Maurizio Reggiani talks racing, forced induction, and Lamborghini V12s

Maurizio Reggiani deserves his personal chapter in Lamborghini’s historical past.

He joined the Italian firm in 1995 and rose to the placement of chief complex officer in 2006 he notably led the development of some of Lamborghini’s best modern day-working day engines, such as the 6.5-liter V12 that powers the Aventador. His time as the head of Lamborghini’s investigation and advancement department ended before in 2022 and he now serves as vice president of motorsport. His successor, Rouven Mohr, is tasked with employing an ambitious and considerably-reaching electrification method known as Direzione Cor Tauri and outlined in 2021.

As Lamborghini prepares to enter a new era, I sat down with Reggiani for a guiding-the-scenes search at nearly 30 many years of V12 progress.

[The following has been edited for clarity.]

RG: Lamborghini has created other engines and other companies have created V12s. Why is the V12 so frequently connected with Lamborghini?

MR: In a time when everyone begun chatting about downsizing and lowering cylinder count, we ongoing to say that the V12 is the flagship of the super-athletics car. We were being born with this: Lamborghini has designed a V12 in the course of each individual year of its record. We also did V8s in the time of the Jalpa, for example, but the V12 was each individual time the major pillar of this company. If you want to be regarded the pinnacle of super-athletics automobiles, no other engine can truly talk to purists like a normally-aspirated V12 can. In phrases of electrical power, in conditions of seem, in conditions of emotion, and in phrases of, allow me say, the coolest engine that’s feasible in phrases of engineering definition.

RG: What initiatives have stood out to you all through your time at the head of Lamborghini’s R&D office?

MR: When I begun my job, 40 a long time ago at Maserati, I worked in engine improvement. At Bugatti, I was responsible for powertrain, which of program includes the motor. For me, an engine is kind of like a to start with enjoy, and you continue to be in appreciate for all of your lifestyle. To glance at an motor, to appear inside, to go over the parts, to have an feeling, and to give a suggestion was my way of performing each time.

1 of the projects that energized me the most was the Diablo GT. For the initial time, we made the decision to put a one throttle for every cylinder, and it was a amount of sophistication that was far more or a lot less by no means utilised before by Lamborghini. You just take knowledge from the previous and check out to use it to [the present]. This enhanced a whole lot the functionality, and it was really tremendous exciting. The engine in the Aventador is a different spotlight: it was made with each other with the Aventador. That was a totally new auto, we started off from scratch, and you can imagine how fascinating that was.

RG: You’ve taken the V10 racing why not race a V12?

MR: We experienced a massive discussion about this when we initially began out in racing. We originally introduced a a single-make collection in 2009, and after that we resolved to also have interaction in the GT3 sequence, and the most important point of dialogue was that in every single level of competition connected to GT you have a stability of efficiency. There is certainly no sense to get on the weight and packaging of the V12 if following you have to have to place a restrictor that penalizes a great deal of the efficiency. We made the decision the very best compromise in buy to match the stability of efficiency was the V10. At the close, you require to consider an motor the place even with the harmony of overall performance you are shut to maximum ability. If you get an engine with a big output and you go its curb of effectiveness to a reduce part [of the graph], you cannot be aggressive.

RG: Was adding forced induction, whether it’s a turbocharger or a supercharger, at any time regarded as?

MR: We never ever [used forced induction] simply because our vision was that the sound of the V12, the frequency of the V12, are unable to be done with a turbo. Clearly, right now you have so a lot of filters in the exhaust procedure that the seem is minimized. That are new guidelines that came from California the place you can’t exceed a supplied decibel during the take a look at. Many years in the past it was only in the default [driving] method now in all of the modes you need to have to be beneath a selected level. It can be critical to maintain the frequency of the audio.

Also, the power was, permit me say, enough. We achieved 350 kilometers per hour (about 217 miles for each hour) with the Aventador SVJ. We place a lot a lot more attention to the use of the energy and the form of the torque curve since we ended up guaranteed this is what customers check with. We want to give the V12 a reaction which is as very similar as doable to a motorcycle’s. On a bike, when you twist the accelerator you have the effect that the engine is able to capture 10,000 RPM *snaps* like this. In a V12, which is a massive engine, the enemy is to be in a position to shift up and down [the rev range] as immediately as probable. This depends a lot on the bodyweight of the pistons, the connecting rods, the crankshaft, and of program electronics. You need to have to tune all the things as a great deal as probable and what gives this perception is the seem you hear. 

RG: I spoke to you about carbon fiber connecting rods in 2016. What happened to that venture?

MR: The components ended up done in Seattle, at the College of Washington. The complexity in conditions of the materials used, the requirement to have metallic within, and the issues of bolting the connecting rods because you have to have to put an insert inside of of them [were issues]. And, after that you have dilatation. We crafted a prototype and analyzed it but it remained at the study amount. We have numerous illustrations of progress get the job done that operate, but at the conclude each time you will need to do a choice sheet wherever you make a decision economics, trustworthiness, reproducibility, and price tag, and what we get the job done on in R&D cannot get to output each individual time.

RG: What should we expect from the next V12?

MR: The V12 is element of Lamborghini’s DNA. We already announced the Aventador’s successor will retain the by natural means-aspirated V12, while it is really a V12 that is radically new when compared to what we have right now. We use this new motor to accurate some of the peculiarities that can be linked to the pounds and that can be linked to the RPM in get to have the ideal level of thermal dynamics coupled with a hybrid process.

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