All-wheel drive would come from an electrified front axle and naturally aspirated V12 to motivate the rear.
Details about Lamborghini’s replacement for the long-lived Aventador continue to leak out, and the latest details suggest the new supercar arrives in 2020 (one-off SC18 pictured in the gallery below).
Lambo is already certain that the Aventador uses a hybrid-assisted, naturally aspirated V12, but it seems the company isn’t entirely sure about the level of electrification, yet. “There are several discussions ongoing,” Lamborghini Chief Technical Officer Maurizio Reggiani told Autocar. “Some say 20 km, some say 30 km, and China is suggesting 50 km – and normally we only develop one car worldwide.”
The new model would use the electric motor to turn the front axle, while the mid-mounted V12 would spin the rear. This setup is simpler than running driveshafts to both ends of the vehicle, according to Reggiani.
Despite Lamborghini’s innovations in using carbon fiber to shed weight, Reggiani believes the new supercar would weigh more than the current Aventador. He figures the electric components could be as much as 441 pounds (200 kilograms), and that’s too much to offset with lightweighting.
The motoring world will get a preview of this powertrain layout in 2019 when Lamborghini unveils its new limited-run hypercar, which has the codename LB48H. The hybrid V12 reportedly has a total combined output of 838 horsepower (625 horsepower). The design allegedly takes inspiration from the futuristic Terzo Millennio concept. The company is building just 63 of them and selling the LB48H to customers for $2.5 million each. The entire run is already sold out.
After the arrival of the Aventador successor, a Huracan replacement is also on the way. Lambo CEO Stefano Domenicali confirms that it’s a hybrid, too, by combining a naturally aspirated V10 and an electric motor, presumably for powering the front wheels.
Source: Read Full Article