Just over a year ago, Lamborghini announced a strategic partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one that would result in a sports car “ready for the challenges of the third millennium.” Electrification and autonomous technology will remain atop the industry’s priority list for decades, but given Lamborghini’s driver-focused status, it’s pretty clear the brand is doubling down on high-performance hybrid powertrains. But while the third millennium is still a ways off, the first fruits of the Lamborghini-MIT collaboration are just days away.
Lamborghini has announced that it will unveil “the future of super sports cars” at the EmTech 2017 event in Boston on Monday, November 6. On Friday, the automaker released a rousing teaser image on Twitter, which shows the unmistakable wide stance of a Italian-built thoroughbred. Obviously we can’t wait, as the concept will preview a new production hybrid supercar — the brand’s first — due sometime after 2030. Earlier this year, Digital Trends sat down with Lamborghini’s head of research and development, Maurizio Reggiani, who gave us an idea of what to expect.
“At this time, Lamborghini is looking towards plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technology for the super-sports cars and also the Urus,” he said. “Not full electric, though. In our vision, PHEV is the most suitable technology for a super-sports car, but it’s clear we need to fight against the weight of the battery pack and figure out how to best package it.”
“We work really hard in terms of scouting new technology, and we also struck an important partnership last year with MIT in Boston,” he continued. “Before the end of the year, we will make an announcement about this project. It deals with weight reduction and electrification.”
A featherweight, electrified Lambo of the future? 2030 can’t come soon enough.
As Reggiani mentioned in our interview, the to-be-named supercar won’t be Lamborghini’s first hybrid when it arrives. That honor will go to the upcoming Urus SUV, but the successor to the Huracán has been confirmed to be a hybrid model as well. That vehicle is due out in 2022.
Much like with the adoption of catalytic converters in the 1980s, harsher emissions regulations and pushes toward electrification have inspired many to declare the supercar dead. As it turns out, they may make the supercar better than ever.
