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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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