New Lambo to use hybrid V12

Aventador successor gets unusual high-tech hybrid set-up and tops old car's output

- MICHAEL VAN RUNKLE

The long-awaited replacement Lamborghini will continue to draw the bulk of its power from a highly strung, large-capacity V12 engine - but with a new hybrid element that, bosses suggest, will make it significantly more powerful than today's model.

Due in 2023, the 12-cylinder supercar will use a totally new for Aventador combustion engine that will be supplemented with electric motors, in a similar set-up to that used by the limited-run Sián FKP 37 and Countach LPI 800-4 hyper-hybrids.

This electrification plan allows the Italian company's signature V12 engine to "live on", chief technical officer Rouven Mohr told Autocar, rather than being killed off due to the increasingly strict emissions regulations being brought in around the world.

To keep the V12 punch while reducing emissions, Lamborghini will install its state-of-the-art, lightweight supercapacitor energy-storage device, which it has continued to develop following its debut in the €2.5 million (£2.2m) Sián.