A hybrid to float your boat
IN BOLOGNESE DIALECT, Sian (pronounced ‘see-ann’) means ‘lightning’ and therefore qualifies as a decent moniker for Lamborghini’s first proper foray into electrification – if you ignore the 2014 Asterion concept.
Despite sharing a good deal with the equally madcap Aventador, such as a retuned version of the naturally aspirated V12 boosted to 774bhp, the Sian gets an additional power hike of 34bhp from a 48V electric motor mounted in the gearbox.
The styling is madcap, too, with Marzal-inspired hexagons sprinkled from twin exhaust pipes and door mirrors to the tail-lights and the instrument binnacle, plus aerodynamic airstreamers fixed atop the rear wings. And to make more of a statement, Lamborghini offers the ultimate road-sea combo: a matching, £2.5million speedboat built by Tecnomar that’s powered by V12s, producing 4000bhp and finished in the same paintwork as your car.
Sian is the fastest Lamborghini ever built – 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds – and utilises a highly advanced regenerative braking system, especially developed for the car. Every time the brakes are applied (quite a lot, coming down from 217mph), the energy storage system is fully charged up.
That energy is instantly available, allowing drivers to draw immediately on increased torque when accelerating up to 75mph, when the e-motor automatically disconnects. So no more awkward Lambo lags between gearchanges.
And the Sian doesn’t need much coaxing. From a standing start the performance is mindboggling. On Millbrook’s banked bowl the Lambo sits at 130mph like it’s purring up the motorway in the slow lane. Thankfully, the exhaust rumble is still pure Lambo, despite the e-motor.
I’m restricted to following a Huracán acting as a pace car. However, it doesn’t matter what drive mode I select, there’s a brutal amount of performance on tap here. It’s also awkward and clunky at parking speed.
Inside, the cabin is similar to the Aventador SVJ’s. Expect rock-hard seats, Lamborghini’s trademark, flip-top start button and some typically well-hidden indicator and windscreen buttons.
Employing supercapacitors rather than a conventional battery pack, draping the Sian in astonishing bodywork and then letting customers loose in a lunatic 808bhp hybrid hypercar is going to attract plenty of publicity. Which is exactly what a company famous for building hugely powerful V12 combustion engines wants to do. You never expected the Italians to offer a mild-hybrid plug-in with 30 miles’ electric-only range, did you?
This car means a lot to Lamborghini – and not just because it has sold all 19 open-air roadsters and 63 coupés for a figure in excess of £200million (‘19’ and ‘63’ together mark the year in which Ferruccio Lamborghini founded the business). The Sian also marks the start of a new era for the brand, a yardstick for how the V10 Huracán and Aventador will shape up as we race towards a combustion-free 2030.
Crazy money at £2.5m each, but expect to see a Sian selling at auction for even more, soon. Every collector of supercar exotica will want this final interpretation of the Lamborghini V12 and the first hybrid Lambo centre-stage in their private collection.