Lamborghini’s first electric car won’t arrive until 2028, and it won’t be a supercar anyway. Instead, the Lanzador will take the form of a 2+2 four-seater elevated grand tourer. Something like a Huracan or Revuelto with a purely electric setup is not on the agenda. Why? There is no commercial issue. The company’s CEO believes that sales of electric supercars are bad.
Talk to Car news europeLamborghini boss Stefan Winkelmann said electric supercars “are not something that is being sold yet.” He went on to say that this variant may never spread: “It is very early, and we will have to see if and when this will happen.”
It makes sense that Lamborghini would still use a V-12 engine in the Aventador’s replacement, while the Huracan’s successor would have ICE power as well. However, the smaller of the two Sant’Agata Bolognese supercars loses the naturally aspirated V-10 in favor of a newly developed twin-turbo V-8.
Supercars are for the rich, but Rimac CEO Mate Rimac recently admitted that high-end buyers don’t want electric supercars. That’s why the Niviera is still on sale, despite the hype surrounding it and the limited production run of just 150 cars. An electric supercar developed in Croatia set no less than 23 records last year, but it seems the rich weren’t impressed enough to sign their names on the dotted line.
Bugatti is also keeping the internal combustion engine alive with its upcoming Chiron replacement. The Molsheim-based brand – of which the Rimac group owns 55 percent – isn’t even cutting back on the number of cylinders. The new “French” beast will have a naturally aspirated V-16 as part of the hybrid setup.
Another elite brand currently moving away from full electric cars is Pagani, despite working on the technology since 2018. It hasn’t given up on its R&D efforts but a production model isn’t coming anytime soon. Why? The batteries are still very heavy which dampens the driving experience.
However, not all supercar brands think this way. Ferrari is still on track to deliver a high-performance electric car. It’s actually ahead of development schedule, ahead of the car’s launch in late 2025. Meanwhile, a new factory will open in Maranello next month. The site will build the company’s electrical models.
Tighter emissions regulations are forcing automakers to move to electric vehicles, but supercar makers are committed to gas engines for as long as possible. Why? Because they know what their customers want, which is the feeling that only a large displacement ICE can provide. Electric cars are significantly faster, but Stefan Winkelmann believes they are not as exciting as a high-revving gas engine mounted behind the seats.
Ideally, the Lamborghini boss wants to save on combustion engines by switching to e-fuel. The Italian exotic brand could benefit from the progress made by the Volkswagen Group brand Porsche in developing and producing almost carbon-neutral synthetic fuels in Chile.
