Lamborghini had much of the super car elite all abuzz in anticipation of the introduction of it first-ever hybrid, the Sián, at IAA 2019, but it was VW that stole the headlines at its debut.
The Italian carmaker rolled the green machine onto the stage in Frankfurt with a name that was unexpected: the Lamborghini Sián FKP 37, in recognition of Ferdinand Karl Piëch, the former head of Volkswagen.
The special name honors Piëch, who was born in 1937, because without him, it’s likely that Lamborghini would have been relegated to the automotive history books. The company was at the precipice of failure in 1988 when he swooped in and bought it as part of Audi, of which VW is the parent company.
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“Prof. Dr. Piëch innately understood the attraction and potential of the Lamborghini brand and how it could fit within the Volkswagen Group, whilst retaining its unique Italian super sports car identity and design and engineering DNA,” said Stefano Domenicali, chairman and chief executive officer of Automobili Lamborghini.
“Prof. Dr. Piëch was an engineer and an innovator, particularly appreciating the appeal of the iconic Lamborghini V12 powertrain on which today, the Sián FKP 37 combines pioneering hybrid technologies.
“The Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 provides fitting recognition of the role Piëch, and the Volkswagen Group, played in facilitating our flourishing brand today, as well as heralding Lamborghini’s innovative route to the future.”
Since it’s Lamborghini’s first-ever hybrid, it might as well also be the company’s fastest car. The new beast puts out 819 horsepower and has the lowest-ever weight-to-power ratio of any V12 Lamborghini.
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“As to that speed, it races from 0 to 60 mph in less than 2.8 seconds on specially developed Pirelli P Zero tires and hits a top speed of more than 350 km/h, or 217 mph.
The Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 delivers unique new hybrid technologies, including the world-first application of a supercapacitor for hybridization, new materials technology, and unsurpassed Lamborghini performance.
Its futuristic design clearly intimates the first electrification of a production Lamborghini and the ground-breaking hybrid technologies within, as does its Sián moniker, meaning ‘flash of lightening’ in its homeland Bolognese dialect.
At a price of more than two million euro, or $2.2 million, plus taxes, each owner of the already-sold 63 units will specify their unique car in conjunction with Lamborghini’s Centro Stile and Ad Personam team.
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