Lamborghini Believes Synthetic Fuels Could Be Better Than Electric Powertrains

Lamborghini which is one of the most storied supercharger brands in the world has outlined a vision which focuses more on synthetic fuels. It already is still sticking with massive V12 engines with the Aventador and there for time being it will continue to develop powertrains that will be larger than a V6 but will be paired with hybrid elements to adhere to emissions norms much like Ferrari. In fact, the bolognese supercar maker is in no hurry to go the EV route as its CEO Stephan Winklemann told TechCrunch that brands like Lamborghini have some more wiggle room before they pull the plug on the internal combustion engine.

"It's a bit difficult because the European Parliament decided earlier in the year that they will ban gas engines and diesel engines by 2035, and the smaller manufacturers like ‘Lamborghini by 2036, so we don't need to decide now,” he said.

He went on to add that the current technology could be still used with synthetic fuels. Already, the parent of Lamborghini, the Volkswagen Group has invested in synthetic fuels with the Porsche brand. In fact, its former CEO, Stefan Domenicali, has joined F1 as its CEO and is pushing for the arrival of hybrid powertrains that use more electric components with the ICE being powered by a no-emissions synthetic fuel. F1 is developing this new fuel with ARAMCO.

But there is a backup plan in place in case synthetic fuels don’t have many takers. Winklemann believes Lamborghini will go fully electric in the early 2030s if synthetic fuels don’t work out. It however will release its first EV which will be in 2028 as its Huracan Serato and Urus will be its last cars based on a pure internal combustion engine (ICE).

This strategy is not different from other supercar brands. For example, Bugatti which has merged with electric hypercar maker Rimac, both of which are part of the Volkswagen group also want Bugatti to focus more on hybrid solutions till the end of the decade. Pagani is also in no hurry to develop a fully electric supercar and Ferrari will also just launch its first EV in 2025 but expects to be using hybrid tech for the better part of this decade.