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Is your Lamborghini too cold? Just ask Alexa to heat it up

2021-01-06

Sometimes you're driving your Lamborghini and the seat's a little too cold. You could press the Seat Heater Button, but you'd have to take a hand off the steering wheel. Soon, you'll be able to just say, "Alexa, turn on the seat heater" and you'll be all toasty without ever releasing your firm grip on that Alcantara-covered steering wheel.

The new Lamborghini Huracán Evo will be the first car with a new generation of Amazon Alexa Auto, Amazon's voice control system that's customized for use in automobiles.

An older version of Alexa Auto is currently available from a number of automakers, including Lamborghini's parent company Audi, part of the Volkswagen Group. That version allows drivers to do things like ask for the news and weather, play music and operate Alexa-controlled home devices, like a garage door opener (definitely handy) or thermostat, so your house is warmed up when you get there.

One thing that has not been possible, until now, is to control features in the car itself. With this new version of Alexa, drivers will be able to control the car's thermostat, interior lighting and, in the Lamborghini, it can even bring up a touchscreen selector, which allows the driver to adjust settings for things like the car's suspension, all-wheel-drive and all-wheel-steering. Drivers will still have to use the touchscreen to make any changes to those settings. The Alexa system doesn't interact with any of the car's driving systems, such as steering, brakes or the accelerator, according to Amazon.

"The integration will enable Lamborghini owners to enjoy the convenience of an intelligent voice service while focusing on the joy of the Lamborghini driving experience," said Ned Curic, vice president of Alexa Auto at Amazon in a statement.

Drivers will also be able to use Alexa to pay for gas, a great convenience given the Lamborghini's fuel-hungry 640 horsepower V10 engine.

The release of the system, which will be available on the Huracán Evo later this year, marks the beginning of a partnership between Lamborghini and Amazon. Lamborghini called this "the first step in a strategic collaboration with Amazon," in a statement. Neither company provided details on what further integration there might be.

Other automakers that will have the new system include Rivian, the Michigan-based electric pickup and SUV maker that has received funding from Amazon and Ford. Rivian will have it on its R1T pickup and R1S SUV as well as on its electric delivery vans for Amazon. Other automakers that will use the system include General Motors and Volkswagen, according to Amazon.

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