These days it seems everywhere you look manufacturers are turning to turbocharging as a means to improve their engine emissions and other boring things.
Now I cannot deny turbos have their advantages, but when Lamborghini boss Stephan Winkelmann hints that their naturally aspirated V12 is sticking around for a while longer, you can’t help but crack a little smile.
At the launch of the new Aventador S CarAdvice quotes him as saying:
“We want to be different, we don’t want to follow the route of the others,” Domenicali said. “We are puristic in that respect. The top priority for us is to retain the feel from a naturally aspirated engine.
“The Aventador has more than five or six more years to run and the next platform also has a V12 at the centre of the project.
“Our position in the [Volkswagen] group must be different, and a naturally aspirated V12 engine is part of that difference.”
He admitted that an electrical boost is inevitable but not just yet:
“I think that the V12 is still alive, to be extended, because it is such an important part of our tradition and heritage,” he said. “The future of the V12 is still important.
“Emissions are important of course, and our goal is always to improve the efficiency of the engine, but with our numbers we don’t see realistic issues in the short term.”
