Latest news with #RouvenMohr
Motor 1
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Motor 1
Lamborghini Hints at a Rear-Wheel-Drive Temerario: 'A Different Kind of Hybridization'
For years, Lamborghini was all about all-wheel drive—it was the one thing separating the Italian automaker from its chief rival, Ferrari. Only occasionally did the company offer rear-wheel drive on a limited special edition. But Lamborghini began embracing rear-wheel drive near the end of the Gallardo's run. For the Huracan, the company would offer rear-drive in both base models and specials like the STO and Tecnica. Soon, the Temerario could follow in the same footsteps. Speaking to the UK's Car magazine at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Lamborghini CTO Rouven Mohr hinted at a rear-wheel drive Temerario. "I'm not saying in the future you couldn't see a [two-wheel drive] version of the street car, and then perhaps a different kind of hybridization," he said. Lamborghini Temerario Alleggerita Photo by: Lamborghini Currently, the Temerario is only offered as an all-wheel drive hybrid. It has a mid-mounted, twin-turbo V-8 and an electric motor driving the wheels, with two additional motors for the front wheels. In theory, it seems Lamborghini could delete the front motors, leaving just the V-8 and single rear electric motor. A car like this could still be very powerful—the engine on its own makes 789 horsepower, and the electric motor is capable of 147 hp. In its current all-wheel drive iteration, the Temerario makes 920 hp, as the engine and electric motors make peak power at different points. Car seemed to suggest to Mohr that a rear-drive hybrid Temerario may not need a battery as large as the all-wheel drive car's 3.8-kilowatt-hour unit, and that it might not need to be a plug-in hybrid either. "This [sort of hybrid] is already available today," he said, referencing the Porsche 911's hybrid system. He called it a "super example of a completely different hybrid approach." Photo by: Lamborghini The 911's hybrid system is pretty different than what Lamborghini may do, however. Porsche uses an internal-combustion engine designed around an electric turbocharger , whereas the new Lamborghini V-8 uses conventional turbos. While Mohr didn't confirm anything, we'd be shocked if we didn't see a rear-drive Temerario. Lamborghini tends to keep its models in production for a long time, introducing many variants to keep things fresh. Rear-wheel drive supercars are also a well-established part of its business now, and the prospect of a lighter, simpler Temerario has us excited. But don't expect to see a non-hybrid version. Lamborghini just revealed the Temerario GT3 race car , which deletes the hybrid system to comply with current GT3 regulations, but Mohr says he "wouldn't bet" on a non-hybrid street car. That said, he doesn't completely rule out the possibility—but the reality of current emissions regulations makes building such a car unrealistic. More on Lamborghini Lamborghini's New Supercar Is Going Racing Lamborghini Walks Back Urus EV, Plans Hybrid Instead Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
Motor Trend
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Motor Trend
Racing Bull: This Is Lamborghini's Wicked Temerario GT3 Race Car
After a decade campaigning the Huracán GT3 in sprint, endurance, and one-make series around the world, Lamborghini has retired its most successful race car in preparation for this news: The reveal of the new Lamborghini Temerario GT3. Lamborghini has unveiled the Temerario GT3, a race car designed entirely in-house to replace the Huracán GT3. The street car was developed with the racer in mind, so the latter has many tricks and features already built in to make it easier for the customer teams expected to buy the car. This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article Read Next Power to the People Picking up where the Huracán GT3 left off, the Temerario GT3 is designed for the global GT3 racing class and easily modified for similar classes in other series. It'll also take over as the exclusive car of Lamborghini's Super Trofeo series. Despite this, there will be no factory team in any series, with the company preferring to sell cars to as many customer racing teams as possible and provide them some level of support. 'Customer teams are essential to GT3,' Lamborghini's chief technical officer, Rouven Mohr, told MotorTrend . 'It will die without customer teams. Too many factory teams will drive up costs and push them out.' Not a Hybrid The Temerario GT3 is the first Lamborghini race car to be designed, developed, tested, and built entirely by the company's racing division, Squadra Corse. Like the Huracán GT3, it'll be built on the same assembly line as the Temerario road car, and as GT3 regulations require, it's based on the production model. It's fair to say, though, the street car was also based on racing requirements. The aluminum space frame, for example, is 20 percent stiffer than it would've needed to be for a street-only car to account for the stresses of racing. Unlike the upcoming road car, though, it's not a hybrid. GT3 rules don't allow for it and power is capped under Balance of Performance rules, so the whole system was jettisoned. That means no battery, no electric motor in the gearbox, no electric motors on the front axle, and therefore no all-wheel drive. Not only is it rear-wheel drive, but the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission is replaced with a six-speed sequential racing gearbox, also paddle-shifted. The starter and alternator also move to the gearbox. The resulting lower power output also led Lamborghini engineers to replace the turbos with smaller units. The boost they produce is tuned differently, too, to flatten the power curve and make up for the torque lost by removing the electric motors. In a demonstration of corporate efficiency, the same person was responsible for tuning the boost in both the street car and race car to get the best performance of out both. Now making just 550 hp (before Balance of Performance adjustments) instead of 789 hp in street tune (not including the hybrid system), Mohr is confident about reliability. The engine is understressed to say the least, with its redline lowered to just over 8,000 RPM from the street car's 10,000. Essentially, Lamborghini built a race engine first, then beefed it up for the road car where the rules on output are less stringent or nonexistent. Race Parts Another big change from the street car: hydraulic power steering. Mohr says it gives the best feedback and response to racing drivers who need to know exactly what the front contact patches are doing at all times, a statement any enthusiast can agree with. The pump is driven by an electric motor as it's more efficient than pulling power off the engine. Similarly, the optional air conditioning is also electrically driven. GT3 rules limit what you can do with suspension parts and geometry, but not shock absorbers, so the Temerario GT3 gets new six-way adjustable KW shocks. They're the same units from the SC63, Lamborghini's LMDh prototype race car racing in the world's top endurance classes. Hopefully they'll ride to better results in this car than in the struggling prototype. They might also show up in the street car at some point, likely in a track model, replacing the standard adaptive dampers. Similarly, Mohr says anything the teams learn about programming the traction control on the race track will trickle down to the street car. Less Work Under the Hood Because the race car was designed alongside the road car, certain considerations could be made for the benefit of the eventual race teams. The mounts for the front and rear subframes were specifically designed to make it easier for teams to remove them quickly to effectuate repairs. The interior was designed to accommodate a rollcage, which will come with the car. All the brackets for the hybrid system will never be installed in the racer, saving teams the trouble of removing them. By the same token, the new carbon-composite bodywork has also been designed to come off quickly and easily in as few pieces as possible. The lights have quick-disconnect systems so the wiring doesn't get hung up, and the underbody aero panels can be removed even when the car is on its (racer-only) built-in air jacks. All standard race car stuff, but it comes this way from the factory, saving the teams time and money in developing such parts and features themselves. Better Aero That bodywork does a better job of bending the air, too. Mohr says the Temerario GT3 is more aerodynamically efficient than the Huracán GT3, meaning it creates the same or more downforce with less drag. Some of this is, again, the result of co-developing the road and race cars, as there are rules about how much the body can change under GT3 regulations. Making the road car better makes the race car better. It also means Lamborghini was able to plan for the cooling upgrades needed right from the start. Race cars get more scoops and vents to cool their bigger and more numerous radiators and heat exchangers, and the effect those have on aerodynamics was taken into consideration when designing the street bodywork. It also made integrating the additional headlights needed for night races much easier. Better than Huracán As good as the Huracán GT3 was, Mohr says its bodywork and naturally aspirated V-10 worked against it on the racetrack. Competitors had done more to optimize their road car bodywork for racing, giving them an advantage, but turbos were the real difference maker. With modern Balance of Performance regulations, it's much easier to tune a turbocharged engine than design a new restrictor for a naturally aspirated one. Whether the updates pay off for the Temerario GT3 remains to be seen, and we won't be seeing it this season. Mohr predicts it'll make its racing debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March of next year.
Auto Blog
28-06-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
Lamborghini Just Joined These Top Automakers to Save the Gas Engine
Keeping combustion alive is in the best interest of brands that favor V12 and V8 engines Electrification isn't the only way forward for vehicles. One of the most popular alternatives, particularly among enthusiasts, is synthetic fuels. Synthetic fuels blend the charm and familiarity of internal combustion with, ideally, the environmental benefits of curbing gasoline use. While objectively not as clean running as a battery-powered vehicle, synthetic fuels have distinct practical advantages. Performance brands, particularly, are leading the charge, and Lamborghini is the latest automaker to show support. Previous Pause Next Unmute 0:00 / 0:10 Full screen 2025 Audi S3 VS 2025 Mercedes-AMG CLA 35: Which one comes out on top? Watch More Lamborghini Temerario Lamborghini Temerario Lamborghini Temerario For performance brands with lots of heritage attached to their combustion motors, synthetic fuels are one way to retain what makes their cars special. Rouven Mohr, Chief Technical Officer at Lamborghini, seems to recognize that. In an interview with Australian outlet CarExpert, Mohr is more than optimistic. 'I'm not saying that synthetic fuel is better than fossil fuel,' he starts. 'But it could be the savior of the combustion engine.' Speaking specifically of the V8 powering the newest hybrid Lamborghini, the Temerario, Mohr explains what makes the combustion engine nigh irreplaceable. 'It starts with the sound, but it's not only about that – it's also about the vibration that we feel, the shifting perception, how the car is rotating in the corner.' Lamborghini is far from the first brand to endorse synthetic fuels, and with good reason Mohr waxed poetic about the V8 powering the Lamborghini Temerario. 'If you ask me the emotion side at the moment, like I said before, I don't see the [electric] solution that is convincing now,' he said to CarExpert. It's hard to disagree; the soundtrack and response of a combustion engine is still something EVs can't replicate. Of course, there are more practical benefits, too. For one, it gives a road forward for the literally billions of gas-powered vehicles already on the planet's roads. Carbon-neutral synthetic fuels, sometimes referred to as biofuels or e-fuels, also provide a way for automakers to sell combustion-powered models in the EU past 2035, the current goalpost banning emission-producing vehicles. 2025 Porsche Macan Electric Turbo — Source: Porsche There's extra oomph behind the CTO's words when you consider other brands under the VW Group's ownership, like Porsche, have already been hard at work developing synthetic fuel options. Synthetic fuel is also being handled as a serious option outside the immediate VW family. Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru have all invested in the synthetic fuel game, most recently when they committed to working with synthetic fuel developer ENEOS to showcase synthetic-friendly engines at Expo 2025 Osaka. Another proponent is Formula 1, for fairly obvious reasons. Arguably, the largest impact synthetic fuel might have is in shipping and aviation applications, which, despite being the largest sources of emissions, won't be going electric anytime in the near (or even distant) future. Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. 2025 Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid — Source: Porsche Final thoughts Despite automakers predominantly focusing on electrification, synthetic fuel has enjoyed a steady burn in the background. Expect more and more automakers to start looking to cleaner-burning fuel in the second half of the decade. While battery power is objectively more efficient from a cost and energy perspective, it won't solve everything. Synthetic fuel is almost the only answer to the looming question of what to do with all of the gas cars we already have, but we're hopeful for a future of combustion-powered V8s and V12s, too. About the Author Steven Paul View Profile
Auto Blog
26-06-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
Lamborghini is Betting on Synthetic Fuel to Save the Combustion Engine
Lamborghini's plan to keep ICE alive Lamborghini isn't ready to say goodbye to the internal combustion engine. In fact, the Italian supercar company is doubling down on it, even as the broader industry moves toward electrification. With synthetic fuel, or e-fuel, the company believes it can keep the thrill of high-performance engines alive well past 2035, when the European Union's ban on new gas-powered car sales is set to take effect. 0:06 / 0:09 2025 Ford Maverick: 4 reasons to love it, 2 reasons to think twice Watch More The key is that the EU's ruling leaves a loophole: it allows combustion engines to continue, as long as they run on carbon-neutral fuel. Lamborghini's newly unveiled V8 in the Temerario is designed with that future in mind. According to the brand's Chief Technical Officer, Rouven Mohr, the engine can run on both traditional gasoline and synthetic fuel 'without compromises.' E-fuel isn't just a backup plan Mohr recently told Australian magazine CarExpert that synthetic fuel 'could be the savior of the combustion engine,' and emphasized that electrification still hasn't captured the emotional essence of driving a car like a Lamborghini. Lamborghini Temerario — Source: Lamborghini 'If you ask me the emotional side at the moment … I don't see the [electric] solution that is convincing now,' Mohr said. He believes EVs will eventually have their moment, but not before a new generation rediscovers the visceral appeal of combustion engines, especially if they can be made cleaner. That emotional connection is key for a brand like Lamborghini. Sound, feel, and performance are inseparable from the driving experience the company promises, and Mohr thinks e-fuel offers a path to preserve that legacy. Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. Porsche is already pumping e-fuel Lamborghini's push isn't happening in a vacuum. Its parent company, Volkswagen Group, is already testing the waters—literally. Porsche began producing synthetic fuel in Chile back in 2022, converting water and carbon dioxide into a usable liquid fuel using wind power. The resulting e-fuel was used to run a 911, and Porsche has committed to keeping the 911 as its last gas-powered holdout. Porsche 992.2 911 Carrera 4 GTS — Source: Porsche Porsche's e-fuel is made using hydrogen and carbon dioxide captured from the atmosphere or industrial sources. It's touted as carbon-neutral because the CO₂ emitted during combustion is equal to the amount pulled from the air during production. The cost is still high, but Porsche's well-heeled buyers likely won't mind paying a premium to keep their engines humming. Other luxury brands are exploring synthetic fuels too 2024 Toyota Mirai — Source: Toyota Beyond Porsche and Lamborghini, other performance marques are also experimenting with e-fuel. Bugatti, Bentley, and even Ferrari have signaled interest. Outside the luxury sphere, Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru are collaborating on alternatives to fossil fuels, and Toyota is also testing hydrogen combustion engines as a potential ICE solution. Final thoughts Lamborghini's bet comes with a lot of caveats. Producing synthetic fuel at a meaningful scale is expensive and energy-intensive. Infrastructure is minimal, and with most automakers pouring billions into electric vehicle development, there's a question of whether there's enough industry momentum—or money—left to make e-fuels viable for the masses. But Lamborghini isn't chasing mass appeal. It's trying to preserve what makes its cars special. If synthetic fuel can offer that thrill without the emissions penalty, it could carve out a future for ICE cars, at least for the wealthy few who can afford them. For everyone else, the road still points toward batteries. About the Author Elijah Nicholson-Messmer View Profile
Hindustan Times
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Lamborghini backs synthetic fuels to keep combustion engines alive beyond 2035
Lamborghini's recently revealed twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine is already engineered to run efficiently on synthetic fuels Check Offers As the automotive industry accelerates toward electrification, Lamborghini is focused on how to use synthetic fuels to preserve the existence of the internal combustion engine (ICE). While global regulations are becoming stricter, and electric vehicles (EVs) garnering increasing portions of future plans, Lamborghini senior management sees synthetic fuels as a potential lifeline for conventional performance engineering — and perhaps for the brand itself. Synthetic fuels: A lifeline for ICE Lamborghini's recently revealed twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 engine is already engineered to run efficiently on synthetic fuels — a signal of the company's long-term intent. Chief Technical Officer Rouven Mohr, speaking to CarExpert, said that e-fuels could be the 'savior of the combustion engine," emphasizing their compatibility with Lamborghini's performance standards. According to Mohr, the new powerplant can deliver 'optimal efficiency and performance" regardless of whether it's burning traditional gasoline or carbon-neutral synthetic alternatives. Also Read : Lamborghini Revuelto and Urus SE fuel strong Q1 growth with record deliveries Synthetic fuels, or e-fuels, are produced by combining green hydrogen (sourced from renewable energy) with carbon dioxide, resulting in a combustible liquid that mimics gasoline but with drastically reduced lifecycle emissions. This allows ICE vehicles to operate without contributing to the net increase in atmospheric CO2 — aligning them with future emission regulations. Emotion still favors combustion While electrification is inevitable, Mohr remains unconvinced that EVs can yet replicate the visceral thrill of a high-revving combustion engine. 'Its time will come," he admitted, referring to EVs, 'but the emotional aspect isn't there yet." He also predicted that future generations might develop a nostalgic appreciation for traditional ICE-powered cars, much like enthusiasts today revere classic muscle cars and analog sports machines. Industry alliances on E-Fuel development Lamborghini's trust in synthetic fuels is backed by its connection to the Volkswagen Group, which is already embarking on significant e-fuel production with its brand Porsche. Since late 2022, Porsche has been working with Highly Innovative Fuels (HIF) in Chile to produce synthetic fuel from water, wind power, and carbon dioxide. The goal is to create a carbon-neutral fuel that makes legacy combustion engines viable in a stricter regulatory landscape. Porsche, like Lamborghini, is preserving ICE where it counts — the iconic 911, which continues to run on gasoline while a fully electric version remains off the table for now. Even with high production costs, synthetic fuel is unlikely to deter affluent customers from either brand, especially if it means preserving driving dynamics and emotional appeal. Also Read : Hyundai open to using synthetic fuels in ICE cars. Details here A luxury niche, not a mass solution yet The route to widespread synthetic fuels consumption remains a long one. The costs to produce synthetic fuels from CO2 are still high and very little production infrastructure exists globally. Although luxury carmakers such as Ferrari, Bentley and Bugatti have announced their intentions to embrace the e-fuel path, the potential for mass-market applications of e-fuels remain uncertain. The likes of Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru are considering other possible through hydrogen combustion but any tangible outcomes are still a long way from being established. In the long term, synthetic fuel may never match the scale of battery-powered EVs. However, for a brand like Lamborghini, which trades on emotion, legacy, and mechanical drama, e-fuels represent more than just a compliance tool — they may be the only way to keep its DNA intact in a carbon-neutral future. Get insights into Upcoming Cars In India, Electric Vehicles, Upcoming Bikes in India and cutting-edge technology transforming the automotive landscape. First Published Date: 24 Jun 2025, 09:37 AM IST
