Wheels Australia — June 2017

@wheelsaustralia 101

Another brand wanted less carbonfibre because of a

different cost target.

“The Huracan is a good example of one that worked.

We are trying to conceive a common platform for

another sports car but can’t say yet whether it will

be successful because there are so many differences

between the brands. My opinion is that, on a super

sports car, having a platform that’s good for everybody

will always be a compromise.”

Maurizio Reggiani, Lamborghini’s 57-year-old R&D

Director, reinforces the impression that Sant’Agata

now has enough sway to nudge compromises its way

with issues like who will lead the Huracan/Audi R8

replacement’s development.

“We have one important mother,” Reggiani says. “She

has allowed us to make this huge investment, achieve

the results we’re now enjoying, and create a dream like

the Urus in a short time.”

Reggiani, an engine man who came to Sant’Agata

in 1994 after six years at Maserati and six at Bugatti,

has links to Lamborghini’s engineering roots: he has

worked with Paolo Stanzani and Gian Paolo Dallara,

Lamborghini’s founding engineering giants. He points

to a treasured photograph signed by Dallara, Stanzani

and designer Marcello Gandini. “These three, as young

men, built the original dreams of Lamborghini,” he

says. “Dallara and Stanzani were innovators; visionaries

who understood what Lamborghini stood for. They

wanted to make the purest incarnation of a super

sports car. Bob Wallace understood how to translate

the sensation of driving a sports car on the road, and

communicate that back to the R&D team.”

Mindful of his legacy, Reggiani is driving

Lamborghini full-tilt into a tech-dense, scientifically

analysed supercar position that includes aeronautical

technology for chassis control, four-wheel steering

that works up to 200mph and simulates shrinking or

stretching the wheelbase, sensors embedded in tyre

rubber, revolutionary aerodynamics, and neurological

research into how drivers react.

He talks enthusiastically about thePiattaforma

Inerziale(inertial platform) vehicle dynamics control

system (see sidebar above) introduced with the Huracan.

“We’ve arrived at a level of performance where we need

to give customers confidence that they can use that

much performance safely. The more you give them that

feeling, the more they love the car. Its fundamental that

they must not be worried about using it.”

Yes, but some testers thought the original Huracan

understeered too much. Reggiani says: “My immediate

response is: what mode are you in? In Strada, which is

biased towards understeer, if you’re not a great driver

you will have great safety because you can enter bends

without the rear moving too much. In Sport, we assume

your skill is better so we give you more tail movement

by adjusting front-to-rear torque. In Corsa, you have

neutrality for optimum speed through a corner.”

Nevertheless, he confirms that Lamborghini did mildly

revise the front-to-rear torque calibration for the

Huracan Spyder to make it more neutral in Strada.

Now there’s the four-wheel steering standard on this

year’s Aventador S. At low speed, the rear wheels turn

in the opposite direction from the fronts to virtually

shorten the wheelbase and boost manoeuvrability. At

speed, the rear wheels turn in parallel with the fronts.

“It’s like elongating the wheelbase by 500mm,” says

Reggiani. “It gives us great stability at high speed.”

Making it work meant long sessions with Pirelli to

sort rear tyres. “We started with the same tyres both

ends but were obliged to develop specific rear P Zeros

that can steer at six degrees.” Next up with Pirelli is

a project to embed micro sensors in tyre rubber to

measure load, angle of load, and temperature related

to handling and speed.

The Aventador S’s more sophisticated and dramatic

nose – which generates 130 percent more downforce

• rear panels, wing and diffuser are aerodynamically
  focused to increase stability across a wide speed range.

ABOVE: THE

AVENTADOR’S

MIGHTY V12 IS

A CLEAN-SHEET

DESIGN. THE PRIOR

BIZZARRINI V12 WAS

DEVELOPED OVER 48

YEARS FROM 350GT

TO MURCIELAGO

LP640

Lamborghini’s Piattaforma Inerzi

dynamics system adopts a data rel

arrangement used in aircraft, but

never before in a production car. Three

accelerometers and three gyroscopes at

the centre of gravity – in the Huracan,

just behind the seats – feed real-time

data about longitudinal acceleration,

roll, pitch and yaw instantaneously

to the ESC, four-wheel-drive, steering

and damper systems. “You have

the impression of being faster, more

consistent,” says R&D Director Maurizio

Reggiani. He says that the system lets

you go “close to the point of no return and

continuously controls, checks and tries

to avoid the car being lost. If you made

a mistake with a Diablo you could only

pray. With Huracan, you can make all

the mistakes you want but – within the

physical limits – the car is able to act and

react to guarantee stability and control.”

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