These may be incredible times for automotive performance, but they're rather gloomy days for engines with lots of cylinders. Even before electrification seemed inevitable, automakers were downsizing their internal-combustion motors, leveraging technologies new and old alike to squeeze more power out of every cubic inch than ever before, enabling cars to save weight and (theoretically) fuel.
The flipside, of course, is that larger engines have become endangered species. The V12, for example, was once a staple of high-end motorcars, be they screaming supercars or elegant range-topping sedans. In recent years, though, brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz have all but axed the 12-cylinder engine — and other carmakers like Aston Martin seem likely to be close behind.
But for now, at least, Ferrari and Lamborghini aren't giving up on their fabled 12-pots. In fact, Lamborghini has two new V12-powered cars coming out this very year.
That's the word from Autocar, which heard as much from the brand itself. According to the British car mag, Lamborghini says it'll be following up the launch of the batshit Huracan Super Trofeo Omologato with “two further new products, based on the iconic V12."
What, exactly, will those two new cars be? Well, given Lamborghini's love of making bespoke one-off and limited-run supercars based on existing platforms (see, for example, the Aventador-based SC20 at the top of this story...or this plethora of examples from Lambo's own media site) we're guessing they'll be a pair of special edition vehicles based on the Aventador's chassis — but no doubt outfitted with all sorts of wild styling and performance-enhancing technology.
Regardless of how many are sold or what form they take, we know one other fact. One of those, Lamborghini head honcho Stephan Winkelmann told Autocar, will use the supercapacitor-based hybrid system found on the Sian; the other, apparently, will stick with a more unadulterated version of the howling 12-cylinder engine, like the sort found in the Aventador SVJ. We look forward to finding out more...even if we might never get to drive the results.
