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Lamborghini's Aventador replacement will receive a new V12 engine

Lamborghini is about to close one of the longest and most significant chapters in its history. It announced the Aventador Ultimae unveiled in July 2021 is the last non-electrified, V12-powered street-legal model it will build. The car's successor, whose name hasn't been revealed yet, will inaugurate a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain built around a new V12 engine. Company boss Stephan Winkelmann filled us in on some of the details. Sending off the non-electrified, V12-powered supercar is a big deal for Lamborghini, so a lot of time and resources went into increasing the engine's output for the grand finale. It develops 770 horsepower at 8,500 rpm and 531 pound-feet of torque at 6,750 rpm, figures that eclipse both the Aventador S and the Aventador SVJ. Winkelmann told Autoblog that 770 horses was "the best possible power output we could get" out of the 6.5-liter engine. It's the end of the road for this V12, because the Aventador's replacement will receive a new engine. Winkelmann said it's too early to reveal specific details, like its displacement, but he stressed it's not something we've seen before. And the hybrid system is notably not related to the technology that powered the limited-edition Sian. "The technology is different, it's a completely new engine, a completely new drivetrain, a new battery, everything is completely new. There's nothing out of the Sian or out of the Aventador [in the next flagship]," he said. Some things won't change. Winkelmann cited carbon fiber construction, four-wheel-drive, active aerodynamic technology, and a four-wheel steering system as attributes from the Aventador that are worth keeping. And, adding a turbo (or two, or three, or four) to the new V12 was never considered — forced induction adds weight and puts unnecessary stress on an engine. Besides, the V12 has "horsepower en masse." Natural aspiration is here to stay. Regulatory hurdles are part of what's driving Lamborghini towards electrification, so the Ultimae truly is the last of its kind. However, the non-electrified V12 could live on in some few-off models built for track use, like the Essenza SCV12. "For homologated cars, it's a no. For the others, we will see. It's not planned so far, but there could be an opportunity," Winkelmann replied when asked if future V12-powered race cars could eschew a hybrid system. This is it, then. Lamborghini will build 600 units of the Aventador Ultimae, a number split 350-250 between coupes and roadsters.

Lamborghini Huracan EVO2 race car is a harbinger of future models

Lamborghini funneled the lessons learned from years of racing into the latest evolution of the track-only Huracan. Called EVO2, the coupe gains a number of aerodynamic updates and more powerful brakes for the 2022 season. You don't need to be a seasoned car spotter to tell the EVO2 apart from the outgoing EVO. Its front end has been completely redesigned with new-look headlights, air curtains on both sides of the bumper, and a reshaped splitter made with carbon fiber. It's the same story out back, where the LED lights are thinner and the diffuser is bigger. Most of the visual changes were made with racing in mind, but they'll have a lasting effect on the firm's range. "[The EVO2's design] blends the muscular styling cues that characterizes previous racing variants of the Huracan with some of the styling cues that define Lamborghini's DNA. Additionally, the Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 illustrates an futuristic approach to design that partly previews elements that will make their way to future road-going models," revealed Mitja Borkert, the head of the company's design department, in a statement. There's more carbon fiber, too. The rocker panel extensions and some of the aerodynamic elements fitted to the rear end are now made with the lightweight material rather than with plastic to shed every last ounce of weight. Lamborghini will inevitably electrify during the 2020s, but it plans to celebrate the non-electrified internal combustion engine in the coming years. Don't look for a hybrid system under the EVO2's body. It uses a naturally-aspirated, 5.2-liter V10 that's mid-mounted and tuned to send 620 horsepower to the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential transmission. Bigger brake rotors and redesigned calipers capable of housing larger brake pads provide stopping power lap after lap. Lamborghini notes its Squadra Corsa division developed the new braking system in-house. Fans and drivers will get their first chance to see what the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 is capable of on May 28, 2021, at the Paul Ricard race track in the south of France. It's scheduled to make its competition debut during the 2022 season of the Super Trofeo series. Pricing for the European market starts at 250,000 euros, which represents about $306,100 at the current conversion rate. Alternatively, teams currently racing a Super Trofeo EVO will be able to purchase an upgrade kit to bring their car to EVO2 specifications. Pricing hasn't been announced yet.

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.