Lamborghini’s upcoming Huracan LP 610-4 coupe and spyder will feature cylinder deactivation on their naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V-10 engine, offering reduced emissions and increased fuel economy.
Italian supercar automakers have long stood by their high capacity naturally aspirated engines, despite global emissions concerns and increasing fuel economy pressures.
While the use of smaller capacity engines coupled with turbochargers has become the norm for emissions-conscious performance cars, Lamborghini has stood by their popular 5.2 litre 40 valve V-10 engines.
Featuring a race-spec dry sump system and a high compression ratio, the outgoing Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 was able to achieve a staggering 449kw at 8,250 RPM, but fuel economy wasn’t quite as impressive. While the combined consumption of 12.5 litres/100km sounded reasonable thanks to stop-start technology, the extra urban consumption of 17.8 litres/100km meant fuel consumption was on the thirsty side.
The 2016 Huracan LP 610-4 is able to shut down one bank of cylinders when cruising, operating the engine as a five-cylinder. When the throttle is applied, the engine reactivates all 10 cylinders and full power is achieved.
As a result of Lamborghini’s cylinder deactivation, fuel consumption and carbon emissions are said to be improved, allowing the supercar to maintain its naturally aspirated power plant while still returning improved economy figures.
Lamborghini’s all-wheel-drive drivetrain, like most all-wheel-drive systems, will add weight and in turn reduce economy slightly; although rumours are circulating that the upcoming Huracan might be offered in a rear-wheel-drive variant.
Other improvements are revised electronic programming to the drive system encouraging more netural handling along with interior improvements.
As always, a host of additional extras will be offered, allowing owners to further customise their Huracan.
As supercar manufacturers continue to shift their focus towards carbon emissions and fuel economy, high performance engine technology will continue to advance.
