Lamborghini makes 700-horsepower Aventador more fuel efficient for 2013

The 2013 Aventador doesn't get great gas mileage, but it's better than last year.

(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET )

I can imagine someone at Lamborghini thinks that the Aventador’s 700-horsepower split between all four wheels is probably enough power for one car. (And no, I don’t agree with that person.) I assume this because rather than getting a nominal power bump for this model year’s update, the 2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 gets a mile per gallon bump thanks to the addition of cylinder deactivation and idle stop-start technologies that allow the V-12 engine to instantaneously and momentarily make less power in the pursuit of using less fuel.

The Cylinder Deactivation System (CDS) works like this: When cruising or coasting at speeds below 85 mph, the Aventador shuts down one bank of its 6.5-liter, V-12 engine–essentially transforming the engine into a 3.25-liter, inline six-cylinder. You don’t need all 700 ponies for your daily commute, so by basically shrinking the engine on demand, Lamborghini is able to squeeze out a few more mpgs. When the user decides that it’s time to drop the hammer, the CDS fires the second bank of cylinders back up with no more interaction from the driver than an increase in pedal pressure and, presumably, no hesitation.

When the 2013 Aventador comes to a stop, so does its engine thanks to the start-stop system that reduces fuel wasted while idli… [Read more]

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