Lamborghini V12 Signing Off
An era is coming to an end at Lamborghini. The marque so well known for its V12 engines, which have powered various models for nearly 60 years, will no longer be available following 2022.
Lamborghini mounted their V12 transversally in the back of the P400 Miura in 1966, creating the first real supercar. At the time, and powering the P400S and P400SV models that followed, the V12 helped the Miura be the fastest production road car in the world. The Miura far surpassed expectations – originally planned as a three-year run of just 50 cars, 763 examples were built between 1966 and 1973.
The Miura firmly staked its place in the history books, not just for its speed, but also how desirable it was to so many people. It appeared in more than 40 movies, including the opening sequence of “The Italian Job” in 1969 that lasted more than three minutes.
An unmistakeable sound emanates from the Miura when its driven, a truly satisfying growl from the V12 helped it land in the hands of plenty of celebrities over the years, including Eddie Van Halen, Miles Davis, and Elton John. Even the Shah of Iran owned one of the four SVJ models ever built!
Hybrids - Here We Go
As Lamborghini, along with the rest of the supercar world starts moving toward the hybrid engine it’s only natural that we have to say goodbye to some remnants of the past – after all, we’re not driving around on the comically narrow tires of Pre-war cars anymore! So as first hybrid Lamborghini will begin production and be available starting in 2023, we can’t help but look back at the Miura and its V12 and marvel and what an accomplishment that engine was.
One day we hope to speak the praises of Lamborghini’s hybrid powertrains with the same enthusiasm we have for their V12.