2004 Lamborghini Gallardo E_gear Coupe Automatic 2-door Coupe on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hybrid Sian Roadster becomes Lamborghini's most powerful convertible

Lamborghini chopped off the Sian's top to create its most powerful convertible model to date. The limited-edition Sian Roadster features an innovative hybrid powertrain and a wide panoply of customization options. Viewed from the front, the Roadster is nearly identical to the Sian coupe introduced at the 2019 edition of the Frankfurt auto show. Its long, low nose wears a carbon fiber splitter and Y-shaped LED headlights. It's the same story out back, where the shape of the lights again draws a subtle parallel between the Sian and the Countach built between 1974 and 1990. The engine remains visible through a horizontal wings made with carbon fiber, but they're flanked by deep scoops that start right behind the occupants and flow into a set of air vents. Surprisingly, the Roadster is just as aerodynamic as the coupe. Autoblog learned it will not come with any kind of roof. Technology reigns supreme in the cabin. The driver sits in front of a digital, configurable instrument cluster, and a touchscreen integrated into the slanted center stack displays the infotainment system Lamborghini designed in-house. The air vents are 3D-printed, and buyers can customize them by adding their initials. Nearly every part of the interior can be personalized, including the upholstery and the type of the materials used to make trim pieces. Mitja Borkert, the head of Lamborghini's design department, previously promised no two examples of the Sian coupe will be identical. It's reasonable to assume that every Roadster will be equally unique. The Sian lost its top without losing any of its mechanical panache. The Roadster is identical to the coupe, meaning it's equipped with Lamborghini's first production-bound hybrid system. The powertrain consists of a mid-mounted, naturally-aspirated V12 engine and an electric motor integrated into the transmission. It draws electricity from a supercapacitor to inject 34 horses into the driveline, bringing the setup's total output to 819 horsepower. Lamborghini quotes a 2.9-second sprint from zero to 62 mph, and a 217-mph top speed. Using a supercapacitor instead of a lithium-ion battery pack is not the easiest or cheapest way to build a hybrid, but engineers claim it's the best solution. It's three times more powerful than a battery with a comparable weight; put another way, it's three times lighter than one with a similar power output.

Watch a ham-fisted Russian wreck his Lamborghini

Russia is responsible for some of the best dashcam videos on the planet. And today, we're sorry to say that includes the destruction of a poor Lamborghini. You can't always judge a book by its cover, but based on the look of this particular Lambo – a chromed finish and aftermarket alloys – its driver probably has more money than talent. That's probably the best explanation for why he was driving so quickly in such treacherous conditions. After looping around one vehicle, the back steps out and the car – The Daily Sun incorrectly calls it a Huracan, but it's a Murcielago – spears an innocent Peugeot. The Lambo ends its journey by colliding with a guardrail, splaying most of its front end across the M9 motorway outside Moscow. Police took the Lamborghini's driver, a 30-year-old man, into custody for his role in the wreck. One witness told The Daily Sun that the supercar passed the film car like it was standing still, something police confirmed, saying "[The Lamborghini owner] was driving at high speed on the wet tarmac and lost control." Related Video:

Lamborghini outlines electrification strategy, announces first EV

Lamborghini, one of the industry's fiercest defenders of the naturally-aspirated engine, is planning to electrify its range during the 2020s. It detailed the path it will follow to electrification, and it announced the road leads to an EV. Company boss Stephan Winkelmann named the three-part electrification strategy Direzione Cor Tauri, which is Italian for "towards Cor Tauri," a reference to the brightest star in Taurus — the constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere, not the Ford built over six generations. Significantly, he stressed that adding batteries and electric motors to a supercar's driveline will not dilute the hardcore performance that Lamborghini's image is built on. The first phase of the plan calls for celebrating the non-electrified internal combustion engine. Lamborghini wants to send it off with a bang, if you'll pardon the pun. It will flex its engineering muscles by unveiling two models powered by a naturally-aspirated V12 in 2021. Our crystal ball tells us at least one will be the long-awaited successor to the Aventador S. Act fast if you want one, because it undoubtedly won't stick around for as long as its predecessor. Lamborghini's first production-bound hybrid, the Sian (pictured as a roadster), arrived in 2019 as a sold-out, limited-edition model with a V12-electric powertrain. Some of the lessons learned during the project will permeate a series-produced hybrid model that's expected to make its debut in 2023. Advances in carbon fiber solutions and new technologies will help engineers offset the weight added by the battery pack. We don't know what kind of system the model will use, or where it will slot in the firm's portfolio. It might be a replacement for the Huracan Evo, however. The entire Lamborghini range will be electrified to some degree by 2024. Reaching this ambitious goal will require investing 1.5 billion euros (around $1.8 billion at the current conversion rate) to develop powertrains and other technologies. That's the largest cash injection the firm has ever received since its inception in 1963. Finally, the first series-produced electric Lamborghini will arrive at some point during the second half of the decade. It will arrive as a fourth model, meaning it likely will not be merely a battery-powered version of an existing car, but it's far too early to provide details like its name, the segment it will compete in, and the technology it will use.