- Lamborghini’s open-top Sián is being produced in a very limited edition of 19, far fewer than the 63 regular Sián coupe units built.
- The roadster has a platform based on the Aventador, inside which a 6.5-liter V-12 combines with a hybrid system powered by a supercapacitor.
- The name is Italian Bolognese dialect meaning “lightning,” and the price, while not announced, is irrelevant because they’ve all been sold already.
Like the look of the new Lamborghini Sián roadster? Unless you’ve heard otherwise, you’re too late. There are only going to be 19 made, and all are already sold, despite what is almost certainly a seven-figure price. Clearly you have to move faster than the speed of news to land a limited-edition Lambo.
The Sián roadster is an open-topped version of last year’s Sián coupe, although Lamborghini produced a relatively profligate 63 of those. The softtop uses the same Aventador-based platform, combining V-12 power with a hybrid system powered by a supercapacitor. But while electrical assistance is only a small part of the total output, with a 48-volt motor integrated into the gearbox providing up to 34 horsepower and the glory of the naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V-12 making 774 horsepower.
Although the supercapacitor doesn’t hold much energy (Lamborghini hasn’t released an exact capacity figure) it offers much greater energy density than a conventional battery. Lamborghini claims it is three times more powerful than a lithium-ion battery of the same weight and that the whole electrical side of the powertrain adds only about 75 pounds of mass to the car.
Using a supercapacitor allows ultrafast regenerative braking, with Lamborghini saying it can recharge fully every time the car brakes hard. As well as adding assistance, the electric motor produces some (much needed) torque fill to help smooth changes from Lamborghini’s single-clutch automated-manual transmission. The electric motor disengages at speeds of over 81 mph, but Lamborghini claims it makes the car 10 percent quicker in stop-and-go maneuvers—not something the Sant’Agata automaker regularly crows about—and it’s enough to power the car at low speeds, allowing for silent maneuvering with the engine switched off.
It’s fractionally slower than the Sián coupe was, dispatching the European zero-to-62-mph benchmark in a claimed “under 2.9 seconds” rather than the coupe’s claimed sub-2.8-second time. Nor, despite being described as a roadster, does it seem to have any form of roof. The official release claims only that it is “always open to the sky.” But given the chance to better experience the aural majesty of the V-12 without any distraction, we doubt either of those issues will have been a deal breaker for those far enough up Lamborghini’s list of VIPs to be offered the chance to buy one.
The Sián is also paying tribute to one of its famous predecessors, Lamborghini saying that the periscopio line that runs rearward from the cockpit and ends in “airstreamers” behind both seats is inspired by the Countach. Although the car is shown in Uranus Blue—no sniggering at the back—Lamborghini is keen to point out that buyers will be able to specify pretty much any color for paint or trim that takes their fancy; buyers will even be permitted to specify 3D printed air vents with their own initials.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the name Sián is drawn from Bolognese dialect, meaning either “flash” or “lightning,” a nod to its hybrid status.
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