Upon its debut at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering in 2023, the Lamborghini Lanzador caused some controversy among the supercar elite. As its first fully electric vehicle, the Lanzador was always going to be a polarizing product, but the automaker couldn’t have known at the time that the high-dollar EV market wouldn’t expand nearly as quickly as expected. As a result, Lamborghini went back to the drawing board with the Lanzador to give it one major alteration. Luckily, its customers responded to the change enthusiastically.
Still Electrified, Not All-Electric
Photos of the Lamborghini Lanzador ConceptCarBuzz/Valnet
The fourth Lamborghini product line is still anticipated for a 2028 arrival, but the Lanzador will no longer make use of a two-motor electric powertrain with 1,341 horsepower, as initially planned. In February, the company confirmed that it would reengineer the four-seat coupe to accommodate a plug-in hybrid powertrain with an internal-combustion engine working alongside electric motors. And as Lamborghini Chairman and CEO Stephan Winkelmann told us during a conversation at Monterey Car Week, potential customers agreed with the decision.
We decided to change the Lanzador from full electric to plug-in hybrid, and this was very well accepted by the customer. They’re very happy about that.
–Stephan Winkelmann, Chairman and CEO of Lamborghini
The Lanzador’s transition from electric to PHEV power is likely a result of both consumer feedback and luxury EV adoption that is slower than expected – something with which Lamborghini’s corporate cousins at Porsche have been struggling. The Taycan electric sedan’s lineup has been trimmed in the past few years to reduce manufacturing complexity and compensate for contracting demand, and the future Boxster/Cayman EV sports cars are suffering from pushback with the brand’s customers. It seems as though Lamborghini is trying to sidestep that controversy.
What’s Under The Hood?
What formula the Lanzador will follow is still unconfirmed. We’re unsure if the automaker’s so-called “high-performance electrified vehicle” powertrain, as found in the Revuelto and Temerario, will fit within the Lanzador’s grand touring form factor. Those cars have “through-the-road” all-wheel drive, with the front wheels driven exclusively by electric motors and the rear wheels taking orders from a V8 or V12 engine augmented by an electrified eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
We’re skeptical that powertrain would fit within the Lanzador’s bodywork without significant modifications, leading us to believe that a version of the Urus SE’s twin-turbocharged and electrified 4.0-liter V8 may show up instead. That would also make sense considering the newest Lamborghini coupe is expected to ride a bit higher than its supercar siblings for a small measure of rough-road capability, and the Urus platform could potentially be modified to create a slightly lower-slung sports coupe that still has some ground clearance.
Considering the EV concept had more than 1,300 ponies, we bet the PHEV production car will be at least as powerful as the 801-hp Urus SE Performante. In our dreams, we hope it’ll get closer to the 907 hp that comes from the Temerario’s gas-electric powertrain.
Base Trim Engine
4L V8 Hybrid
Base Trim Transmission
8-speed automatic
Base Trim Drivetrain
All-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
611 HP @6000 RPM
Base Trim Torque
589 lb.-ft. @ 2250 RPM
Base Trim Battery Type
Lithium ion (Li-ion)
Infotainment & Features
8.5 /10
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
It’s rather telling that, even in a lineup that includes such supercar standouts as the Tem and its Revuelto big sibling, Lamborghini couldn’t find enough customers for an electric GT coupe – we might have expected at least a few owners to raise their hands for a zero-emissions commuter to go along with their outrageous hypercars. But apparently, the market just isn’t there. We can give the Raging Bull credit for listening to its consumers, at least, because apparently the PHEV Lanzador is already a bigger success before it’s even gone on sale yet.
