How the Lamborghini Temerario is more than a 907-hp hybrid that revs to 10 grand

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. – A Lamborghini supercar pretty much seems like the exact opposite of a daily driver, but apparently, one in three sold are just that. Considering Lamborghini sold 29,700 Huracans, that’s nearly 10,000 owners who actually care about such things as interior space. Indeed, that was the most common request from owners as Lamborghini went about creating the next-generation “entry” model that would become the Temerario.

Lamborghini product manager Paolo Racchetti felt their pain. At a rakish 6-foot-plus, Racchetti said that he couldn’t fit inside the Huracan with a helmet on – he had to awkwardly list inboard to fit. Helmet fitment is obviously not a daily driver complaint, but Racchetti said that owners also took their Huracans to the track once or twice per year on average (those with an STO did so once or twice per month). For both the track and the daily grind, extra space for Racchetti’s helmeted noggin was squeezed out by hollow casting the Temerario’s aluminum structure and using larger components with fewer pieces and less welding. It’s 24% stronger as a result, too. Lamborghini also freed up some cargo space behind the seats, another customer request. Between that and the frunk, you’re now more likely to take your Lamborghini on a road trip. A new “Comfort” seat helps, too.

“We have widened the mission of the car, made it more versatile,” Racchetti said, adding the visibility was also improved and more camera views added at the behest of customers.   

At the same time, all that sure feels more like “would be nice” stuff rather than legitimate beefs. The Temerario is a still a Lamborghini, but it’s also a very different type of Lamborghini than the Huracan it replaces.

It all starts with the engine. Racchetti said they needed to up the Huracan’s V10, but adding displacement didn’t make sense and adding cylinders would make it a V12, thereby invading the Revuelto’s territory. At the same time, Lamborghini wanted the car to be smaller, and shrinking the engine would do just that while lowering the center of gravity in the process. It would also counteract adding a whole bunch of weight elsewhere, but more on that in a minute.

The result is a V8 with a pair of enormous turbochargers placed in a hot-V formation between the cylinder banks. Big-old turbos tend to create big-old turbo lag, but the first of three motors, integrated between engine and eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, fills in the torque gap while the turbos spool up. Now, there’s really not much that’s novel about any of that, but before bemoaning the naturally aspirated V10, know we’re not done yet. Thanks to a flat-plane crank and “really complicated technical solutions,” according to Racchetti, the Temerario’s turbocharged V8 revs to 10,000 rpm. Hello! If you can get a turbo engine to crack 7 grand, you’re cooking with gas. But 10,000?! It should sound incredible. Racchetti indicated that it does indeed, especially thanks to the pair of snorkus induction tubes that pipe sound back toward the cabin like a pair of canons aimed at your back side.

Peak engine output of 789 horsepower is delivered at 9,000 to 9,750 rpm. The Huracan Evo’s V10 managed 631 hp at 8,000 rpm. Oh, but the Lamborghini Temerario is not done. Those 789 hp go only to the rear axle. Each front wheel gets its own 110-kilowatt electric motor, thereby creating a torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system. The overall concept of electric front, gas back isn’t that different from the Acura NSX. The overall output sure is: 907 horsepower. Lamborghini says it’ll hit 62 mph in 2.7 seconds, so a 2.5-second 0-60 is possible.

Racchetti said that there are “lots of opportunities for the future” because this is the powertrain’s starting point. There is room to grow for both engine and motors.

As with all modern performance cars, there are multiple drive modes. Let’s talk about two of them. First is Drift mode, which doesn’t just turn off the front motors and let you have at it, but rather assists you in driving like a hero or hooligan, depending on your point of view, to let you more safely have smoky fun. The opposite of that would be EV mode, whereby the engine takes a break for those times when you need to sneak into the center of an EV-only European city center or sneak out of the house for a weekend rendezvous in that city with your mistress. I’m just spit balling scenarios here.

The battery pack is pretty small at 3.8 kilowatt-hours, so you won’t be sneaking around for very long. Lamborghini doesn’t have an EPA estimate, but it’ll almost certainly be in the single digits. The Revuelto manages only 6 miles. The battery itself is packaging within the tunnel that previously would’ve housed the drive shaft.

“The work we’ve done in packaging is incredible,” Racchetti said. He also indicated that cooling everything was a herculean task as you have the engine, the turbos, the transmission, the brakes, the battery and the motors to cool down.

As Racchetti provides a tour of the car’s exterior, pointing out the many seemingly subtle aerodynamic enhancements that altogether increase downforce by 104% over the Huracan, it’s striking just how restrained, and well, classy the Temerario is for a Lamborghini. The electric green version shown in our original reveal story is perhaps less so, but the matte navy blue example shown at the Quail during Monterey Car Week points to a cleaner and more streamlined appearance, especially when compared to the wild Revuelto. It also stands out because of this, as supercars all start to look alike after awhile with their wedge shapes, aerodynamic flourishes and carbon -festooned body work. The Temerario is still a Lamborghini, but it’s just a little more grown up, and perhaps a little more appropriate for that daily drive.