For future models, Lamborghini has hesitated between a V8, a V6 or a new V10.

For more than twenty years, the naturally-aspirated V10 has set the pace for car enthusiasts. Lamborghini. From the Gallardo to the Huracán, it embodied a kind of ideal compromise: more accessible than a V12, but nobler and more lilting than a V8. However, the era of pure combustion engines is coming to an end, and at Lamborghini, the dilemma has been more difficult than it seems.

When the Sant'Agata Bolognese firm developed the Huracán's replacement, the new Lamborghini Temerario, engineers weighed up the pros and cons at length. Should they keep an electrified V10? Dare a V6, more compact and more in line with standards? Or bet on a totally new V8 hybrid?

The V10's swan song

The Huracán was the last Lamborghini to be equipped with a naturally-aspirated V10. An Audi engine, to be sure, but one that marked an entire generation of drivers with its revs of up to 8,500 rpm and its radical variants such as the Performante and STO. But this engine had reached its limit. As Rouven Mohr, the brand's R&D manager, explained:

"In recent years, demand for power has exploded. But a new V10, adapted to today's standards, would have lost around 20 % of its performance. It was the end of a cycle."

Why not a V6?

The idea of a V6 did circulate internally. Lighter, more compact, easier to electrify... but could we seriously imagine a "baby Lamborghini" with a six-cylinder engine? As Top Gear Netherlands points out, Lamborghini's very image is based on excess and mechanical generosity. A V6 would have been perceived as a regression, almost a sacrilege.

In the end, it was the V8 twin-turbo plug-in hybrid (PHEV) that prevailed. Capable of reaching speeds of up to 10,000 rpm, and backed up by sophisticated electrification, this engine now powers the Temerario and URUS SE, and will be used to power other models in the range, including the Lanzador, which may not be 100 % electric after all. It's a technical and strategic choice: more efficiency, more torque, and above all, room for evolution in line with future regulations.

The V12 remains untouchable

However, not everything at Lamborghini is the same. The V12 survives thanks to hybridization on the Revuelto, successor to the Aventador, and the brand with the bull intends to go one step further. beyond 2030 with this engineand thus preserves the DNA of the most extreme supercars. In other words, the V8 hybrid doesn't replace everything: it completes a range in which each model retains its own personality.