Quite a shift in thinking. Wonder what happens when everyone goes EV and handling isn't that hard to replicate. Seems the supercars may be in trouble in the future.



https://www.autoblog.com/2021/03/16/...sco-scardaoni/

Lamborghini says handling, not flat-out speed, is the new benchmark

Electrification spurred the shift

Speed has played a significant role in defining Lamborghini's image since the brand's inception in 1963, but the type of velocity it aims to achieve is changing direction. One of its top executives opined that handling, not 0-60-mph times or maximum speed, is the new benchmark in the supercar segment the company calls home.

Francesco Scardaoni, the head of the Italian company's Asia-Pacific operations, explained achieving the quickest possible sprint from 0-60 mph and the highest possible top speed used to be what defined a Lamborghini. Rivals aimed to rule the chart, too, so exotic brands spend decades taking turns trying to outgun each other by shaving a tenth of a second from — or adding a few miles per hour to — their respective times. EVs moved the goalpost in the 2010s, according to Scardaoni, because their powertrain develops maximum torque right away.

"If you go back to 10 years ago, probably when we were asked the parameters to measure a car with we would say top speed, acceleration, and then handling. Top speed then became a secondary measure, and acceleration the first one. Now, basically [with electrification] is no more that important. because it's quite easy for those kind of power units to have amazing results in acceleration," he explained in an interview with Car Advice.

Exemplified by the Huracán STO introduced in 2020, the shift represents a dramatic about-face for the engineering team led by Maurizio Reggiani. Speed is easy to quantify; if we tell you that a Bugatti Chiron takes 2.4 seconds to reach 60 mph from a full stop, or that it maxes out at 304 mph, you know exactly what it can do. Handling, on the other hand, is difficult to put a number on. Gs on a skidpad is one measure, but that's only a small part of the handling equation. There's no unit of measurement that describes how a Divo feels on a winding Sicilian road.

Scardaoni hinted that focusing on handling is a way to keep exotic supercars relevant in the coming years. Electric hypercars are ostensibly on their way, including the Rimac C_Two and the Pininfarina Battista. Closely related, both allegedly take under two seconds to sprint from 0-60 mph thanks in part to a 1,900-horsepower drivetrain, yet they weigh approximately 4,300 pounds; they're heavier than a Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Neither are in the same league as, say, the Huracán, but they're good examples of the pros and cons of electrified performance.

"What is really now making the difference is the drivability of the car, the handling. Because, when you have good acceleration but the car is heavy to steer, heavy to handle, you cannot have that pleasure of driving in a really fast way," he told the Australian publication. It will be interesting to see how this focus shapes Lamborghini's next cars; the Aventador's replacement is around the corner, and we already know that it will pack a hybrid powertrain.

 

Handling may be replicable, but 'fun to drive' certainly isn't. I think that's the area in which EVs could be very interesting, especially in terms of the range tradeoff buyers would be willing to make for less weight.

Supercars (and many cars in general) already lost their way in the nonsense hp wars and chasing irrelevant spec times. EVs just make that poor decision more obvious.

 

Agreed. Speed will become similar across all brands after the transition. Its ridiculously easy to make an EV go fast. The supercar companies that are able to create fun-to-drive cars that balance the range and weight best will survive.

 

One is exclusive whereas one is built in dumb tent with a litany of QC issues. I completely understand their point.

You're basically comparing a Casio calculator (appliance) watch to an AP Royal Oak Offshore.

 

The superior marketing power of Lambo is at work here. All the brands will double down on their branding. I’d expect your favourite car brands stock will drop.

 

I honestly think some sort of shake up to the auto industry similar to what happened to watches in the 70s-80s where quartz watches nearly wiped out the established players, until the established players understood that selling a luxury watch was the way to go. But in between I imagine a lot of companies will go out of business / get bought / mergers until it all sorts itself out.

 

i remember hearing hammond say that lambo said handling was 'the new priority' when the aventador was launched

 

Lamborghini saying that speed doesn’t matter anymore is just like a college football fan saying “we’re a basketball school now” after their football team gets run off the field.

 

but don’t you have to have agility (handling) to out maneuver those brute force tackles coming for ya?

 

Not if your offensive line is any good. They’ll buy you time to throw a deep ball to your first read way down the field.

 

There are currently many EVs that are fast and handle well. Taycan, Etron GT, Model 3 Performance, Polestar, and Mach E are fairly quick and handle very well for their class. They don't have Lambo handling (excluding Taycan which might) but they also don't cost north of $200k. Will a Lambo be worth the price premium if the only thing it has is great handling and looks...that will be the question that future car brands will tackle. Will be interesting to see how they fare.

 

Lamborghini is correct. We have reached a point where supercars are so fast that it makes little sense to try and push them past the point of diminishing returns. Human beings, as drivers, can also take so many accelerative-Gs before they gray or black out...that's why fighter pilots and astronauts wear special G-suits.

Apples and Oranges. What you're forgetting is that once a team has won the Super Bowl, there's no other place for it to go BUT off the field. Scoring more touchdowns (as in more speed) gets you nowhere.

 

It’s an apples to apples comparison if you think about it. Lamborghini is throwing in the towel and saying they’ll compete in a different category. My analogy is about a schools fans switching to a different sport. Tesla’s eaten their lunch for straight line acceleration.

 

There are very manu nuances and personal preferences when it comes to handling. Some cars provide insane amount of grip with wide high performance tires, torque vectoring AWD, and active suspension systems with all kinds of physics defying tricks. And then there are simpler, purist cars, with RWD, reasonable tires, light weight, and well balanced, stiff suspension. The later are almost always more fun to drive.

 

The next Tesla Roadster will hover and have rocket propulsion.