Lamborghini reportedly showed about 200 potential customers a prototype of a new hybrid supercar that’s set to debut soon, according to a website called The Supercar Blog. Treat it with scepticism, but Lamborghini’s been talking about production cars going hybrid for a while now. This would get that rolling.
The Lamborghini Huracan Performante at the Geneva Motor Show in 2017. Lamborghini has said that future Huracans and Aventadors will need to go hybrid. Photo: Harold Cunningham (Getty Images)
The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio concept. Image: Lamborghini
The original report doesn’t name the private event in Italy that this car was apparently shown off at, and there are no photos or named sources. It only cites unnamed sources in saying that the car will be limited edition and that it’s a precursor to the eventual Aventador replacement, which Lamborghini has already said will be a plug-in hybrid.
It’s said the same thing about the Huracan.
The Supercar Blog wrote that the new hybrid’s codename is LB48H and that it has similar styling to the electric Terzo Millennio concept from November that’s supposed to be able to pull a Terminator T-1000 and heal itself. From the story:
While, 200 prospective clients attended the event, it is believed that only 63 units of the Lamborghini LB48H will be built. Production will start by end-2018 and deliveries are expected in the latter half of 2019. It is likely to cost around $US2.5 ($3) million before taxes.
Lamborghini will be showcasing the car in New York and Tokyo in the coming weeks.
Jalopnik reached out to Lamborghini about the story to ask about it, and, while the company didn’t give the usual “not commenting on future products line,” it didn’t say much.
“We are not confirming this,” a Lamborghini spokesperson said, adding that the company has no comment on the report.
Jalopnik checked global trademark filings to see if any car names had been applied for, but didn’t see anything that stuck out. We’ve also asked a few supercar owners if they have any firsthand knowledge about the reports going around, and will update this story if we hear anything.
While the sourcing on the story is thin, hybrid power is all about getting with the times and the emissions standards, and Lamborghini’s talked about that publicly multiple times.
The company’s chief technical officer told Top Gear earlier this year that Lamborghini’s not going to go greener with turbos on its supercars, and echoed that to Autocar.
That doesn’t include the Urus SUV, which is a twin-turbo V8. From Top Gear:
What this means, Reggiani later clarified, is that the naturally aspirated V12 and V10 engines will live on for another generation, but with hybrid assistance, and a small electric-only range to help the company reduce its average emissions.
“The big questions are packaging and weight. Yes, this will be a silent Lamborghini, but push the accelerator and the engine will come. Silence will only last for some seconds then comes the sound.”
What also made The Supercar Blog‘s report stick out was that “LB48H” mention. An Instagram account that appears to belong to the director of Lamborghini’s Lisboa, Portugal dealership used a hashtag with that codename on a post from June 18, which had “We made it possible! Soon!” as the caption.
A cached version of the post shows that it had four hashtags when originally shared — #masterpiece, #lamborghini, #lamborghinilisboa and #lb48h. The #lb48h and #masterpiece hashtags have since been removed.
If the sources who talked to The Supercar Blog have it right, we’ll evidently be seeing that masterpiece. Soon.