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In the heart of Singapore, under the shimmering lights and eager gazes of over 250 distinguished guests and media, the stage was set for something monumental.

It's not every day that you witness a storied marque like Automobili Lamborghini celebrate its 60th anniversary. And boy, did they make it count. Enter the Lamborghini Revuelto, a name that might roll off your tongue in a peculiar fashion, but this is a super sports car that commands attention at first glance.

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Lamborghini Revuelto Unveiled in Singapore

IN Lamborghini, Revuelto, Singapore, Burnpavement

The glorious V12 engine Lamborghini is known for continues its legacy in the Revuelto, albeit with some hybridisation thrown into the mix.

The SC63, which will begin testing shortly, is set to compete in the Hypercar class of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and in the GTP class of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship Endurance Cup, comprising classic races such as the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring.

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First Look: Lamborghini SC63

IN First Look, Lamborghini, SC63, Burnpavement

Lamborghini Squadra Corse showcases its first hybrid endurance racing prototype, the Lamborghini SC63, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Connor De Phillippi (USA) and Nick Yelloly (GBR) repeated their Sebring success, finishing second again in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 in the first sprint race of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA series).

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BMW M Team RLL secures second podium finish for the BMW M Hybrid V8 At Long Beach

IN BMW M Team RLL, BMW, M Hybrid V8, Long Beach

After clinching second in the GTP class at the Twelve Hours of Sebring (USA), BMW M Team RLL again enjoyed podium celebrations at Long Beach (USA).

The new drivetrain is set to feature in its next plug-in hybrid replacement after the Aventador. Aside from the fact that it will be the marque's first plug-in hybrid, the main highlight statistic of the model, codenamed LB744, is the fact that it will get an output in excess of 1,000bhp.

What’s more, the LB744 is the first supercar to be fitted with a 100% carbon fibre front structure. Carbon fibre is also used for the front cone structures to ensure added safety, plus a substantial reduction in weight.

This car will also be different from the Lamborghini Sian, which pioneered the use of electric power in any raging bull courtesy of supercapacitors. The LB744 would instead be run with lithium-ion batteries.

Happenings

Lamborghini reveals information on plug-in hybrid Aventador replacement

IN Lamborghini, Information, Plug-in hybrid, Aventador

The time has come to retire Lamborghini’s legendary combustion V12 engine, and the Italian marque has revealed fresh details on its replacement.

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are undoubtedly the future for the automobile – at least for the next decade anyways, until governments and manufacturers come around to e-fuels…

However until then, if or when, the car industry is firmly committed to producing EVs. Like everyone else, I’m all for anything that is an improvement over whatever it replaces and so EVs ticks almost all the boxes.

One very big box that remains unchecked, however, is the business of charging. If you are an apartment dweller like me, who doesn’t have regular access to a personal wall box or is using your EV for a road trip, then you’ll know that you have to set up an account with the charging provider, and store your credit card number. And since there are several operators, it would be prudent to hold several accounts to minimize the chances of not being able to charge your EV when need to.

Oh, on road trips, charging stops have to be planned lest you be stranded with a dead EV.

Compare this with the convenience of refuelling conventional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) cars. The drive down the I-5 to Los Angeles takes you through one of the most uninhabited places in California. Yet, you could still find a gas station with no more than 25 miles between them.

You can drive up to any station, use any method of payment, including cash – imagine that, fill up and be on your way for the next 400 miles or so. All in 10 minutes or less.

While EV charging technology is getting faster, and over time will be more common, the business of paying for the charge is ridiculously complicated to paying at the pump. No amount needed, just hand over your money and go. How is this progress?

Okay, I’m sure someone is working on making EV charging more convenient. Wake me up when September ends.

Testing the hybrid theory

Until charging an EV becomes as convenient as refuelling, perhaps hybrid cars will be relevant in the sense that they offer all the advantages of an EV without the drawbacks. This proved to be the case when I drove a 2023 BMW 330e from Los Gatos to Los Angeles.

The car was chosen on the assumption that its 107hp electric motor would be sufficient for pottering around the city while the 181hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine would have the legs to handle the endless stretches of Interstate Freeways without breaking a sweat. Working in tandem with the electric motor, there’s a combined output of 288hp and 310Nm at its driver’s disposal.

Over 300 miles or so of interstate driving, the motor, along with regenerative inertia and braking would have plenty of time to charge up the batteries so I essentially could cruise in the city.

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2023 BMW 330e xDrive: The Really Easy e

IN BMW, 330e

A drive from Silicon Valley to Los Angeles shows why plug-in hybrids still make sense in a growing EV world.

New technical regulations will result in future Formula One cars to compete with a new combustion engine, which will be able to run with fully sustainable fuels. For greater efficiency, these engines will be paired with a 469bhp electric motor.

With Formula 1 regulations set to change once again in 2026, owing to more stringent rules and environmental concerns, this leaves a gap for new teams and manufacturers to enter.

Audi has already confirmed their entry for the 2026 season with Sauber, and now Ford has just announced that it will also be returning to the big leagues.

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Ford Is Making A Comeback To Formula 1

IN Ford, Red Bull, Formula, One, 2026, Season, Partnership

In a new partnership with Red Bull Racing, the American giant will be supplying hybrid power units to both Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri teams from 2026 onwards.

What ties the Lamborghinis in this picture together is their hearts - all 12 cylinders in a Vee arrangement and naturally aspirated. The time has come to bid this gem of a powerplant adieu before hybridization becomes a thing in the Aventador's replacement. Let's take a look at where it all started and how far this V12 has come through history.

Happenings

The Pure Beating V12 Heart of Lamborghini

IN Lamborghini, V12

A look back in history before inevitable hybridization.

There likely will come a time in a car enthusiast’s life where one needs to transition towards more family-related motoring options. I’d like to propose that an enthusiast needn’t perform the drive of shame around fellow enthusiasts when turning up to and departing from a car meetup in the Toyota Sienta Hybrid.

Now now... stay with me here. I’m NOT for one second suggesting that the Sienta Hybrid is an enthusiast-vehicle. FAR from it. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. Read on, and it will become clearer.

Moving seven people around in a cost-effective way is what the Sienta Hybrid is best known for. Pretty sure there have been more than a few occasions when a private-hire vehicle was booked, and a Sienta turned up – for good reason. In this segment, the Sienta Hybrid’s closest competitor is the also newly-launched Honda Freed. Both mini-MPVs feature seven seats in a compact monocoque form-factor, but the officially-imported Freed has a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated i-VTEC(-kicked-in-yo!) engine without hybridisation, leaving the Sienta Hybrid pretty much in a class of its own.

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Toyota Sienta Takes the Hybrid Game Up A Notch

IN Toyota, Sienta Hybrid

Quirky, funky looks and practicality maketh the latest gen Sienta Hybrid memorable and likeable

AMG has been open for the last couple years about the new C63 ditching the glorious V8 and switching to a plug-in hybrid setup with even greater performance, but until now we’ve not known exactly how it would hit those targets. As a petrolhead, the headline is pretty bleak. But from a tech point of view, it makes for some genuinely fascinating reading.

Happenings

This is the new 4cyl Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance

IN Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, AMG, C-Class, C63 AMG, Super saloons, Wagons, Performance hybrids

Half the engine, half the fun?

The new RAV4 Hybrid is an upgrade from the current RAV4 2.0L petrol version in almost every conceivable way. Its electric motor is mated to a 2.5-litre engine which generate a combined 215hp. That’s a significant leg up from the 170hp power output of the petrol model, and so is the acceleration: 8.1 seconds 0-100km/h for the Hybrid, down from 9.8 seconds for the petrol.

Happenings

Toyota RAV4 now available in Singapore with hybrid power

IN Toyota, RAV4, SUV, Hybrid, Borneo Motors

The electrified Toyota RAV4 gains power and fuel economy, but its price stays the same

In case you're wondering what a north-easterly Mediterranean wind has to do with anything, fun fact - since 1963, Maserati has taken to naming some of its sports models after wind-names.

Mistral - strong, cold, stormy, northwest wind that blows from the south of France to the Mediterranean coast
Ghibli - the Libyan Arabic name for the Sirocco, is a wind that can move a huge quantity of sand
Bora - a very strong and cold wind that blows from the northeast onto the Adriatic region
Khamsin - a hot, violent gust, blowing in the Egyptian desert and Israel for fifty days a year
Karif - an incredibly strong, hot wind that blows from the southwest across the Gulf of Aden in Somalia with gale force
Shamal - the Arabic word for “north” and is a hot and dry summer wind that blows from the north in Iran, Iraq, and the Arabian Peninsula
Levante - a warm, easterly wind that blows in the western Mediterranean Sea

In the same tradition, we now have the Grecale, named after the north-easterly Mediterranean wind; it's a Porsche Macan-rivalling SUV that sits under the Levante in the lineup.

Happenings

The North-Easterly Mediterranean Wind Blows: Maserati Grecale Launched

IN Maserati, Grecale, SUV, Hybrid, EV

Conventional internal combustion engine, mild hybrid and full-electric SUV line-up to come

Aesthetically, too, Hyundai’s latest Sensuous Sportiness design identity boldly takes innocuous family-mobiles and adds dramatic styling. In late 2020, this made its debut on Singapore roads with the new Avante. It instantly became the clear choice for someone whose emotional side wanted a boldly-styled car, yet their rational side called for a sensible sedan.

Hyundai’s now put the new design identity to work on their crossovers – and if you ask me, it’s turned out even better with the Tucson’s rugged proportions.

An Exterior with Funkiness

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The Future is Funky | Hyundai Tucson Hybrid

IN Hyundai, Tucson, Hybrid, Hyundai Tucson, Tucson Hybrid, Komoco Motors

Hyundai has taken a gamble with the new, boldly-styled Tucson SUV – and it’s paid off handsomely.

No matter, the A3 got a pass for the rest of the (rather competent) package. ‘The S3 will be better,’ I thought, and boy was I right.

Stealth Rocketship

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Potent Weapon | Audi S3 Sedan

IN Audi, S3, Audi S3, S3 Sedan, Premium Automobiles

There’s no need to give up hot hatch thrills even after you’re all grown up.

Look at the price of the A3 (S$187,635 as of December 2021), and you might balk at how much more it costs over its platform-mates. With that price tag, it puts the A3 S$30k over the Golf, and nearly S$50k over the Octavia!

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The Posher Sibling | Audi A3 Sportback Mild Hybrid

IN Audi, A3, Sportback, Audi A3, A3 Sportback, Premium Automobiles

As the fanciest model to use the Volkswagen Group MQB Evo platform, is the A3 Sportback worth the extra dough? We check out what extras it offers over its siblings.