Lamborghini 910-hp hybrid Asterion

A Lamborghini plug-in hybrid. What a world we live in.

Revealed at the Paris motor show, the Lamborghini Asterion LPI 910-4 — don’t call it the “Asteroid” — is a significant departure for the Raging Bull brand. Not in the least because it’s a (gasp!) plug-in hybrid. Not because it finally skims the vaunted 1,000-hp figure. Not because that for the first time, its interior was actually designed with roominess and ergonomics in mind. But this is possibly the first non-insane Lamborghini since the Jarama, the first Lamborghini since the Miura that hasn’t been styled in an exploding knife factory.

“LPI” isn’t the name of a midlevel insurance company but actually Longitudinale Posteriore Ibrido, or “hybrid” in Italian. The Huracan’s 5.2-liter V10 snuggles up against three electric motors, weighing just 485 pounds in total: two at the front wheels and an integrated starter and generator between the V10 and the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. These three motors provide 300 hp. The Huracan’s engine produces 610 hp.

Lamborghini's Asterion plug-in hybrid

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Lamborghini unveiled its first plug-in hybrid technology concept car, the Lamborghini Asterion LPI 910-4, at the Paris Auto Show. WSJ's Dan Neil takes a closer look.

So, that’s the Lamborghini Asterion, then — a midengined, AWD hybrid terror, pumping out 910 total hp, right in the middle of the Porsche 918 Spyder (875 hp), McLaren P1 (903 hp), and Ferrari LaFerrari by Ferrari (950 hp). Like those cars, the Asterion is a manifestation of the hybrid drivetrain as a go-fast tool — two powertrains, need we remind, will almost always be faster than one.

Lamborghini claims that the Asterion can hit 60 mph in exactly three seconds, on its way to 199 mph.

Come on — that’s to be expected from Lamborghini. What’s not expected is a Lamborghini that can do 57 miles per gallon, (consuming 4.12 liters/100 km), while emitting just 98 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, a figure more valued by the Europeans than us. The Asterion can operate in electric-only mode up to 50 kilometers, or 32 miles. At this point only the front wheels are driven, rendering this Lamborghini the closest it’ll ever be to a Toyota TM, +1.47%   Prius. Let that sink in for a moment.

Lamborghini’s “hyper cruiser,” as it calls the Asterion, could be realistically produced today, “using technologies available and drawing on Lamborghini’s own expertise.”

Asterion, if you’re wondering, is an obscure name for the Minotaur — with its bull head and human body, it’s a hybrid unto itself, further proof that Lamborghini remains the world’s foremost employer of recent English majors. Borges, meanwhile, remains unimpressed.

The story Lamborghini surprises at Paris motor show with 910-hp hybrid Asterionoriginally appeared on Autoweek.com.

About the Paris Motor Show

The Paris motor show or as it is officially known, Mondial de l’Automobile — occurs every two years, alternating with the Frankfurt motor show in Germany. It’s a spotlight for the latest in design, but auto makers will also show off their latest concept cars, green cars and supercars. Check out all the action from the 2014 Paris motor show from Autoweek.

Blake Z. Rong has been with Autoweek since 2012 as an Associate Editor in Los Angeles. He drove his Mazda Miata across the country and believes that no man needs a car any larger or faster. Well, OK, faster, certainly.

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Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. (Italian pronunciation: [ˈalfa roˈmɛːo]) is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili) on June 24, 1910, in Milan,[2] the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars.[3] It was owned by Italian state holding company Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale between 1932 and 1986, when it became a part of the Fiat Group,[4] and since February 2007 a part of Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A.

The company that became Alfa Romeo was founded as Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID) in 1906 by the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq, with some Italian investors. In late 1909, the Italian Darracq cars were selling slowly and the Italian partners of the company hired Giuseppe Merosi for designing new cars. On June 24th, 1910, a new company was founded named A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, English: Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company), initially still in partnership with Darracq. The first non-Darracq car produced by the company was the 1910 24 HP, designed by Giuseppe Merosi. A.L.F.A. ventured into motor racing, with drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911 Targa Florio with two 24 HP models. In August 1915 the company came under the direction of Neapolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo, who converted the factory to produce military hardware for the Italian and Allied war efforts. In 1920, the name of the company was changed to Alfa Romeo with the Torpedo 20-30 HP the first car to be so badged.

In 1921, the Banca Italiana di Sconto, which backed the Ing. Nicola Romeo & Co, went broke and the government needed to support the industrial companies involved, among which Alfa Romeo, through the "Consorzio per Sovvenzioni sui Valori Industriali". In 1925, the railway activities were separated from the Romeo company, and in 1928 Nicola Romeo left. In 1933, the state ownership was reorganized under the banner of the Istituto per la Riscotruzione Industriale (IRI) by Benito Mussolini's government, which then had effective control. The company struggled to return to profitability after the Second World War, and turned to mass-producing small vehicles rather than hand-building luxury models. In 1954 it developed the Alfa Romeo Twin Cam engine, which would remain in production until 1998.[citation needed] During the 1960s and 1970s Alfa Romeo produced a number of sporty cars, though the Italian government parent company, Finmeccanica, struggled to make a profit so it sold the marque to the Fiat Group in 1986.

Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in many different categories of motorsport, including Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing and rallies. It has competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries (usually under the name Alfa Corse or Autodelta) and private entries. The first racing car was made in 1913, three years after the foundation of the company, and Alfa Romeo won the inaugural world championship for Grand Prix cars in 1925. The company gained a good name in motorsport, which gave a sporty image to the whole marque. Enzo Ferrari founded the Scuderia Ferrari racing team in 1929 as an Alfa Romeo racing team, before becoming independent in 1939.[5]

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Parts of a car

Hood

The hood (US & Canada) or bonnet (most Commonwealth countries) is the hinged cover over the engine of motor vehicles that allows access to the engine compartment for maintenance and repair. In British terminology, hood refers to a fabric cover over the passenger compartment of the car (known as the 'top' in the US). In many motor vehicles built in the 1930s and 1940s, the resemblance to an actual hood or bonnet is clear when open and viewed head-on; in modern vehicles it continues to serve the same purpose but no longer resembles a head covering

Bumper

In automobiles, a bumper is the front-most or rear-most part, ostensibly designed to allow the car to sustain an impact without damage to the vehicle's safety systems. They are not capable of reducing injury to vehicle occupants in high-speed impacts, but are increasingly being designed to mitigate injury to pedestrians struck by cars.

Types :- 1. exposed bumper and 2. Unexposed bumper

Cowl screen

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