2006 Lamborghini Murcielago Automatic 2-door Coupe on 2040-cars

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Lamborghini confirms next-gen Aventador and Huracan to be PHEVs

It's official, Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali confirmed to Top Gear magazine that the next-generation Aventador and Huracan will get plug-in hybrid powertrains. Autocar reported last October that the next Huracan would get "next-generation" batteries to aid its naturally aspirated V10 when it debuts around 2022. The fate of the Aventador S's successor, however, was unclear beyond the certainty of it featuring a mid-mounted V12. Now we know it will get a naturally aspirated V12 with electric help when it arrives in 2020 or so, and both cars will boast a small all-electric range. Top Gear imagined how much each coupe could gain — both in weight and in power — by mating each car's current engine with the 134-horsepower electric motor and 14-kWh lithium-ion battery pack from the Porsche Panamera Turbo S e-hybrid. TG figures the Aventador S replacement would go from 730 hp and 508 pound-feet of torque to 860 hp and 566 lb-ft. That's the good news. The bad news is that Porsche said the hybrid system adds 661 pounds to the weight of the Panamera. Tack that onto the Lamborghini, and an Aventador S goes up a weight class to 4,354 pounds. The new Huracan output stretches from 602 hp and 412 lb-ft to 728 hp and 471 lb-ft, and 3,796 pounds. Judged on the results of that purely imaginary fancy, Top Gear says the numbers "well and truly stack up." We think that given the chance to add 130 horsepower at the price of putting a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy in the trunk — or the weight of second complete engine — we might ask if there were other tradeoffs available. We're certain Lamborghini's working all the angles, though, and confident the Sant' Agata carmaker will translate its actual figures into another duo of brutal, bewitching sports cars. The brand is looking beyond the near-term hybrids to what could come after, as well. Domenicali said he doesn't believe there will be sufficient potential in electric powertrains until 2026, but he's ready with concepts like the Terzo Millennio whenever the powertrains are. Lamborghini's also working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to "write an important page in the future of super sports cars for the third millennium," suspected to center on lightweight materials, solid-state batteries, and alternative fuels. On that last note, Domenicali's already eyeing the potential of using hydrogen fuel cells in the distant future.

Watch VW Group Night kick off the Frankfurt festivities

The Frankfurt Motor Show is Volkswagen's home affair. As a result, the whole of the automaker group makes a big splash, even before the show doors open. We'll be live from the Frankfurt floor starting early tomorrow morning, but tonight we're posted up in the stands at the always-entertaining Volkswagen Group Night. To give you a taste of what it's like to be there, we're going to be shooting some man-on-the-scenes video as the night progresses. Below you'll find videos of all the best that VW Group brands – Audi, Lamborghini, VW, the lot – have to offer, as quick as we can upload them. So, enjoy the Short Cut Videos you see here. And stay tuned as we add more to the tally, below. And, of course, be sure to check in on Autoblog early and often tomorrow, when we bring you official debuts of new production vehicles and concept cars, a ton of new video content, live image galleries, and lots more.Seat Leon Cross Sport Bentley Bentayga Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder Volkswagen Multivan PanAmerican Edition Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Concept Audi E-Tron Quattro Concept Audi A4 Ducati Monster 1200 R Volkswagen Tiguan Skoda Superb Combi Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe and Cabrio Volkswagen Tiguan GTE Porsche Mission E Concept Volkswagen Group Night Finale Green Frankfurt Motor Show Audi Bentley Bugatti Lamborghini Volkswagen SEAT Skoda Videos Original Video Frankfurt 2015

Fourth Lamborghini model could be an all-electric 2+2 GT

It was almost a year ago that Automotive News spoke to Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali about the carmaker potentially adding a fourth model to the lineup. Asked about the potential of a new 2+2 GT model picking up where the Espada left off in 1978, Domenicali demurred on the matter of a bodystyle. Instead, the CEO said the brand is "working hard to combine high performance with interior space and driving comfort in a package that, designwise, should be striking as well as highly efficient in terms of aerodynamics." A year on, Autocar spoke to Lamborghini R&D head Maurizio Reggiani, who hinted at how ideas have coalesced since. Autocar says a 2+2 GT "is due to be given the green light to arrive by 2025," and there's a chance the model could be all-electric. Last we heard, Domenicali was explaining to AN that buyers weren't asking for a battery-electric vehicle. With a five- to seven-year horizon for the introduction of a fourth car, however, the CEO allowed that customers could be ready for one by 2027, so Lamborghini should be ready, too; nevertheless, he hedged the battery-only offering by saying it would come "together with a high-performance plug-in hybrid." According to Autocar's story, the brand's got more bullish on batteries in the interim. Reggiani said, "If you look at the timing for a fourth model line, there is the potential that this will be the right time for a full-electric vehicle" that can do at least 350 miles on a charge. Not only could such a car make sense by 2025, Lamborghini could likely find some way to fit the model into the Volkswagen Group's scheme for EV domination. There are two electric platforms floating around the high-performance divisions that could get the nod; the J1 architecture under the Porsche Taycan and coming Audi E-Tron GT that will evolve into the J1 II come 2023, or the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture that will support a range of models and is already rumored for an all-electric Bentley.    In terms of styling, Autocar repeatedly mentions cues coming from the 2008 Estoque concept (above). The four-door GT unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show has been in limbo since then, the heart of rumors ranging from an Estoque range of everyday supercars to becoming a Lamborghini twin for an Audi A9.