The Lamborghini V12 engine has been in production for over six decades. It's hard to believe Lamborghini continued to build and evolve the same engine for such a long time. The first-generation quad-cam V12 was developed to snub Ferrari, just like the brand itself when it debuted in the 350 GT. The motor was only discontinued when the Murcielago gave way to the Aventador.

It is slightly hard to imagine the same engine powering the iconic poster child of the 70s Countach that settled at just 4-inches off the ground, and the giant LM 002 (Rambo Lambo) SUV that was a lofty 12-inches off the ground. Back in the early seventies, the Countach LP 500 was given the 3.9-liter V12 fed by six carburetors. It is such a versatile engine that It just about powered all the Lamborghinis that you know about, Miura, Countach, LM 002, Diablo, Reventón and finally in the Murciélago. The V12 was also Lamborghini’s first-ever internal combustion engine developed in-house. 60 years on, Lamborghini will finally pull the plug on the V12, likely for a plug-in hybrid for its next-generation flagship hypercar. Lets take a look at the colourful history of the iconic Lamborghini V12.

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Not So Humble Beginnings Of The V12

You can barely call it humble when a company starts out in the business with an in-house developed V12 engine. Fueled by an insatiable drive to create the perfect sports car (and beat the crap out of Ferrari), Ferruccio Lamborghini allegedly even offered a bonus to the engineer and designer Giotto Bizzarrini per additional horsepower. Yes, he got his alleged bonus because the 1964 Lamborghini 350 GT made 320 hp from its V12 versus the Ferrari 250 GT Lusso which only had 250 hp from the 3.0-liter V12. Despite that power gap, the Ferrari was the sales success and not the Lambo. The design department had not gotten into the groove, but the engine was bang on point defining the intimidating nature of Lambo V12s. Many further models followed with more power like the 400 GT, Espada, Islero, Jarama, etc.

The engine really picked up its charm when the beautiful Miura joined the model lineup. Engineers mounted the V12 transversely, at the rear, to improve weight distribution. The 365 hp Miura was the fastest car in the world when it came out, all thanks to the power of that V12 engine. Even so, perhaps the most iconic poster child of the 70s will be the production version Countach LP 400. Remembered and loved by all, it had the screaming 4.0-liter V12 developing 375 hp at a high 8,000 rpm. It was modern with race technology inbuilt in its suspension, had ventilated disc brakes with race calipers, and could touch 186 mph on a wave of V12 melody. But then Lamborghini isn’t running short of poster supermodels. The Diablo, the Murciélago, and the Aventador, all have the V12 in massively powerful states of tune with their own character and sophistication.

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Why The Giant SUV Then

Umm, why not? Lamborghini predicted the upcoming penchant for large premium SUVs decades ago. They released the LM 002 in 1986 with the 5.2-liter version of the V12 as the possible spiritual grandfather to the modern high-performance SUV crop. The LM 002 was based on the Cheetah concept from Lamborghini, which was supposed to be designed for the military but was canceled. Even by today’s standards, not many manufacturers use a gigantic V12 engine for their super-luxury SUVs. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan has one, Bentley too stuck a W12 in the Bentayga (and the Q7), and the Ferrari Purosangue will have a V12 which about completes the tiny list. The rest of them get puny V8s and V6s, paaah!

Although the Rambo Lambo (yes, Sylvester Stallone actually has one) shared its engine with the Countach, they had to drop 20 hp and added four-wheel drive hardware to make it a fairly capable machine. This is the greatness of that V12 engine, pairing of a central differential and low-range gearing converts a track weapon into an off-road monster. And since even this was not extreme by Lamborghini standards, they made a special version with a 7.2-liter V12 that developed 700 hp for desert endurance racing. Imagine a massive 5,952 lb Lego that can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 7.7 seconds and achieve a top speed of 118 mph.

About The Future Of The Elusive Lamborghini V12

Okay, technically the original V12 was replaced with a new design in 2011. The Murciélago Super Veloce LP 670-4 carried the last hurrah of the original V12 engine which saw decades of engineering and success. The fresher Aventador was equipped with the new 6.5-liter V12 which can accelerate to a ludicrous 217 mph. But the final iteration of the original was no slouch either. The LP 670-4 developed 660 hp and had a top speed of 205 mph. Lamborghini also gave a glorious sendoff to the Countach recently by unveiling the LPI 800-4 visionary concept. It is a testament to how the Countach would have evolved over the years, but has a tiny production run. This is also down to the fact that the entire notion of V12-powered supercars is becoming a well-being hazard due to crippling emission regulations. So it is official, that the Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae will carry the last of the naturally aspirated V12 engines. It’ll develop 769 hp, the most powerful V12 to come out of Lamborghini’s magical workshop. This is the final encore.

Don’t worry the high-performance Terzo Millennio electric from Lamborghini will set the bar straight for the Italian brand. Replacing the V12 powertrain with electric motors, the Terzo Millennio will be the next game changer for supercar enthusiasts, but with a heavy heart, we’re sure. Lamborghini's engineers are working on a supercapacitor and working with nonmaterial to blow the lid off performance cars. Although, purists will never forget the majesty and thunderous sounds of the original V12 engine Lamborghinis which still are adorned by bedroom walls. Nope, these posters do not represent the future electrics but hail the glory of the fire-spitting supercars of yesteryear.