Lamborghini Lanzador: Fully Electric Off-Road Supercar
Lamborghini has announced plans to electrify its entire product range by the end of 2024. In fact, the storied Italian brand is spending almost two billion euros over the next four years to add hybrid technology to its high-performance sports cars and Urus super-SUV – the largest investment in tech the brand has ever made. As an indication of how serious Lamborghini is about electrification, it recently unveiled a concept car, called the Lanzador, which previews a “fourth model” which will be the first fully-electric Lamborghini.
A combination of sleek two-door sports car, off-road buggy, and SUV, the Lanzador is designed to show Lamborghini’s direction for the future. A link between the almost-practical Urus and its supercars, the production version of the Lanzador will enter production in 2028 at the company’s factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy. Lamborghini is currently expanding the production facility and plans to hire additional employees to build the fully-electric off-roader, which will be built alongside the Revuelto hybrid supercar and the plug-in hybrid version of the Urus, due shortly.
Lamborghini Lanzador: Design
A sports car with giant wheels, high ground clearance, and two-plus-two seating, the Lanzador combines the performance of a Lamborghini supercar with enhanced versatility into an extreme vehicle that’s usable every day. The electric drivetrain, with compact motors and a low-set battery, has allowed Lamborghini’s designers to create a body with completely different proportions and remarkable interior space – all while staying true to the company’s outrageous design language.
“Inspired by spaceships,” according to the company’s press release, the Lanzador starts with the tight volumes of a supercar, with a pilot-like driving position and a side profile that could only be a Lamborghini, with a sweeping single line connecting the front and rear. At the same time, the lower half of the car incorporates huge wheels and movable aerodynamic components for a very technical look. Despite the tall ride height, the Lanzador is still much lower than conventional SUVs, giving it a powerful stance on the road.
The Lanzador’s interior continues the spaceship theme, giving the driver the felling of piloting a high-tech fighter. The typical reclined seats and panoramic view out the front are similar to other Lamborghini models, but the space liberated by the compact EV motors, where a V12 engine normally would be, has allowed Lamborghini to create a unique two-plus-two interior with usable rear seats as well as sufficient space for luggage and sports equipment. In addition to the rear cargo area accessible through a large glass tailgate, there is also a front trunk for extra versatility.
While still very luxurious, the Lanzador’s interior is made almost completely from sustainable materials – all sourced from Italy. High-end Merino wool features on the dashboard, seats, and on the door trim panels. All of the thread is made of recycled plastic, and the leather is sustainably tanned. Non-visible plastic, such as the foam used in the seats, are made of 3D-printed recycled material, and even the carbon trim panels are made from regenerated carbon, a new, two-layer material.
First All-Electric Lamborghini
The Lanzador previews Lamborghini’s first all-electric drivetrain. While the company is coy about power output, it says that a high specific power electric motor is mounted on each axle, and that the total output is over one megawatt – or about 1,340 hp. Permanent all-wheel drive is standard, allowing the Lanzador to deploy its power confidently in every condition and on every surface, and there is also electronic torque vectoring on the rear axle to enhance cornering performance. Electric motors provide much more precise torque distribution than the differentials commonly used with gasoline engines; the necessary torque needed for each axle is calculated in milliseconds. Wheel-speed control also finely regulates power and torque at the individual wheels for more precise handling and greater safety.
A “next-generation high-performance battery” will also ensure a long range, though Lamborghini has yet to share any EPA range estimates – though the Lanzador will likely go further on a charge than one of Lamborghini’s gas-swilling V8, V10 or V12 models will on a tank of gas.
In addition to electric power, the Lanzador features the latest version of Lamborghini’s Dinamica Veicolo Integrata (LDVI) driving dynamics control system. Electric power allows the system to integrate more sensors and actuators, allowing it to operate even more precisely than before. There is also an active chassis that includes rear-axle steering for improved handling and a tight turning circle, as well as air suspension which adapts to different road and off-road conditions, and allows for the ride height to be adjusted on the fly.
A Taste of Things to Come
While it serves a very elite audience, Lamborghini has been making significant investments in sustainable production and carbon reduction for a number of years. Since 2015, the company’s factory has been operating as a certified CO2-neutral facility, and in October 2021, Lamborghini committed to halving its carbon emissions from 2025.
By the end of 2024, all of Lamborghini’s product range, which has traditionally been powered by large-capacity, high-consumption gasoline engines, will be converted to hybrid technology – a huge shift, but one that will benefit performance as well as efficiency. The Lanzador, which is currently a “laboratory on wheels,” will be Lamborghini’s first all-electric model – and the Italian company promises it will continue to deliver the extraordinary performance that its customers expect, even while producing zero emissions. For the 60-plus year-old company, the Lanzador is a bold, transformative step forward into the future.
