Short of revealing the new Aventador LP700-4 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Lamborghini revealed a new selection of details about it’s upcoming supercar, which company CEO Stephan Winkelmann says will be the trendsetter of the next decade.
At a private event the night before the Detroit Auto Show, company execs confirmed that the successor to the Murcielago will keep the current cars DNA, retaining scissor doors, AWD and the current models massive air intakes. All the rest, however, will be new.
Winkelmann confirmed that the car will get a carbon fiber chassis; and not just a tub like the McLaren F1, but a complete shell including the roof. Plus carbon fiber will be used for the rocket panels as well. As rumored, the LP700-4 will get a pushrod suspension setup, similar to those found on race cars. “This will be the first time such a suspension is used on a normal production car,” said Winkelmann.
Lamborghini has already announced details of the car’s new engine, which will displace 6.5-liters and have 12-cylinders. Power will be rated at roughly 690-hp. It will be 18 percent more powerful than the Murcielago, while also emitting 20 percent fewer emissions says Lamborghini R&D boss Maurizio Reggiani . As for the transmission, Lamborghini will make use of its new ISR 7-speed transmission – the first use of a 7-speed with a V12 in the industry. With five gear settings, (auto strada, auto sport, strada, sport and corsa) the innovative transmission will be able to deliver shift times of just 50 ms in Corsa – which is almost as quick as a Formula 1 car.
Reggiani says that in Auto Strada mode shifts will be close to 300 to 400 ms to allow for a more comfortable drive, with 150 ms in the manual shift modes. As for the decision to not use a dual-clutch setup, Reggiani says it is for two reasons. “We decided to use a single clutch because first we want the customer to feel the emotion in shifting. Second we want to reduce weight.” Further explaining himself, Reggiani says that a dual-clutch setup would be 20 kg heavier and also less efficient, as in order for a dual-clutch to deliver the ‘shift-shock’ feeling of changing gears, it needs to interrupt the delivery of power. Not so with the ISR.
As for the rest of the car it will be more ergonomic than even the Gallardo, with space for larger drivers. The dash will feature a new TFC instrument cluster, meaning that it won’t have traditional physical gauges, but that all instrumentation will be displayed on a screen.
Previewing most everything but the shape of the actual car, unfortunately Lamborghini won’t be making the big reveal in Detroit. Instead, look for the car at the Geneva Auto Show in March.