No sooner had the last ever Murciélago left the production line, than news broke of an all-new V12 power plant, developed entirely in-house by Lamborghini from a clean sheet of paper and manufactured from start to finish at the company’s headquarters in Sant’Agata Bolognese.

This will come as a relief to Lamborghini enthusiasts who might have feared that the end of the Murciélago meant the end of V12s from the House of the Bull. But as the final Murciélago made a symbolic departure from the factory gate, escorted by other famous V12s from the marque’s past – 350GT, Miura, Countach and Diablo – President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann was already promising that “In 2011, we will take a huge step into the future with the successor to the Murciélago – with the most innovative technology and, once again, truly stunning design.”

The new 6.5-litre V12 engine promises 700HP and 690Nm of torque, and will be mated to a new ‘Lamborghini ISR’ automated manual gearbox. This, says Lamborghini, will offer minimal shift times and ‘everyday usability’, along with low weight and a small size.

All they need now is a car to put it in… and judging by the Sesto Elemento concept car at the Paris motor show (powered by a V10), we can expect it to be light, dramatically styled and truly exciting.

Text: Charis Whitcombe
Photos: Audi