Lamborghini EVs to be tuned for pace and emotional appeal

Lamborghini is well under way with the research and development programme for its first electric sports cars, which the firm says will tout blistering on-paper performance figures but put dynamic engagement and emotional appeal first.

The Sant’Agata firm revealed the Lanzador concept last year as a vision of its first production electric car, which is due on sale around 2028 as a high-riding four-door GT car with more than 1000bhp.

Details of electric successors to Lamborghini’s more traditional supercars remain under wraps, but CEO Stephan Winkelmann says no electric Lamborghini will rely exclusively on lofty power and performance figures as a means of differentiation.

He revealed that Lamborghini engineers “are testing a lot of electric cars” as part of the EV development process and hailed encouraging signs that the driving experience is not necessarily ubiquitous.

“We see that there are a lot of differences, which is a good sign,” he said. “It means that you can adapt electric cars to the needs of the brand.”

Winkelmann added that while an electric Lamborghini will inherently pack more power and accelerate quicker than any model that has gone before, the priority for the company is making sure it can provide a truly unique driving experience that emphasises the emotional appeal of its cars.

“The fact of the numbers is important,” he said. “For power output, we are talking about at least one megawatt [1341bhp]. This is for sure. This is one of the pillars of measurement for the performance of tomorrow when it comes to full electric.”

But Winkelmann added: “Much more important than these facts and figures for Lamborghini is how you feel in the car. Performance is divided into two. One part is acceleration, top speed, lap time and braking behaviour.

But this has to be translated into an emotional side and every customer who drives a Lamborghini acknowledges that there is this emotional part of a Lamborghini – and this has to be translated in electric cars.”

Winkelmann suggested electric Lamborghinis will have an “incredible” power-to-weight ratio but acknowledged that “the weight is going to be much higher than today”.

That is why the firm is exploring “what we can achieve with software” and emerging powertrain technologies as a means of enhancing dynamic appeal. He has outlined a stringent and intimidating brief for Lamborghini’s first electric powertrains.

“The engineers always put their hands on their head when I talk about this: the combination of repeated acceleration, top speed and range,” he said. “It is almost ‘mission impossible’ to have this on the highest level in every sense.”

Lamborghini engineers are “working hard” to achieve this balance, said Winkelmann, and while prototype testing is not yet under way, “we know what is going to be the contents of the car. We’re very confident to be persuasive on this type of car.”

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