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2020 Lamborghini Aventador Successor Going Hybrid, V12 Engine Soldiers On N/A

In production since February 2011 as the LP 700-4, the Aventador entered its second stage in December 2016 following the reveal of the LP 740-4. Then the Super Veloce Jota followed up in 2018, and next year, the open-top model will be added to the range as the range-topping bull from Sant’Agata Bolognese.
Lamborghini SC18 11 photos
Photo: Lamborghini
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Over the past couple of years, numerous rumors about the Aventador’s successor came and went. Then Lamborghini confirmed that hybridization is inevitable although the V10 and V12 will remain naturally aspirated for as much as possible despite the ever-stringent emissions regulations.

Autocar.co.uk expects the Aventador’s replacement to arrive in 2020, “set to adopt a hybridized version of its iconic V12 engine.” We’re not exactly sure what iconic the British magazine is referring to, more so when you remember the L539 has nothing in common but the number of cylinders with the V12 developed by Giotto Bizzarrini back in the 1960s.

The report claims that two Lamborghini models will use electrification in 2020, the other being the plug-in hybrid Urus super-SUV that will integrate the powertrain from the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. In other words, look forward to 680 PS (671 horsepower) and 850 Nm (627 pound-feet) of torque at the very least from the newcomer.

Turning our attention back to the yet-unnamed successor of the Aventador, the codename for the project is LB48H according to the cited publication. Chief technical officer Maurizio Reggiani added that hybridization came from necessity rather than choice, which goes to show how much of a challenge Lamborghini has to face in the next decade.

It’s often reported that the Aventador’s heir-apparent will use an electrified front axle, dropping the driveshaft that sends the suck-squeeze-bang-blow to the front wheels from the current generation. “It would be easy to have full torque vectoring at the front,” said Reggiani, “to help compensate again for the increase in weight with more agility.”

One problem with such a setup is that electric drive becomes less effective as speed increases. In a similar fashion to the BMW i8 – which uses the eAxle from GKN to manage the electric drive up front - the solution might come in the guise of a two-speed transmission for Lamborghini as well.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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