By: Tycho de Feijter for 6th Gear Automotive Solutions.
Beijing, September 2019
This is the new Lamborghini Sián FKP 37, a wild mild-hybrid hypercar based on the Aventador SVJ. It looks incredible and it goes very fast. The name is interesting. ‘Sián’ means thunderbolt in Bologna’s dialect, where Lamborghini is based. This refers both to speed and to electric power. The ‘FKP 37’ part of the name refers to Ferdinand Karl Piëch, former chairman of the Volkswagen board, who convinced Audi to buy Lamborghini in 1998, thereby saving the Lamborghini brand. Piech was born in 1937 and passed away earlier this year.
The Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 is powered by a 6.5 liter V12 engine augmented by an electric ‘booster’. The booster is in fact a small electric motor incorporated in the [gearbox]. Interestingly, the the motor is not mated to a conventional lithium-ion battery. Instead, Lamborghini decided to go for something a bit more exotic.
The electric motor, which Lamborghini calls E-Machine, is instead mated to a 48V supercapacitor, which Lamborghini calls Supercap.
A supercapacitor is a is a device that stores electrical energy in an electric field. It can store more energy per unit volume, and it delivers charge and discharge much faster than a conventional battery. This means that Lamborghini can use a smaller, and lighter, unit to store the same amount of energy. It also means that the Sián FKP 37 can use the power generated by regenerative braking much quicker and more often. This, in turn, gives the boost to the V12 engine.
The combined weight of the motor and the supercapacitor is just 34 kilo. Output of the motor is 34 hp and 38 Nm. Output of the V12 is 785 hp and 720 Nm. Combined output is a massive 819 hp and 754 Nm. Gearbox is a seven speed ISR (Independent Shifting Rods), sending each and every horse to the rear wheels. The electric motor is programmed to give an extra bit of boost during shifting, when revs are normally lower. This eliminates to need for a heavier dual-clutch transmission (DCT).
All this power gives the Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour, and 0-100 is gone in just 2.8 seconds.
Such a Sián speed needs a strong braking system. The manic Lambo is therefore equipped with a dual hydraulic circuit brake system, with vacuum brake boosters front and rear. The carbon-ceramic brake discs are sourced from Brembo. The front brake discs have a diameter of 400 millimeter and a width of 38 millimeter, they are coupled to 6-piston calipers. The rear brake discs have a diameter of 380 millimeter and a width of 38 millimeter, and they are coupled to 4-piston brake calipers. This is enough braking power to stop the Sián from 100 km/h to 0 in 30 meters.
Note the number ’63’ on the rear wing, referring to the number of units that will be made. All have been sold out, reportedly for $1.2 million a piece.