Aside from being Lamborghini’s first mass-produced SUV, the upcoming Urus will pave the way for the brand’s future adoption of turbochargers and electrification in its models.
Speaking with Car Advice at the global launch of the Aventador S, Lamborghini R&D boss Maurizio Reggiani confirmed that the Urus will be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain and that similar technologies will be employed into the brand’s future super sports cars.
“It is fair to say, the Urus will be the first Lamborghini that will adopt a PHEV system. A PHEV system is currently ideal for packaging in an SUV platform, but the technology right now doesn’t allow us to set up a super sports car with PHEV the way we would like to,” Reggiani said.
Chief executive Stefano Domenicalli backed up this sentiment and said that a PHEV system will only be introduced to the brand’s sports cars at the right time.
“We can certainly have a naturally aspirated V12 and electrification, but at the right moment. It could be complementary to the V12, but we won’t have a full electric vehicle anytime soon, for sure.
“We are already working on the next-generation super sports car platform, but for sure, the second engine of the new SUV will be hybrid,” he said.
As for the brand’s use of turbochargers for its flagship models, discussions have been had but the firm is remaining focused on naturally-aspirated engines. For now at least.
“It is true, that at some point in the future, we will need to think to change to turbocharging [for flagship models], but for this moment, a large capacity, naturally aspirated engine is for us,” Reggiani confirmed.
Renderings via Lambo Cars