While many of us honor and revere the V12, Lamborghini took this love to new heights with its creation, the Essenza SCV12. This is Lamborghini’s vision of the track toy, a car that exists both to celebrate an engine and to provide 40 well-off and very lucky owners to drive their lives.
I spoke with Lamborghini CTO Maurizio Reggiani about the genesis of the SCV12, a car that he said is “a tribute to V12.” The V12 in this case is the same 6.5-liter unit found in the current Aventador S, but with some significant upgrades — and a major repositioning.
“What my team did at SC took the engine, made it run 180 degrees,” Regianni told me. Yes, the engine now faces the other, which means that the output, which affects a central differential in the all-wheel drive Aventador, now exits in the rear. “The rotation of this engine allowed us to have the gearbox in the back,” Regianni continued. “It’s a structural, six-speed, non-synchronizer gearbox.”
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The SCV12 has a six-speed sequential gearbox that only drives the rear wheels and, impressively, this gearbox acts as a component under the car’s pressure. The suspension of the rear thrust bar that gave the impression so strongly on the video teaser is fixed directly on it.
What about the engine itself? In the Aventador SVJ, the 6.5-litre V12 produces 759 horsepower. Here? Try the 830, making it the toughest atmospheric engine in the company to date. And with the increase of forced induction and electrification, it would possibly be the maximum resistance ever created.
Regianni said that “whatever comes after the Aventador will use an atmospheric V12 engine, [but] it will be different. It will be and along with a formula hybrid by the rule, you will want to have the reduction of C02. Capacity. Have a choice.” moving all electric will be mandatory.”
There is no such construction in the SCV12, the functionality is both a matter of weight and power. The SCV12 weighs just 3036 pounds, representing more than three hundred pounds of weight-saving compared to the SVJ Aventador, one hundred pounds lighter than the Aventador S.
These savings come from the overuse of composite materials, as expected, but also thanks to Lamborghini engineers who have done something remarkable: create a collision design strong enough to comply with FIA regulations without using a steel cage.
For similar reasons, Lamborghini does not plan to set a lap time at the full Nurburgring, the position that has long been a benchmark in terms of performance. Regianni told me that since this car has no compatibility with an established road category, it would be difficult to know what to compare it to. With the time of the dazzling turn of Hurricane Performante, it was “a way to compare each other.” Fixing an hour with the SCV12 would only be “confusion with your client. And with this kind of car, it’s vital for us to put the visitor in the center.”
This seems like a position to do some tricks.
And this lucky visitor will be located in the middle of a very privileged circle of attention. Given the complexity of a device like Essenza, it might not simply tow it on your local circuit. Instead, owners will have their cars included in one of the established Lamborghini events or request a personal one on a track of their choice. Lamborghini will send a team of engineers and even a driving force trainer who will take care of everything. Well, whatever’s still driving. “Our consumers just want to fly, enjoy and move home,” Regianni said.
This concept is similar to that of Ferrari-operated systems for track machines like the FXX-K, but with a very important difference: those who literally need to bring their car home will be able to do so. “We need to be different,” Regianni said. “Our consumer is the boss.”
This was originally published on Roadshow.
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