As we start to lose our tans and venture reluctantly into Autumn, one thing that brightens the days ahead for car lovers is the motor show season. Perhaps not as popular with manufacturers as they once were, because brands are discovering new ways to spread the word, motor shows still nevertheless carry some clout and make good venues for announcing the cars of the future. One of those car makers who never shy away from innovation, Lamborghini have brought to the stands at the Frankfurt Show the new and striking Sián supercar.

The Early Years

Lamborghini’s have dressed the wall of many a schoolboy’s bedroom since the 1960’s. The company's first models, such as the 350 GT, were released early in that decade and were noted not just for their refinement, power and comfort but also their fragility. The Italian brand subsequently gained wide acclaim in 1966 for the Miura sports coupé, which established rear/mid-engine, rear wheel drive as the standard layout for high-performance cars of the era and subsequently. These days cars like this are much more efficient and, crucially, much more reliable.

A new Era Arrives

So, at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Lamborghini has revealed its fastest car to date, a futuristic hybrid super sports car named the Sián. The car is in fact not named after some beautiful Welsh celebrity but rather the moniker signifies ‘flash or lightning’ in the Bolognese dialect, cleverly denoting that this is the first electrification of a Lamborghini production car.

Every inch a Lambo, the car draws on the brand’s legendary DNA whilst moving into a new automotive era by using a V12 engine with unique hybrid technologies, delivering, we are informed, exceptional performance of a naturally aspirated Lamborghini super sports car, while meeting a future world that demands electrification.

This new masterpiece of engineering has some sound thinking behind it. Not only does the Sián appear to deliver a formidable hyper-car design, it also augments the potential for Lamborghini to feature as a supercar brand meeting current trends now and the perceived trends for many years to come. As demonstrated in the mainstream motor market hybridisation is becoming more desirable and, presumably, inevitably essential. Thus the Lamborghini Sián represents the first step in their route to electrification.

The Power

Here’s the science bit: A 48Volt electric motor, delivering 34hp, has been incorporated into the gearbox to provide immediate response and improved performance, the first time in any low-voltage hybrid that a direct connection has been made between electric motor and wheels. The e-motor also supports low-speed manoeuvres such as reversing and parking with electric power.

The energy accumulation technology is a world first. Rather than a lithium-ion battery, the Sián offers a super-capacitor application; a technology that pioneered originally in the Lamborghini Aventador but now has been dramatically developed to store ten times the power. It is three times more powerful than a battery of the same weight and three times lighter than a battery producing the same power. Astonishing. Hands up who wants to drive. Form an orderly queue around the block now.

For regular motorists this magnificent motor is likely to be slightly out of financial reach but that doesn’t stop us making the most the latest in engine science with or without hybrid technology. Browse our wide variety of fine used cars that between them offer the best in economy and performance. They are AA inspected before sale and finance is available. The Sián might be out of financial reach but our competitively priced stock suits all pockets.