Lamborghini Believes Synthetic Fuel Can Be An Alternative To Electric

Lamborghini is defying the downsizing trend by sticking with V12 power in its Aventador replacement while the Huracan’s successor engine has been confirmed to have more than six cylinders. Both will be hybrids to comply with stricter emission regulations, but the large capacity engine will be responsible for propulsion. Peepers from Sant’Agata Bolognese aren’t in a rush to jump in on the EV just yet.

In an interview with Tech Crunch, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann says the company doesn’t have to decide now about when to stop the combustion engine. While mainstream brands have no other way than to discontinue ICE in the EU by the middle of the next decade, smaller brands will have an extra year to discontinue fossil fuel cars:

“It’s a bit difficult, because the European Parliament decided earlier in the year that they would ban gas engines and diesel engines by 2035, and smaller manufacturers like Lamborghini by 2036, so we don’t have to decide now.”

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Lamborghini’s chief honcho believes there is great potential in synthetic fuels as the savior of ICE: “We still have a possible opportunity to get into synthetic fuels with this type of car.” However, Winkelmann says that can only be achieved if the law is changed, which he cannot project will happen soon. If synthetic fuels don’t gain traction, the 57-year-old executive says Lambo will be on pure electricity by the early 2030s.

The company’s first model to eliminate the combustion engine will arrive in 2028 as a crossover. Before that happens, the plug-in hybrid Urus is expected to be released before the end of the year. The Urus and the facelifted Huracan Sterrato will go down in history as Lamborghini’s last ICE cars, with both coming out in the next few months.

By 2025, the Italian automaker aims to halve its CO₂ emissions by hybridizing the three model lines through an investment of €1.5 billion. Part of the money will be used to further develop carbon fiber as a method to offset the weight gain caused by the additional hardware that comes with the electric setup.