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Lamborghini confirms Urus SUV will be its only plug-in hybrid

According to Autocar, we'll be seeing the first production hybrid Lamborghini soon. The publication reports that Lamborghini's research and development chief, Maurizio Reggiani, confirmed that the Urus SUV will be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. This would also makes sense considering former Lamborghini CEO Stephen Winkelmann's statement that if the company ever produced a hybrid, the Urus would be "the logical place for it to launch." Aside from this, Reggiani revealed nothing more about the gas-electric Urus. Reggiani did, however, provide some insight to Autocar into Lamborghini's powertrain decisions. He told the publication that the Urus's already confirmed twin-turbo V8 was chosen because of a need for torque in an SUV. With this in mind, it will be interesting to see what the company does with the hybrid since a big enough electric motor (or motors) could provide a remarkable amount of torque and, in turn, some impressive performance figures. Lamborghini has even shown this potential in the Asterion concept, which produced 910 horsepower from a 5.2-liter V10 and three electric motors. Of course we'd expect an Urus hybrid to be much less potent and probably connected to a version of the turbocharged V8. Reggiani also told Autocar that, just as the Urus has specific powertrain needs, the supercars do as well. He said that the company has no intention of adding turbocharging to any of its cars. On this subject, he told the publication, "A supercar is completely different; you need the responsiveness of the engine, to feel the spark of every cylinder." It will be interesting to see how long people like Reggiani can keep turbocharging and hybrid assistance out of the sports cars in the face of stricter emissions targets. He hints that future advancements in weight reduction and other areas may be key to that. It's certainly nice to hear that there are people at Lamborghini that still value the subjective aspects that make sports cars great. It's also news that's sure to put fans of Lamborghini's classic, naturally aspirated sports cars at ease. Related Video:

Lamborghini Gallardo production ends on No. 14,022

The Lamborghini Gallardo made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in 2003, after Volkswagen Group's Audi bought the Italian automaker. With a V10 engine, all-wheel drive and relatively high production numbers for a Lamborghini (about 2,000 per year), it easily became the the company's best-selling car. Ten years later, Gallardo production has ended to make room for a new super sportscar that has been seen testing and is widely referred to as the Cabrera (Lamborghini hasn't officially said what it will be called).
The last Gallardo to roll off the assembly line was a LP 570-4 Spyder Performante in Rosso Mars (Mars Red). It's No. 14,022 and will be going to a private collector. In the first four decades of Lamborghini's existence, before the Gallardo was released the year of the company's 40th anniversary, the automaker built an average of 250 cars per year. Do the math and you'll realize that almost half of the roughly 30,000 Lamborghinis built since 1963 are Gallardos.
The Gallardo was continually improved over the years, resulting in ever higher horsepower, direct-injected engines, rear-wheel-drive models and the open-top Spyder, such as the Gallardo LP 550-2 Spyder we tested in 2012.

Former Ferrari F1 chief could be new Lamborghini CEO

The word on the street in Bologna is that Lamborghini is in for a changing of the guard. Current CEO Stephan Winkelmann is tipped to step down after 14 years at the helm in Sant'Agata, likely to move to another role at Audi. And in his place, the German automaker is anticipated to appoint Stefano Domenicali. Domenicali was formerly the head of Scuderia Ferrari, rising through the ranks at Maranello to succeed Jean Todt as team principal in 2008. He resigned in 2014 to be replaced first by Ferrari US chief Marco Mattiacci and then by Marlboro man Maurizio Arrivabene as the team has struggled to find its form again. Shortly after leaving Maranello, Domenicali took up a new position at Audi, where he was rumored to be working on the company's anticipated foray into Formula One with Red Bull. But after that program was shut down in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal, Domenicali is now tipped to move back to Italy to take over the supercar business. Stefano would be the second Domenicali to head an Italian performance brand under the VW/Audi umbrella, joining Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali (they not believed to be related). The move would also be a particularly emphatic gesture to Sergio Marchionne. The Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief has previously lost top lieutenants to Volkswagen, most notably Luca de Meo, who headed up VW brand's passenger car marketing department before taking over at Seat. While previous Ferrari chiefs Todt and Montezemolo came up through the racing department, Marchionne assumed the chairmanship in Maranello and brought in outside talent instead. Meanwhile Winkelmann has been in charge of Lamborghini since 2005, when he was appointed by Audi to run the company it had just acquired a few years prior. Under the tenure of the German-Italian executive, Lamborghini sales have risen from 1,600 units per year to over 2,500 last year. The introduction of the forthcoming Urus crossover, birthed under Winkelmann's leadership, is expected to more than double that overall figure. Given his success in transforming Lamborghini, it isn't likely that the Volkswagen Group will simply show Winkelmann the door. Word has it that he'll receive another posting at Audi, potentially taking over the growing Quattro GmbH division in Neckarsulm. The division is responsible for all of Audi's RS models as well as the R8 – the latter of which Audi sells as many units as the entire Lamborghini division does in a year.