CEO of supercar maker is sticking to naturally aspirated engines

folarin okunola

July 10, 2015 9:51 AM

Turbocharged engines are definitely on the company’s radar though, as the upcoming Urus SUV is rumored to be coming with a turbocharged powerplant.

The Lamborghini Huracan

“Naturally aspirated engines are still the best engines which are on the market for super sports cars, in terms of acceleration, in terms of sound,” reports quoted Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann as saying. “And unless there is [something] better, we are going to keep them.”

Sources say turbocharged engines are definitely on the company’s radar though, as the upcoming Urus SUV is rumored to be coming with a turbocharged powerplant. The brand is also building a twin-turbo V6 for the new Alfa Romeo Giulia.

The CEO admitted that Lamborghini is constantly looking for alternatives and admits that maybe one day exotics coming from the company’s factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese will have turbochargers – just not anytime soon, according to various reports.

According to sources, it was recently rumored that a turbocharged and supercharged engine could be used in the Lamborghini Huracan in order to comply with Asian tax laws, which heavily impacts the Chinese supercar market. At the very least, Lamborghini would have to turn to an engine smaller than four liters to fall into a lower tier on the annual consumption tax.

Currently, it’s a 40-percent charge for 4.0-liter engines and above while it’s only nine percent for a 2.0-liter engine. The scale is linear, so moving to a 2.5-liter with a supercharger and turbocharger, which the Volkswagen Group demonstrated with the Audi TT Clubsport Turbo concept, would make Huracans more affordable in China.

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folarin okunola