One week ago, the Lamborghini Sian charged into the world with 819 horsepower and a supercapacitor to operate its hybrid powertrain. Just ahead of the supercar’s debut, the VW Group unexpectedly lost a cornerstone figure in Ferdinand Piëch — the man who ran the automaker for much of the modern era.
At the Sian’s 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show debut, Lamborghini had a lovely way of honoring the late VW chairman. The Lamborghini Sian will now be known as the Sian FKP 37. The letters represent the late chairman’s initials, while the numerical figure refers to Piëch’s birth year of 1937.
Piëch had a long history with Lamborghini and oversaw the Italian firm’s acquisition in 1998 by Audi. He led VW Group as CEO from 1993 until 2002. That year, he began his tenure as chairman until he stepped down and retired in 2015.
Stefano Domenicali, chairman and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, praised Piëch for allowing Lamborghini to flourish and stay true to itself under VW Group.
“[He] was an engineer and an innovator, particularly appreciating the appeal of the iconic Lamborghini V12 powertrain,” Domenicali said in a statement today. “The Lamborghini Sian FKP 37 provides fitting recognition of the role Piëch, and the Volkswagen Group, played in facilitating our flourishing brand today.”
In the Tuesday release, Lamborghini named no additional changes to the Sian FKP 37. Thus, the car should still enter the world with its outrageous design, 819 hp and 0-62 mph time of 2.8 seconds. As the first hybrid Lamborghini, the supercapacitor powers an electric motor that contributes 34 hp to the final power tally. At low speeds, the supercar will be able to drive on electric power alone, but not for long.
The firm will build 63 production cars in honor of its founding year of 1963, and unless someone doesn’t care for the name change, they’re still sold out.
