We are just a few weeks away from finally getting to see the long-awaited Lamborghini Aventador replacement, which in all probability will debut next month as part of the Italian brand’s 60th-anniversary celebration. The new flagship machine from Sant’Agata Bolognese, codenamed the LB744, will mark the beginning of a new era of hybridization for the iconic Italian automaker. While most of the details of the upcoming supercar have been kept under wraps, Lamborghini has officially released details of the model’s plug-in hybrid powertrain, and it’s a technical masterpiece that has a combined output of a whopping 1001hp. It’s a lot different and technically complex than the powertrain used by Lamborghini’s previous hybrid supercars, the Sian FP 37 and the Countach LPI 800-4.
A brand new V12
At the heart of the hybrid powertrain is a brand new naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine. Mounted in the middle behind the rear seats, the new L545 V12 engine is 37 pounds lighter than the unit it replaces. It boasts a long list of improvements over the outgoing V12, along with a higher compression ratio, redlines at 9500 rpm, and has been rotated by 180 degrees in the engine bay. Lamborghini claims the new L545 engine is capable of churning out a maximum output of 813 horsepower and 535 pound-feet of torque, making it the most powerful and lightest V12 ever made by Lamborghini. The combustion engine will only power the rear wheels.
A completely new gearbox
Aventador was infamous for its single-clutch gearbox, which has finally been retired. Lamborghini has developed a completely new dual-clutch 8-speed automatic transmission for the LB744 which is mounted transversally behind the longitudinally mounted V12. Weighing in at 425 pounds, it is not only lighter than the Huracan’s DCT gearbox but is also capable of quicker gear shifts.
A trio of electric motors
Unlike Lamborghini’s previous two limited-production hybrid supercars that used a gearbox-integrated single electric motor, the Aventador successor will be a proper hybrid supercar with three electric motors. It’s also Lamborghini’s first PHEV that can be charged externally. According to the details revealed by the Italian marque, two of those motors are mounted at the front, each driving one wheel, while the third one is positioned right above the dual-clutch eight-speed automatic gearbox. The front motors are 41 pounds apiece and can produce 110 kW of power individually. Additionally, they offer torque vectoring to the supercar along with regen capabilities. The hybrid supercar will be capable of operating exclusively on the front axle in EV-only mode, making it the first Lamborghini model to be operable as a front-wheel-drive car. The third motor will power the rear wheels in certain drive modes or in certain conditions to offer an extra boost.
A tiny battery pack
Lamborghini has also moved to conventional lithium-ion batteries on the LB744, unlike the previous hybrid models that used supercapacitors. The battery pack has a relatively small capacity of 3.8 kWh and is housed inside the transmission tunnel instead of the car’s floor. Lamborghini says the batteries can be recharged in just 30 minutes on a plug, or just six minutes using the V12 as a generator. The automaker has not revealed the actual zero-emission range of its new supercar. All it has said is that it can move over short distances using battery power.
