@wheelsaustralia 103
Lamborghini has learned a lot from working with
Dallara on its Huracan Super Trofeo and GT3 race
cars. The Huracan Performante’s ingenious ALA active
aerodynamic system is a direct practical application of
this work. “Venturi effect is really important,” Reggiani
says. “It’s the only thing that increases downforce
without penalising driveability. Aerodynamics and
weight are the two pillars where we will push to
innovate as much as possible.”
Lamborghini is also continuing the research
program with the neurology faculty of Rome’s
Sapienza University that began during the Huracan’s
development. It’s to learn more about drivers’ reactions.
The scientists discovered that, in emergencies, the
right side of the brain manages the left hand. So the
Huracan’s turn indicators and headlight flashers are
tabs on the left of the wheel where they can be worked
with your left thumb. “This kind of analysis helps us be
more scientific about control layout.”
What about engines? In a world moving to smaller
turbocharged units, and electrification, Lamborghini’s
smallest engine is a 5.2-litre V10. “Our job is to continue
to be flag-bearers for the naturally aspirated V12 and
V10,” says Reggiani. “New rules governing sound,
fuel consumption and emissions, and taxation, will
kill today’s big naturally aspirated engines. When that
happens, the big task is to ensure that what comes next
has the same emotion and performance.”
The first step is Urus’s turbocharged V8 – the most
powerful in its class, aimed at making Urus the fastest
SUV. But Reggiani says getting the sound right has
been a challenge. “We have to make sure all the DNA
is intact,” he says. “Urus will be the first super sports
luxury SUV. It will define a new category in power and
performance. Everybody who gets into it must know
immediately that they’re in a Lamborghini. That means
sound, engine responsiveness and spirit. Driving it will
be about luxury but most importantly the dynamic
experience expected of a Lamborghini. It will have space
and comfort with technologies under the bonnet, in the
cabin and in design that make it clearly a Lamborghini.”
A year after launch, the petrol V8 (Reggiani makes
it clear that diesels aren’t on Lamborghini’s agenda)
will be joined by a hybrid, important not only for the
SUV but to lower the fleet average for emissions and
consumption. Hybrids for the sports cars are another
matter. Although the 2014 669kW Asterion plug-in
hybrid concept showed how Lamborghini can include
electric power, and it has all the Volkswagen Group’s
knowledge and systems to draw upon, resistance to
adding 250kg or so means Sant’Agata will hold off
introducing hybrid sports cars in volume until battery
weights decrease and range increases. The V12 will
continue until the end of the Aventador’s production life
in 2022 “and possibly beyond” according to Reggiani.
Spontaneously, he talks joyously about the freedom
of being an engineer at Lamborghini now – of being
able to plan long range, scouting out new technologies
(“the best in the world, not just in the car industry”)
and new ways of engineering performance cars while
focusing on maximising profit. “We are living a dream.
We are able to scope what the Lamborghini of the third
millennium can be.”
His exuberance sums up the atmosphere at
Sant’Agata now. While, for most of Lamborghini’s
54-year history, brilliant engineers and dedicated
employees somehow, often against the odds, kept
Ferruccio Lamborghini’s vision alive, they never
enjoyed this kind of confidence, and this kind of
capability. Stephan Winkelmann, through his
11-year stint as CEO, guided the company to this place
of new dreams, and left it in rude health when he
handed over to Stefano Domenicali: ex-Ferrari, locally
educated and steeped in the automotive culture of
Emilia-Romagna. You get the feeling that having an
Italian in charge again is the icing on the cake.BELOW: BACK
BEFORE CLEAN
ROOMS, ZERO-DUST
ENVIRONMENTS,
AND NO-ONE NEEDED
A CIGGIE BREAK
BECAUSE YOU
COULD SMOKE
ON THE JOBIn the 1970s, 80s and 90s
Lamborghini lurched from one
financial crisis and owner to another.
Now, cash flow can fund new
projects, and 15 percent of turnover is
spent on research and development.
In 2016, this figure grew for the sixth
straight year, to a record 906 millionEuros (A$1.3bn). Huracan is a major
success, notching up 2353 sales in
2016, while 1104 customers bought
Aventadors. When Urus sales start
in 2018, production space will have
almost doubled to 150,000sqm.
Engine shop boss Giuseppe
Marescalchi, who’s 60 and has beenat Sant’Agata for 34 years (he started
out building Countach QV V12s),
beams as he talks about the security
Audi’s ownership has brought. “Our
hearts are very happy now,” he says.
“Before, we didn’t know if we’d have
jobs or not. Now we’re financially
strong, everything is good.”Bull
market