Lamborghini R&D Focus Shifts From More Power To Less Weight

Well it's about time. Lamborghini has always been a power company. Yeah, I know, horsepower can overcome a lot of handling deficiencies, but maybe that's the whole point, huh? I like Lambos, sure, but their whole tendency to be a little on the porky side has always gone against my grain.

All you have to do is stand on the gas in a Lotus, any Lotus, and you'll see why Colin Chapman was right on the money when he said, "To go fast, add lightness." So the fact the Lamborghini is finally getting out the scales sounds like very, very good news to me. Their mills already crank out heady amounts of power, now imagine what their cars will be like with less heft in the saddle.

"It has come to the point where acceleration equals consumption. More consumption means increased CO2 emissions." Lambo CEO Stephan Winkelmann correctly observes.

And R&D chief Maurizio Reggiani explained, "We will use composite materials in the right place, when it also has the right cost, stiffness and mechanical characteristics." Music to my ears.

Sources say that you can expect to see more aluminum to be used in place of heavier steel, a material that Lamborghini has been a little too fond of for far too long. Also there will be improved aerodynamics and the addition of stop/start technology to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. No doubt the stop/start stuff will be Audi/VW parts-bin sourced.

Sources also rumor about "full hybrid powertrains," but also caution that don't expect to see any movement on that front before the end of this decade, if at all. Again, any sort of Lambo mit hybrid drivetrain will most likely get stuff from Audi/VW, since the costs of developing such system completely in house would be astronomical.

So, no, there's no Lamborghini/Lotus 7 in the pipeline, but at least the bulls will drop a little weight.

Source: AutoBlog