Lamborghini's last remaining pure gas guzzlers are all spoken for

Sorry, aspiring Lamborghini owners: the Volkswagen-owned supercar biz has reportedly sold out of the remaining pure internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles it plans to make.

No, that doesn't mean the venerable Italian maker of flash motors is going under - as a matter of fact it claims to be doing better than ever in 2023, its 60th year of operation. Rather, according to what CEO Stephan Winkelmann told Germany's Die Welt, anyone ordering a Lambo from now on will be getting a hybrid, or maybe eventually an all-electric, supercar.

The Lamborghini Huracán and Urus vehicles currently in production will be the final ones to be purely ICE-driven, Winkelmann said. The first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) made by Lamborghini, the Revuelto, was revealed by the luxury carmaker in March, but has yet to hit the market. 

For those worried that the Revuelto may do away with Lamborghini's famously oversized engines, don't worry about that, either: It's still going to be packing a V12, but with a electric boost package.

Whose ever heard of a 12-cylinder hybrid?

Aside from style and price, Lamborghini is also known for the massive 12-cylinder engines with absolutely abysmal fuel economy that are the heart of its cars. But let's be realistic: no one is buying a Lambo because they want to show off their environmental bona fides or if they are worried about fuel prices. 

Lamborghini's forthcoming Revuelto hybrid vehicle - Click to enlarge

Surprisingly enough for a supercar that's leading Lamborghini's push toward environmental sustainability, the 12-cylinder engine is still present in the forthcoming PHEV ("high performance electrified vehicle" in Lamborghini's parlance) Revuelto. That said, the Revuelto is equipped with "a new 12-cylinder engine with hybrid technology," Winkelmann said, describing the car as an "important pillar" in the company's electrification strategy it first revealed a year ago.

Under the "Direzione Cor Tauri" plan, Lamborghini will transition to all hybrid vehicles by the end of 2024, and will offer its first all-electric vehicle in the second half of the decade. The all-electric offering is rumored to be an SUV-style car that could be shown off as early as 2028.

In the meantime, we're left with the hybrid Revuelto with its 1,001 horsepower, a top speed of over 350 kph (217 mph), the ability to go from zero to 100 kph (zero to 62 mph) in 2.5 seconds, and a mostly carbon-fiber body that Lamborghini says greatly reduces its mass and gives it the best weight-to-power ratio ever seen in its cars. 

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The Bolognese auto artistes are quick to brag about that, but makes no mention of the Revuelto's fuel economy. Lamborghini said on the vehicle's webpage that's because it's still in the approval process, and besides: EU law doesn't require a company to reveal fuel economy data on cars not yet available for purchase. 

So, efficiency improvements over older 12-cylinders like the 2021 Lamborghini Aventador Sian Roadster that manages eight miles per gallon in the city and 14 on the highway, is unknown. We reached out to Lamborghini to see if they'd share the details but didn't immediately hear back.

Winkelmann said last year that Lamborghini still isn't sure if it'll completely commit to electric vehicles. "We don't need to decide now," he said despite the company's announcement that it was investing €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) in its electrification strategy. 

No matter what course Lamborghini pursues in the coming decade, Winkelmann said the company will still be selling cars equipped with its gas-guzzling V12 engines by 2030, climate concerns and terrible fuel efficiency be damned. ®