It’s the end of an era at Lamborghini. The automaker is launching its final vehicles powered purely by internal-combustion engines, as starting from next year it will only offer electrified powertrains.
A Huracán Sterrato will be launched later in November as the final Lamborghini powered purely by a V-10, and the Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae launched in 2021 is the last Raging Bull powered purely by a V-12. An Aventador successor powered by a V-12 plug-in hybrid is coming next year, and has been spotted testing.
Lamborghini put the rights to the final Aventador Ultimae coupe up for auction last April, together with a non-fungible token called the Lamborghini Ultimate. The NFT provides its owner with various benefits like online access to reveals of future Lamborghini special editions, a private tour of Lamborghini’s museum, and contact with artists Steve Aoki and Krista Kim, who collaborated on the NFT and helped design the car. Aoki, a DJ, was tasked with creating an exclusive soundtrack for the NFT, while Kim, a digital artist, was tasked with creating visuals for it.
The winning bid in the RM Sotheby’s auction was $1,603,125, and this week the winning bidder finally took delivery of the car. Kim, who in 2021 famously sold an NFT representing a digital house for $500,000 worth of Ethereum, was present for the delivery, while Aoki was there virtually.
The car isn’t the final Aventador, though, and thus not the very last Lamborghini powered purely by a V-12. That honor goes to the Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae Roadster that was completed in September and destined for a buyer in Switzerland.
The Aventador Ultimae is powered by Lamborghini’s familiar 6.5-liter V-12, tuned in this application to deliver 769 hp and 531 lb-ft of torque via tweaks to the valve timing. The peak power is the highest of any Aventador road car and arrives at a screaming 8,500 rpm. Note, even though Lamborghini is moving to electrified powertrains, and eventually full-electric powertrains, the automaker hasn’t ruled out offering down the road some track-only cars powered solely by an internal-combustion engine. We’ve already seen this with stuff like 2020’s Essenza SCV12.