Behold the Lamborghini Asterion LPI 910-4 hybrid, unveiled the day before the 2014 Paris auto show. Despite Lamborghini’s demure insistence that the Asterion is no more than a “Plug-in Hybrid technology demonstrator,” the reserved-for-an-exotic styling, production-friendly body contours, and hybrid powertrain perhaps hint at a different future.
Unmistakably a Lambo from the front, the car’s shapes go classic behind the trailing edge of the doors, the fastback roof pinching together with the lower bodywork behind the rear glass. Squint hard enough, and certain angles might have you thinking modernized Jalpa; after all, it wouldn’t be a Lamborghini without a few sharp edges. Viewed from the rear, it almost—almost—looks like an entirely different car; the splitter and exhaust look right on, but the backlight and taillamp sections go almost retro-modern. It’s as if Alejandro de Tomaso and Giorgetto Giugiaro went on a bender back in the day, and someone recently discovered their discarded sketches on the back of a 50-year old bar napkin.
Exciting and provocative design from Sant’Agata is standard operating procedure; what makes this example stand out is its plug-in-hybrid powertrain. Gas-fired power flows from a naturally aspirated, longitudinally mounted, 602-hp 5.2-liter V-10 engine mounted amidships. In between the engine and the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox (that part of the powertrain is similar to the one used in the Huracán) rests an integrated starter motor and generator, which sends its output to two additional electric motors mounted on the front axles. This setup provides two benefits: In hybrid mode, four-wheel drive is constant and independent of the battery’s state of charge; in electric-only mode, the front wheels provide all the propulsion. Lamborghini says the Asterion is good for 31 miles of city travel in electric-only mode, with a top speed of 78 mph. In full-hybrid mode, combined output measures 897 horsepower, enough to launch the Asterion from rest to 62 mph in a claimed three seconds flat and on to a top speed of 199 mph.
The interior is finished to a standard that often eludes one-shot concept vehicles. A pure two-seater—contrary to what we speculated last week—the Asterion employs the usual application of leather, rendered here in earthy hues, offset by carbon-fiber and aluminum accents. Of particular note is the titanium, three-spoke steering wheel intended as an homage to the wheel found in the legendary Miura. In another subtle nod to the possibility of production, Lamborghini makes no bones about the seats being positioned higher in the chassis than in its sports cars to provide for “comfortable everyday cruising rather than extreme performance and handling.”
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Even if the Asterion never makes production, its provides fresh evidence that supercar makers have settled on hybrid powertrains as the weapon of choice, at least for the near future, in the engineering battle for both performance and efficiency.
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