EV power isn't good enough for supercars, says Lamborghini

Friday, 8 June 2018

While Lamborghini says that current battery technology isn't good enough for a pure EV supercar, it is doing a plug-in hybrid Urus SUV. It has done one before though - the Asterion concept car from 2014.

If you have been hanging out for an all-electric Lamborghini, then you're out of luck. At least for the time being.

Equally, if you are dismayed by the lack of passion and emotion displayed by electric propulsion, then you will be overjoyed by Lamborghini's attitude.

In a recent interview with Automotive News, Lamborghini chief technical officer Maurizio Reggiani, said that despite the fact that the company will produce a plug-in hybrid version of the Urus SUV within the next 18 months, current battery technology simply wasn't good enough for a fully electric Lamborghini to exist.

Lamborghini will do a plug-in hybrid version of the Urus SUV, most likely using the Porsche V8 hybrid powertrain.

'Our target is to deliver a super sports car, and these specifications don't exist with a battery package in terms of energy and power,' Reggiani said.

**READ MORE

The Terzio Millennio was the start of a three-year partnership between Lamborghini and MIT.

* Lamborghini Urus makes flying visit to New Zealand

* Upcoming Lamborghini Urus will have plug-in hybrid option

The Terzio Millennio concept car was a pure EV, but Lamborghini says battery technology still isn't good enough for a production supercar yet.

* Lamborghini reveals its first ever hybrid

* Electric supercar smashes Nurburgring lap record**

According to Automotive News, Lamborghini would consider that a battery pack suitable for one of its supercars should be able to provide a top speed of more than 300kmh and be able to make three full laps of the Nurburgring racetrack in Germany.

Lamborghini have flirted with hybrid and EV technology though, with the Asterion concept from 2014 being a plug-in hybrid, while the striking Terzo Millennio concept from last year was a pure EV developed with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The Terzo Millennio was the start of a three-year partnership with MIT to develop a battery with the high-performance characteristics necessary for a 'super sports car'.

After the lab tests are finished in 2019, Lamborghini 'can start to think about what this sort of car would be,' Reggiani said to Automotive News.

But perhaps the biggest objection the Italian company has to electric power is the sound. Or, more specifically, the lack of it.

According to Reggiani, electric motors simply don't deliver the vibration and sound that makes driving a high-performance automobile 'such an exciting experience.'

'A super sports car is an emotion,' he said. 'It must be perceivable based on acceleration, the emotion the car must give you.'

Reggiani went on to say that Lamborghini is conducting tests to gauge the reaction of people when they perceive engine sounds in order to plan for a more audibly exciting electric future.