The 2013 Lamborghini Aventador gains fuel economy technology...seriously

The 2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 will pack the same 6.5L V12 engine that fires out 690 horsepower and 510lb-ft of torque to all four wheels via a lightning quick 7-speed semi automatic transmission. This allows the Aventador to scream from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 2.9 seconds while reaching a top speed of 217 miles per hour and running the quarter mile in 10.6 seconds. Even with these incredible performance specifications, this carbon fiber supercar offers what I would call fairly impressive fuel economy measures of 11 miles per gallon around town, 17mpg on the highway and a combined figure of 13mpg. With a price nearing $400,000, the odds are good that most Aventador owners don’t worry too much about their fuel economy but with ever-increasing fuel economy standard being announced around the world – the Italian supercar builder is looking to improve on the fuel economy of the Aventador.

The 2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 will come equipped with two new features that should help improve the fuel mileage of the 690 horsepower supercar.

The first is the new Lamborghini Cylinder Deactivation System (or CDS) that will shut down 6 of the 12 cylinders when big power isn’t needed – like when calmly cruising on the highway. Cylinder shut down systems have worked beautifully in a variety of vehicles in the US market with solid results so we would expect that there would be similar results with the Aventador. The key for Lamborghini will be designing a CDS system that doesn’t negatively impact the sound of the car as engines using cylinder shut down systems often face complaints of unpleasant exhaust tones in the fuel saver mode. They will likely solve this problem through an exhaust system design that alters the sound, muffling it more when in fuel saver mode. Then again, the V12 in the Aventador might sound awesome no matter how many cylinders are firing.

The other new feature coming to the 2013 Lamborghini Aventador is a Start/Stop ignition system that promises to be among the quickest in the industry thanks to the use of a capacitor to jump-start the system rather than a battery, which is the more traditional power source. The capacitor sends out the power required to fire the 690hp engine back up more quickly – in just 180 milliseconds to be exact. For comparison, the typical Start/Stop system takes about 250 milliseconds to start up when the driver touches the gas pedal and the high performance system designed by Ferrari takes about 230 milliseconds.

The fuel economy figures for the 2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 has not been announced but rumors suggest that the new CDS and Start/Stop system will improve fuel economy by 20%. With the Cylinder Deactivation System improving fuel range on the highway and the Start/Stop system preventing fuel waste around town – the fuel economy improvements should make a difference across all types of driving. A 20% improvement over the current fuel economy would put the 2013 Aventador in the range of 13 miles per gallon around town, 20mpg on the highway and a combined figure of 15-16mpg. These are speculations based on the figure of a 20% improvement so actual figures may vary. However, improving the fuel economy of the Lamborghini Aventador without compromising performance should help the supercar builder stay ahead of the stingy regulation-writers who are always looking to take the fun out of driving.

Source: Auto Motor Und Sport (a big thanks to Belgian Max for the translation help!)