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Next-gen Lamborghini Aventador to get batteries and active aero?

Sportscar makers at the pointy end of class flout what appear to be inevitable business decisions the same way their offerings flout what appear to be inevitable physical limitations. Questions we've asked for years include: How long until Ferrari builds an SUV? (Next year.) How long until Chevrolet reveals a mid-engined Corvette? ( Soon?) And how long until Lamborghini must perform hybridised open heart surgery on its nonpareil V12? According to Motor Authority, as part of an interview with Lamborghini R&D honcho Maurizio Reggiani at the Detroit Auto Show, the answer to that last question is likely with the next generation. Reggiani told MA that the next-gen Aventador will definitely come with a V12. After that, the man who makes the bulls said "we must decide what will be the future of the super sportscar in terms of electric contribution," the principle issue of that contribution not being performance, but weight and power delivery. The 4,085-pound Aventador makes scales weep, explaining why Reggiani is so grave about weight implications that even a dual-clutch transmission - a seeming shoo-in for the next-gen car - won't get a pass until it justifies its extra heft over the present, hoary, single-clutch gearbox. Carbon fiber already forms the Aventador's tub, so engineers in Sant' Agata can't evaporate hundreds of pounds with that conversion. Lamborghini's been working on the new car's platform a for more than a year, no doubt with batteries in mind, yet stuffing a load of Triple As into the chassis could turn a battleship into a dreadnought. That formula works for Bugatti, but won't serve Lamborghini nor its clientele. Reggiani isn't opposed to some sort of electric assistance when the next-gen car bows in 2020 or 2021, and at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year said he sees plug-in hybrid tech as the next step, but we won't be surprised if the V12 song remains the naturally-aspirated same at launch. Still, the question of electrification - and turbocharging - remains one of "When?" There's so much writing on the wall that the writing is the wall: two years ago, Reggiani admitted that turbos will get bolted on "sooner or later," as did Lamborghini's commercial officer Federico Foschini last year, the Urus will dial up a hybrid powertrain soon, reports declare the next-gen Huracan will go hybrid in 2022, and Euro 6 emissions aren't getting less stringent. No matter how the coming flagship makes its power, expect more of everything.

As VW electrifies, it questions the role of Lamborghini, Bugatti, Ducati

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen needs to change to stay relevant in the electric and digital vehicle era and will announce "important steps" to that end before the close of the year, Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Wednesday. "Volkswagen needs to change: From a collection of valuable brands and fascinating combustion-engine products that thrill customers with superb engineering — to a digital company that reliably operates millions of mobility devices worldwide," Diess told shareholders at the company's virtual general meeting. Vehicles need to stay in contact with customers, offer new services and comfort functions on a weekly or even daily basis, he said. "We will take further important steps to set the course for this in the rest of 2020," Diess said. Senior executives told Reuters the company is reviewing what role its high-performance brands Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati will play as the company increasingly focuses on electric, digital and autonomous vehicles. Volkswagen, which also owns VW, Audi, Porsche, Seat and Skoda, is looking at whether it has the resources to accelerate development of electric platforms for smaller brands at a time it is investing billions to transform its more mainstream cars. Asked whether Ducati, which is known for making noisy combustion-engined motorbikes, has an electric future, Markus Duesmann, who oversees research and development for the group, said: "It will not take long until we see an electric Ducati." Whether Ducati, which is a medium-sized premium motorbike brand, would offer an electric variant, depends on whether a bike could offer range comparable to a combustion-engined variant, Duesmann said. Advances are being made in battery technology which could make this possible, he added. Separately Frank Witter, the company's chief financial officer, in response to a question about whether a sale of Lamborghini is planned, said Volkswagen does not comment on speculation about potential divestments. Lamborghini's Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali this week announced his departure from the sports car maker to take on a new job as president of Formula One. VW needs cash Volkswagen is reviewing the future of these three high-performance brands as part of broader quest for more economies of scale as it shifts to mass producing electric cars, senior executives told Reuters.

Bertone goes bust

The famous Italian coachbuilder and designer Bertone may be on its deathbed. The company that penned the beautiful shape of the Lamborghini Miura has been facing financial hardships for months, and Autocar is reporting that the Turin, Italy firm has just declared bankruptcy. The last we heard from Bertone, it was showing the Jet 2+2 station wagon based on an Aston Martin Rapide at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The Turin-based carrozzeria became famous for its wild designs like the BMW Spicup concept, Lancia Stratos and the initial shape of the Lamborghini Countach. In recent years, it had been limited to creating mostly one-off vehicles. The company has slowly been shrinking recently. It sold its small factory to Fiat a few years go and let go of 165 employees and 10 interns in December. Bertone has been shopping itself in hopes of finding a new owner. According to PistonHeads, even with the money problems, the business generated 20-million euros ($27.9 million) in revenue in 2013 and has been working on projects in China. A Turkish firm was rumored to be interested in buying it for just $2.7 million, and GT Spirit claims that there are also seven Italian companies potentially interested in purchasing it. Bertone has a long and proud automotive history, and it wouldn't be surprising if it were bought just for the value of the brand – perhaps we haven't seen the last of its stylized B logo. Featured Gallery Bertone Jet 2+2: Geneva 2013 View 10 Photos News Source: Autocar via Pistonheads, GTSpiritImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Design/Style Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Plants/Manufacturing BMW Lamborghini Lancia Concept Cars Luxury Special and Limited Editions Performance Classics bertone lamborghini miura Lamborghini Countach