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Lamborghini LB48H hypercar due next year: You might even say it glows

We know there's a hybrid Lamborghini Aventador successor coming sometime between 2020 and 2022. Due to deleted Instagram posts and a fissures in the rumor-verse, we expect a hypercar codenamed LB48H to preview the next electrified V12 Lamborghini. Autocar reports the next model in the Italian carmaker's series of low-volume specials will cost about $2.6 million, making it just another walk in the hypercar park as for price. The weird part is where Road & Track, referencing "a source familiar with Lamborghini's plans," says the LB48H will glow in the dark. The source didn't elaborate, so not even RT knows what that means. The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio concept from 2017 revealed a smattering of Tron-like light sculpture in its launch video. The wheels and engine bay glow, illuminated Italian flag graphics mark the front fenders, LED piping runs down the centerline. But lights don't come under the traditional definition of "glow in the dark." If the LB48H really does sport some kind of overall incandescence, well, we're about to enter a new chapter in hypercars. Other questions remain about how the LB48H will preview the future of Sant' Agata. The company's head of R&D has bemoaned the weight of batteries, admitting that the best-case scenario for the coming series-production hybrid V12 flagship means an additional 330 to 440 pounds. It's thought that the hypercar will use supercapacitors instead of batteries, providing a lightweight solution that would also showcase future technical potential. The all-electric Terzo Millennio employed nascent supercapacitor tech Lamborghini has been developing with MIT. That solution's upside is lighter size and weight compared to batteries, longer service life, a supercapacitor's fast charge and discharge ability, and the fact that it can discharge and recover energy at the same time. The downside is that supercapacitors have low energy density compared to lithium-ion batteries, so it's possible the LB48H could use a battery and a supercapacitor to work a 49-horsepower motor aiding an 789-hp V12. The production V12 is expected to get a more mundane solution. Lamborghini's looking ahead to cities mandating a minimum all-electric range up to 31 miles. One idea in play is a split hybrid layout, with an electric motor in charge of the front axle. That eliminates a prop shaft, and sharpens front axle response and torque vectoring.

Lamborghini and Bentley may hold off on SUVs so VW can conserve cash

After surveying the European economic scene, Volkswagen may have decided now is not the time to launch utility vehicles with Bentley and Lamborghini badges. Bentley officials say they will continue to push for support for the EXP 9 F and Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelman has said planning for the Urus will continue until VW tells it to stop.
That decision could come on November 23, when VW's board will vote on the company's budget for equipment, factories and vehicles. With VW's sales slowing and the Euro economy slumping further, some industry watchers say the company is more likely to build its cash reserves than to introduce super-expensive luxury SUVs or crossovers.
"Such vehicles are anything but obligatory during a crisis," says Frankfurt-based Equinet AG analyst Tim Schuldt in a new Automotive News Europe story. "Delaying their launch would be no drama but help save costs."

Lamborghini Sian is brand's first hybrid and also its most powerful car

The rumors surrounding Lamborghini's application of hybrid technology will finally materialize at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. The Italian firm introduced a limited-edition model called Sian, which stands out as its most powerful street-legal car ever and its first production-bound hybrid model. The Sian's gasoline-electric powertrain gives Lamborghini's mighty, naturally-aspirated V12 engine a new lease on life. It's completely different than the setup found in the 2014 Asterion LP910-4 concept, though, and it's considerably more advanced than a standard hybrid system. An electric motor sandwiched between the engine and the transmission receives electricity from a supercapacitor and injects 34 horsepower into the driveline. While that sounds like a rounding error in a car with the Raging Bull emblem on its nose, the 48-volt mild hybrid system helps the Sian return better gas mileage, provides a boost under hard acceleration, and powers the cars on its own at ultra-low speeds, such as when parking. The hardware tips the scale at a reasonable 75 pounds. Lightweight, composite materials like carbon fiber offset the hybrid system's mass. The mid-mounted V12 relies on titanium intake valves to generate 785 horsepower, a figure that makes it the most powerful road car engine in Lamborghini's 56-year history. The system's total output checks in at 819 horsepower. The Sian takes 2.8 seconds to reach 62 mph from a stop, and its top speed lies somewhere north of 220 mph. Visually, the Sian blends styling cues from Lamborghini's emblematic past models with features borrowed from its futuristic, forward-thinking concept cars. The wide, Y-shaped LED daytime running lights come straight from the Terzo Millennio introduced in 2017, while the six hexagonal rear lights are a nod in the direction of the Countach released in 1974. The Gandini line that characterizes every Lamborghini is accounted for; it defines the car's low-slung profile. The interior reflects Lamborghini's drive to make its cars more high-tech. The driver faces a digital, configurable instrument cluster, and the center console houses a touchscreen that displays a version of the infotainment system first seen on the Huracan Evo. Poltrona Frau leather and 3D-printed parts continue bridging the gap between Lamborghini's heritage and its future. Lamborghini will make 63 examples of the Sian by hand in its Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, factory. It chose that number because it was founded in 1963.