions by keeping the internal combustion engine”.
What direction Lamborghini intends to head is unclear, but Winkelmann said their decision “is very much related to how the legislator is going to act”.
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But the luxury marque has shared its electrification pathway. Dubbed the ‘Direzione Cor Tauri’, Lamborghini plans to introduce a range of new hybrid models in the second half of the decade.
The Italian marque has already unveiled a range of new hybrid performance cars like the V8-powered Urus SE SUV and Temerario, as well as the V12 Revuelto and the newly launched limited-edition Fenomeno already in the line-up.
While the brand is currently in the hybrid phase of its decade strategy, Winkelmann did acknowledge the challenge in launching high-performance, low-emission models.
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“It’s clear there’s a physical limit to how much you can reduce CO2 emissions before you blow up the battery or until the car is not moving anymore or the power-to-weight ratio is not working,” the Lamborghini CEO told Drive.
“So, at the end of the day, it’s a mix between legislation, maybe having e-fuels, which are helping to keep these engines alive, but this is something which is not on our plate today because we have at least a decade in front of us where we will sell the [V12] engine.”
It’s worth noting the Italian marque sold its last purely naturally aspirated V12 engine in September 2022, a Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimate Roadster.
The post Lamborghini V12 engine to live on until at least 2035 appeared first on Drive.