Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Lamborghini’s Gallardo is named for a breed of fighting bull and made with lightweight composites like the 787 jet, ranking it among the company’s lowest-emission supercars. That’s still just a pale shade of green.

Lamborghini and rivals such as Ferrari and Bentley are miles behind the industry average for carbon-dioxide emissions just as standards tighten in Europe and the U.S. Engineers are now retooling engines, building frames with carbon fibers and improving exhaust systems. Aston Martin, the carmaker for James Bond films, is even planning a model with a 1-liter engine.

“This mustn’t come at the expense of excitement,” Lamborghini Chief Executive Officer Stephan Winkelmann said in an interview. “A Lamborghini always has to be a super-luxury car that defines itself through acceleration, top speed and the sound it creates.”

Supercar makers have a balancing act: They don’t want the status symbols to attract blame as consumers warm to protecting the environment, yet they can’t spoil the high-performance cache of the cars. Demand sank in the first half, with Lamborghini reporting a 37 percent slump. Carmakers can’t afford to miss out on a recovery if buyers look at mileage and emissions.

Ferrari’s 458 leads, with a supercar best of 307 grams of CO2 per kilometer and a Formula One racing gearbox. Still, European regulators are set to enforce emissions standards that require carmakers to cut average CO2 emissions by 20 percent to 130 grams a kilometer by 2015. Europe may enact an average cap of 95 grams in 2020, lower than the amount produced by the tiny Punto made by Fiat SpA, Ferrari’s owner.

Bearing Responsibility

In the U.S., where standards are based on miles per gallon, new passenger vehicles must achieve a fleet average of 27.5 mpg. Automakers pay fines when they exceed the limits. By 2016, cars must rate an average of 35.5 mpg.

Car enthusiasts say their toys rarely leave the garage and their pollution pales in comparison to the damage done by workaday cars driven thousands of miles a year. Environmental advocacy groups including the U.K.’s We are Futureproof say the luxury-car makers should be held accountable.

“The share of luxury carmakers’ emissions may seem small in size, but they certainly contribute to the overall problem,” said Blake Ludwig, director of the London-based group. “These companies bear responsibility too.”

Greenpeace questions whether supercars are appropriate when global warming threatens the planet, though the group hasn’t specifically targeted the vehicles in its environmental campaigns. “High-emission Ferraris are an indulgence the climate can’t afford today,” said Michael Crocker, a Washington-based spokesman for the group.

Turbo Lifestyle

The pressure is on the manufacturers to contribute while protecting a fan base that includes soccer star David Beckham and actor Nicolas Cage.

Rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot, whose real name is Anthony Ray, says he joy rides in his $370,000 Lamborghini and uses an S-Class Mercedes as his daily ride. Ray, whose Grammy hit “Baby Got Back” speaks of a woman who’s “got it goin’ like a turbo ‘Vette,” said he’d consider trading in his bright orange Lamborghini for a more fuel-efficient supercar.

“It’s gotta be fast and it’s gotta have personality,” he said in an interview. “The environment is an issue for me, but I still want to live. To put a car lover in a Prius? Oh my god!”

He’s not alone. Frank Connaught, an American who shopped at the Frankfurt Motor Show last month, said buyers aren’t yet willing to forgo the excitement.

‘Brutal’

“What I want is a true sports car, a bull on wheels,” said Connaught, who works at Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. and has a Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster he bought used for 165,000 euros ($240,000). “The sound of the engine is brutal and nothing beats that ground acceleration.”

The manufacturers are keeping that sentiment in mind even as they rush to make changes.

Maserati redesigned engines from scratch, installed more efficient air conditioning and developed a catalytic converter with a perforated cage that traps and burns gasoline particles, Technical Director Giorgio Cornacchia said. Modena, Italy-based Maserati, which fields a GranTurismo model that accelerates from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.9 seconds, cut consumption by 20 percent from 2005 to 2008, Cornacchia said.

“Nothing should slow or choke the engine to get optimal performance,” he said. “Supercars can become more ecological without penalizing performance.”

Boeing Solutions

Lamborghini, whose Gallardo Spyder emits about 400 grams of CO2 a kilometer, aims to lower emissions by an average of 35 percent by 2015, Winkelmann said. The Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy-based carmaker is working with Boeing Co. in a venture at the University of Washington in Seattle to develop the light composites that complement metals in car frames and bodies.

“The feel is much better if you decrease the weight,” Winkelmann said. “The lighter the car, with a powerful engine, the more fun, the more emotional the driving is.”

Supercar makers like Volkswagen AG’s Lamborghini that are part of larger auto companies can consider themselves part of the parent or ask for unique CO2 emissions goals. VW also owns Bentley and Bugatti. Ferrari and Maserati enjoy a similar advantage as part of Fiat. Rolls-Royce’s parent, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, also makes 1-series BMWs and the Mini.

Lamborghini made 2,430 cars last year, roughly the number of VW Golf models produced in a day. That means a tiny reduction in Golf CO2 output would cover all Lamborghini emissions.

Size Argument

About 100,000 supercars are sold a year, according to JATO Consult, a Detroit-based adviser. That’s less than 0.2 percent of the 57.7 million autos that Moody’s Investors Service predicts will sell this year.

“Ten-thousand Maseratis do much less damage to the environment than 100,000 Puntos,” said Harald Wester, CEO of the luxury-car maker and head of technology at Fiat in Turin.

Asked what the maker of the 253-mph Veyron does to lower emissions, improve fuel efficiency or pursue environmental technology, Bugatti spokeswoman Emanuela Wilm said: “For a car that has to date sold only 220 worldwide and of which only 300 are built and that most of the time is parked in the garage, this is hardly an issue.”

Even so, most of the companies are taking action, said Carlo Alberto Carnevale-Maffei, a professor of business strategy at Milan’s Bocconi University.

Ferrari cut CO2 volume by 40.4 grams in the first half of 2009, the most of eight luxury brands analyzed by JATO. Bentley in March unveiled a 630-horsepower Continental Supersports, its first biofuel-powered car.

Aston Martin reduced CO2 tailpipe emissions by 26 percent since 2000, spokesman Kim Palmer said. Aston plans a Cygnet mini made by Toyota Motor Corp. with a 1-liter engine. Its DBS Coupe used in the “Quantum of Solace” Bond film has a 6-liter V-12.

As Carnevale-Maffei said: “A super car is a status symbol, but it has to remain a positive one in this era of global warming.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Andreas Cremer in Berlin via acremer@bloomberg.net; Sara Gay Forden in Milan via sforden@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 9, 2009 07:20 EDT