As last gasps for pure internal combustion go, this is a good one.
Lamborghini
We’ve known for a while about Lamborghini’s plans to stop making cars that are powered solely by internal combustion in favor of electrified powertrains. There has been much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments over the subject by enthusiasts, and that is likely only to get worse because Lamborghini is now in its final year of ICE, according to a report Sunday by Automotive News.
If you want one of these last purely internal combustion cars and you have the means to buy one, you’re out of luck unless you already have an order in, because also Lamborghini announced that it has sold out all of its 2022 production already. The company has confirmed that 2023 models will get the plug-in hybrid treatment, and it plans to go even more electric by 2024 with the introduction of the first purely electric Lamborghini.
On the one hand, this is a little sad. A big part of a Lamborghini’s character comes from its yowling maniacal powertrain, and while it’s almost a given at this point that hybrid and electric models will be even more powerful, they’re likely to lose a little bit of that classic Lamborghini mechanical style.
The folks in Sant’Agata are still working on locking down their final designs for the first fully electric Lamborghini. Still, word ’round the schoolyard is that it’s going to be a four-door model focused more on daily drivability than it is on hot nasty badass speed for the sake of hot nasty badass speed.
So, let’s all take a minute to acknowledge the realities of climate change and the challenges of the future in regard to huge and powerful naturally aspirated engines. Let’s also celebrate their role in fueling the dreams of automotive enthusiasts of all ages and remember that most of us can’t afford a Lamborghini anyway.
2021 Lamborghini Huracan STO is a lean, mean track machine
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Watch this:
Driving Lamborghini’s ode to the V12
8:10