Lamborghini’s First Hybrid Supercar, the Sián, Is Also Its Quickest
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Lamborghini isn’t afraid of the electric future, apparently. Instead the marque envisions the EV era as just another opportunity to do what it does best—create powerful and lightening-fast supercars that serious collectors lust for.
On Tuesday, the Italian automaker unveiled its first hybrid, the Sián. Set to make its public debut at the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show later this month, the first glimpse of the eagerly anticipated vehicle makes clear that the company isn’t interested in compromises even as it moves into uncharted territory.
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“Not only does the Sián deliver a formidable hyper-car design and engineering tour de force today, it augments the potential for Lamborghini as a super sports car brand for tomorrow and for decades to come, even as hybridization becomes more desirable and inevitably essential,” said Stefano Domenicali, the company’s chairman and CEO.
But what’s most intriguing about the Sián—which means means “flash” or “lightning” in Bolognese dialect—is what lays under the hood. The first thing you’ll notice, of course, is the car’s striking design. The wedge-shaped supercar is a Lamborghini through and through, showing off all the dramatic angles and flourishes you expect from the brand. There are distinct Countach touches throughout the design, most apparent in the car’s aerodynamic roof tunnel. It also features the same Y-shaped headlights that were first seen on the Terzo Millennio concept car.
The company considers the car the “first step in Lamborghini’s route to electrification” and has outfitted its with a 785hp V12 engine with titanium intake valves. But rather than being powered by a lithium ion battery, this one gets its juice from an ultra-light supercapacitor, the first to be used in a hybrid powertrain. The supercapacitor is charged through regenerative braking, and an additional 34hp electric motor sits between the cockpit and bulkhead to ensure perfect weight distribution. The two takeover whenever the car is operating at low speeds, like when its parking or reversing.
Combining to produce 819 hp, the Sián’s two engines also produce some very serious zip. With the lowest weight-to-power ratio the Lamborghini V12 family has ever seen, the car is capable of going from 0 to 62 in just 2.8 seconds, a record for the automaker. It can also sprint from 20 mph to 40 mph and 45 mph to 75 mph quicker than the company’s extremely powerful Aventador SVJ.
But design and performance aren’t the only way the Sián lives up to the Lamborghini name. The brand’s first electrified bull will also be incredibly hard to come by. Apparently the car’s entire production run of 63—in honor of the year the Lamborghini was founded—has already been sold. Check out more photos of the car below:
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