V12 Lamborghini cleans up its act
Supercar maker shuts down Aventador cylinders to cut emissionsIt’s already incredibly fast and technically advanced but Lamborghini wants to add efficiency to the Aventador supercar’s list of accomplishments.
The Raging Bull brand will next year add cylinder deactivation and start-stop technology to its flagship, 515kW horsepower V12 supercar, reducing by seven percent its profligate fuel consumption and emissions.
The current Aventador posts 398 grams of CO2/km and slurps 17.2L/100km, with the 2013 model cutting that to 370 grams and 16L/100km.
Not that Lamborghini customers are likely to notice, according to company president, Stephan Winkelmann, who said: “If you speak about consumption and emissions with the customer, they don’t care about CO2 at all.
“If you speak about the footprint, cars like the Aventador have no global impact,” Mr. Winkelmann said, presumably referring to the low volumes sold and limited kilometers typically travelled by the hyper-expensive supercar.
He nevertheless added that by 2015 the Audi-owned Italian supercar maker aims to be “CO2 neutral in the factory as well”.
Lamborghini hasn’t followed the normal start-stop path to reduce emissions, instead relying on supercapacitors to provide the electrical energy to refire the massive, high-compression (11.8:1) V12 in 180 milliseconds at a touch of the throttle or release of the brake pedal.
Not only is this considerably faster than most start-stop systems, but it cuts 3kg from the Aventador’s kerb weight, reducing it to 1572kg.
The cylinder deactivation system chimes in when the Aventador is cruising on light throttle at speeds below 135km/h, shutting down an entire bank of cylinders so that the V12 beast becomes a quieter, more economical six-cylinder.
The deactivated cylinders restart virtually instantly as soon as the throttle passes a set point, but Lamborghini claims the technology slashes 20 percent from fuel consumption at a steady 130km/h.
Other changes for the 2013 model include more use of visible carbon-fibre, a better ride courtesy of stiffer springs and rerated dampers, and redesigned alloy wheels.
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