Lamborghini commits to its first EV

The Raging Bull will become the Quiet But Cranky Bull when Lamborghini hybridises its entire line-up by 2024 and delivers its first pure-electric supercar by 2030.

Less than two months after Lamborghini said EVs were not compatible with its brand, the Volkswagen Group today announced it was spending €1.5 billion ($A2.349b) to deliver not just electrification to Lamborghini, but its first full-line production electric supercar, too.

But the full electrification of the Italian supercar brand won’t come until the “second half of the decade”.

It’s a good/bad news day for Lamborghini, with the Volkswagen Group and its direct parent company Audi committing big bucks to hybridise the Lambo line-up over just four years, but the wait for its first EV could continue for the best part of this decade.

Stablemate Porsche already has its first two EVs on the market (Taycan and, in Europe, Taycan Cross Turismo), while Audi has three including the new e-tron GT.

Instead of charging into the world of charging, Lamborghini will utilise hybrid power to avoid turbochargers in its supercars by pulling down emissions and boosting torque at low revs.

The first hybrid to emerge from the electrification surge will come in 2023, with Lamborghini looking at hybrid power as a chance to milk its naturally aspirated V10 and V12 engines for a few more years yet.

Two new V12 Lamborghini variants will be launched before the end of 2022, while born-again Lamborghini CEO Stefan Winkelmann locks down where to put his electrification and when.

“Lamborghini's electrification plan is a newly plotted course, necessary in the process of a radically changing world, where we want to make our contribution by continuing to reduce environmental impact through concrete projects," Winkelmann said tonight.

“Lamborghini has always been synonymous with pre-eminent technological expertise in building engines boasting extraordinary performance: This commitment will continue as an absolute priority of our innovation trajectory.”

Called ‘Cor Tauri’ after the Italian term for the brightest star in the Taurus constellation, the plan will focus on “identifying technologies and solutions that guarantee top performance in driving dynamics”.

“We have to find the balance between considerably reducing emissions… and at the same time delivering cars with even more performance than the model before,” Winkelmann said.

“This is what our customers expect. So we have to reinvent ourselves while staying true to our roots, our DNA and our values.

“This is a big challenge. How can we lead Lamborghini to the next level?

“Prepare the company for the future, now that the entire industry is standing at a crossroads.”

Lamborghini’s planned hybrids will begin in 2023 with the Sian FKP 37 (pictured) – a full four years after its debut at the 2019 Frankfurt motor show.

The 350km/h Sian was planned to incorporate a supercapacitor alongside a 577kW 6.5-litre V12 to create a special-edition 610kW hypercar in a very limited production run.

Lamborghini’s plan calls for the halving of its CO2 emissions by 2025 from the Huracan, Aventador and Urus models, with the full-line EV to follow.

“Once our hybridisation kicks in, it will kick in quickly,” Winkelmann insisted.

“All of our three models will be electrified by the end of 2024.

Lambo’s CEO said extensive lightweighting will be employed to offset the extra weight of batteries.

“The absolute focus will remain on performance,” he said. “The electric engine adds torque, it adds acceleration.

“Batteries also add weight, the alleged enemy of performance.

“An increase in performance often leads to the addition of weight in the first step.

“One of our key competencies at Lamborghini is the use of lightweight materials such as carbon-fibre to balance this out.

“Our cars excel in power-to-weight ratio, so we have a very good starting point for hybridisation.”