There is still a long way to go for combustion mechanics, especially for performance car brands such as Lamborghini and Bentley. Despite this, times and techniques evolve and must adapt to these changes. Both firms have already confirmed that their next models they will use a V8 but, although both are under the auspices of the Volkswagen group and far from what some people may think, It is not the same propellant. Understandable at least, since the philosophy of the cars they will power is clearly differentiated.
The successor to the Lamborghini Huracán will leave aside the already historic 5.2-liter naturally aspirated V10 for a V8 with twin turbo and 4.0 liters of displacement. However, the most striking parameter is the rotation speed, since they announce that this mechanism will be capable of turning at 10,000 revolutions per minute. The current one remains at 8,000 revolutions per minute.
Let’s stop to analyze it a little more in depth and see what this fact implies. Of course, these speeds will be higher than those of any other eight-cylinder engine in productionbut it is not only due to creating a unique soundtrack, something that Lamborghini has worked fervently on.
The increase in the useful range of rotation speed has a direct impact on the power increase, in the same way that overfeeding does. But to reach the aforementioned levels, engineers have dedicated special attention to mitigating and/or successfully managing the great inertia and friction that are generated inside the cylinders, whether or not with liners polished to perfection as Mercedes does with its patented ‘Nanoslide’ technique. All because these forces, which ultimately lead to mechanical losses, grow exponentially and non-linear as the rotation speed increases.
Another point to which hours of work have had to be dedicated is to the cylinder head and specifically to its multivalve system since, in a combustion engine, the valve seats are the place where more fluid dynamic restrictions occur and that ultimately prevent the mechanics from ‘breathing’ properly. An optimal design in this area is imperative to obtain the promised performance levels. Apart from this, we must not forget the great importance of refrigeration systemsince the temperatures that will be reached will be especially high.
What can also be extracted is that the architecture of this V8 will be flat crankshaft —nothing strange, since the majority of Italian V8s use this—, since this is what allows reaching a rpm regime higher and with less effort. The last characteristic of these engines to highlight are the wave pulses generated in the exhaust system that, without going into further technical details, facilitate better ‘breathing’ of the engine.
With all this, they announce a maximum power of 800 horses and 730 Newton meters of torque, to which we must add what the electric motor of 150 horsepower and 300 Newton meters integrated into the gearbox. Because yes, this car will be a hybrid, and also exclusive, since its powertrain will not be shared with any other. It’s a creation from Lamborghini for Lamborghini.
BENTLEY RETIREMENT ITS W12
The replacement of the propeller for the most performing Bentleys will be a 4.0 liter hybrid V8 —but we repeat, it is not the same engine as Lamborghini—. This mechanics, which the British have baptized ‘Ultra Performance Hybrid’, is part of the V8 that they already had, but the most notable change at a mechanical level is that the original twin-inlet turbochargers have been replaced by simpler ones. a single entrance and assisted by the electric motor itself to reduce the dreaded ‘lag’ as much as possible.
Other minor changes, but of equal importance, are the injection system, which goes from working 200 to 350 bars to reduce emissions, as well as the elimination of cylinder disconnectionsince the electric motor replaces this system.
The combustion engine delivers on its own 600 horses and 800 Newton meters of torque but added to the 190 horsepower and 450 Newton meter electric motor located in the transmission housing, it now delivers 782 horses and 1,000 Newton metersfar surpassing the replaced W12.
Like Lamborghini, this mechanism has been developed exclusively for its models by Crewe engineers, mobilizing the 30 members that made up the W12 team and after a investment of more than 40 million euros.
