If there’s one thing Lamborghini is known for, it is its use of V12 engines, dating back to the very first 350GT all the way through to the current Aventador. But with ever stricter emissions regulations being employed, can Sant’Agata’s V12 live on?
Well according to the company’s new chief executive Stefan Domenicali, it can and it will.
The former Ferrari F1 boss who replaced Stephan Winkelmann at the start of the year, recently told Autocar that there is a lot of development potential in the V12 to ensure that it powers the firm’s halo models for years, if not decades, to come.
“Our niche is small and it is sometimes easy to run off following everyone else, like in football: all the players run off following the ball. That is a mistake that we do not have to make. In the short term, there is still a lot of development potential in the V12.
“Of course, we need to understand what the market is doing in terms of emissions and legislation, but I don’t see that will be a problem. We are always very open to how the market might evolve,” he said.
In July, the Italian marque announced the expansion of its Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory in Seattle along with confirmation that it had developed forged carbon fiber connecting rods, likely to be used in the V12 engine of the Aventador’s successor.
Further down the line, Lamborghini may have to employ hybrid technologies, just like Ferrari, to continue producing V12s.
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