Lamborghini Asterion supercar sacrificed for SUV

Lamborghini boss Stephen Winkelmann has admitted that a production version of the Asterion concept may never be built, because the Italian car maker had to focus all its efforts to bring the Urus SUV to market as quick as feasibly possible.

Speaking to British car magazine, Autocar, Winkelmann admitted the Asterion production car was now unlikely to ever be made, despite providing a showcase for the Italian car maker's future tech.

"It was built to show what we would do if the regulations forced us to have 50 kilometres of electric range as well as high-speed performance,”

Winkelmann said the Asterion was created to gauge whether or not a hybrid supercar would be well-received by its customers.

“They told us that they were open to innovation, including hybrid technology, but only if it came with the benefit of added performance. A Lamborghini super-sports car is driven maybe 3000 miles a year, not every day, so the electrification has to offer an added intensity to justify its inclusion.”

The concept wowed last year’s Paris motor show goers with its ability to combine 669kW of power with 4.2l/100km economy.

Powered by a 5.2-litre V10 and three electric motors the plug-in hybrid supercar could also sprint to 100km/h in less than 3.0 seconds and reach 320km/h.

Despite the performance, Lamborghini declared the Asterion more of a luxury GT rather than for “ultimate track performance.”

Made using a carbon-fibre monocoque, the Asterion neatly stored its lithium ion batteries in the space where the mid-engine coupe’s front propshaft tunnel would live.

Instead, there’s no connection between the front axle and the V10 engine and two electric motors drive the front wheels. Alone, those two front motors could drive the Asterion at up to speeds of 130km/h.

According to the interview with Winkelmann, Lamborghini was so enamoured with the new hybrid tech it began work two years before and even went as far as creating an Aventador mule that ran the hybrid powertrain.

Up and running, the hybrid-drive system added 250kg to the kerbweight.

The Urus was chosen over the Asterion to cash in on the burgeoning global SUV market. The new SUV is also said to be far less complex to develop, engineer and produce. Lamborghini hopes to have the Urus on sale by early 2018.