Interview with Maurizio Reggiani, R&D Director, Lamborghini

Where does Lamborghini stand when it comes to electrification?
Before talking about electrification, it’s important to talk about the DNA of a super sports car brand. When we develop a new car, we first have to guarantee that we’re able to respect our DNA – which means that everybody must perceive it as a Lamborghini. At the moment, if you consider electrification as a full EV, we know that the batteries of today cannot fulfil what is necessary to guarantee the DNA of a Lamborghini in terms of maximum speed, low weight, as well as in terms of packaging. It’s clear that we’re looking at this trend and this new requirement of the market. And based on this, our outlook for the future is that the best answer for a super sport car is hybrid technology, because it’s much easier to maintain the DNA of a super sport car when you still have a thermodynamic engine. Plus, you can decide to use the electric power like an e-boost to increase the performance of the car. The limitation of a hybrid at the moment is the weight and the packaging of the battery. Before we can have a hybrid super sports car, we must solve this problem. For this reason, we’ve decided that the first hybrid Lamborghini will be our SUV, the Urus. 

What’s the future of the naturally aspirated engine?
Naturally aspirated engines are part of our DNA. The kind of engine, and the number of cylinders, is a big differentiator for us – and this is the best value that we can provide to our customers. The kind of emotion that a naturally aspirated engine provides cannot compare with any other engine. At the moment, we are able to fulfil all the emission requirements with the use of catalytic converters and anti particulate filters. The highest challenge is meeting the CO2 and fuel efficiency requirements, and it’s for this reason that we’re looking towards hybridization – because it’s the perfect answer for us to meet the average fleet requirements of our cars. So, the introduction of the Urus will be important. And the introduction of the plug-in hybrid version of the Urus will be another big step towards addressing these issues. And, in the future, when we feel it’s the right time for our super sports cars, we’ll address that question as well. 

Is it possible that you may go below 8-cylinders for the Urus?
We are part of a big Group where we can choose from a lot of different possibilities, so we’ll see. With a plug-in hybrid, it could be possible to go below eight cylinders for a vehicle that’s an SUV.

Will the Urus have off-road capability?
It will have good off-road capability – maybe not the best in the world, due to design, but it will have good off-road capability. So, we will offer an off-road version of the Urus.