Lamborghini Aventador Successor Could Be A Plug-In Hybrid

The Lamborghini Aventador was introduced seven years ago so the company is turning their attention to its replacement.

Speaking with Car and Driver, Lamborghini chief technical officer Maurizio Reggiani said “We need to take account of fuel consumption and emissions and so on” when developing the Aventador successor. Reggiani went on to say he believes a naturally aspirated engine paired with a hybrid system is the “right answer to the super sports car of the future.”

The hybrid system sounds like a sure thing but Reggiani said there’s a lot of debate on how the system should work. As he explained, some want the system to provide short bursts of performance while others favor a focus on the electric-only driving range. Reggiani suggested the model will be able to do both as the ANIMA drive selector could have a Strada mode that focuses on using the battery while the Corsa mode could deliver an “e-boost effect for a big power increase.”

Despite the strong possibility of a hybrid powertrain, the Aventador successor will remain pretty faithful to the outgoing model. Reggiani wouldn’t go into specifics but he told the publication “We need to reinvent this icon of Lamborghini without missing the characteristics: carbon fiber, the V12 naturally aspirated engine, and other components.”

Lamborghini has been kicking around the idea of a plug-in hybrid model for awhile as the company unveiled the Asterion concept in 2014. The concept had a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 engine and three electric motors which enabled the car to produce a combined output of 910 PS (669 kW). This enabled the concept to accelerate from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 3.0 seconds before topping out at 320 km/h (198 mph). The Asterion could also travel up to 50 km (31 miles) on electricity alone, but its hybrid powertrain added an additional 250 kg (551 lbs) of weight.