Lamborghini Just Pulled the Plug on Its First Electric Supercar

The Lamborghini Lanzador was set to be the marque’s first EV, with a launch sometime this decade and perhaps 2,000 horsepower, enough to make a statement. The problem is that now it isn’t happening at all, according to a new interview in The Times, and neither is an all-electric Urus.

The interview was given by Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini‘s CEO, who said interest was “close to zero” among customers for supercars without V-8s and V-12s. EVs are an “expensive hobby” for automakers, the exec explained, because they require enormous investment with little prospect for returns.

“Investing heavily in full-EV development when the market and customer base are not ready would be an expensive hobby, and financially irresponsible towards shareholders, customers, our employees, and their families,” Winkelmann said.

The CEO also repeated a refrain that automakers have embraced in recent years, which is that plug-in hybrids are the present, if not the future: “Plug-in hybrids offer the best of both worlds, combining the agility and low-rev boost of electric battery technology with the emotion and power output of an internal combustion engine.”

There was a time when supercar makers said hybrid technology was too heavy and required too many performance compromises, though its adoption in Formula 1 has seemed to convince many of them to set those concerns aside. Hybrid supercars also have a way of turning sceptics into believers as soon as they get behind the wheel.

At any rate, Lamborghini’s heart never really seemed to be in the Lanzador, with an executive saying last year that the marque planned to use internal combustion engines for as long as possible. That made a certain amount of sense for a company known for its long history with V-12 engines, though automakers can only reject the future for so long, especially European ones that have to worry slightly more about regulations than their American counterparts.

It would not be surprising, in other words, if Lamborghini announces another reversal in a few years, or even in a few months, such is the speed at which preferences for EVs or not seem to shift. At that point, the marque might simply dust off the Lanzador project and tweak it with the latest technology—or perhaps even act like this blip never happened. There will almost certainly be an all-electric Lamborghini by 2040, and likely multiple. A high-riding grand tourer and an all-electric Urus are still great places to start.

This story was originally published on Robb Report USA.