Last year during Monterey Car Week, Lamborghini unveiled the Huracán supercar’s highly anticipated successor, which will serve as the final step in a broader hybrid strategy that began with the flagship Revuelto and Urus SUV. Dubbed the Temerario, the new model earned immediate coverage largely thanks to the borderline unbelievable stats of that hybrid powertrain, highlighted by a twin-turbo V8 that can rev to 10,000 rpm. Alongside three electric motors borrowed from the Revuelto, combined output peaks at an absurd 907 horsepower.
Almost a year later, the time finally arrived for media to preview the Temerario in a dynamic launch program held at Estoril Circuit, the former F1 and MotoGP racetrack in Portugal. With a long front straight and several tricky, technical turns, Estoril served as the perfect place to show off the Temerario’s all-out power and engaging performance, plus some of the nifty drifting and launch control features that advanced all-wheel-drive hybrid tech make possible.
Setting a New Personal Top Speed Record
Even before climbing into a Temerario, as I slipped on a head scarf and helmet, echoes off the grandstand hinted at the fun ahead. EU emissions regulations dictate the use of gasoline particulate filters, so the V8 unfortunately lacks the high-end thrill of a Huracán V10 or a Revuelto V12, but the sheer pace as the previous drive group whipped by still sounded unmistakable.
Soon enough, I found out myself, after a first sighting lap that I spent warming up the tires and acclimating to the track layout. By the time I let loose onto the front straight, full EV and internal-combustion power working together in an understated concerto, I glanced down at the speedometer and spied 301 kph – or 187 mph, good enough to set a new personal record as my highest top speed ever and best the Corvette ZR1 that I took to 181 mph earlier this year.
And we were just getting started. The rest of that first stint revealed that I’d been babying the Temerario. No need to act timid here, instead Lambo’s latest and quite possibly greatest supercar appreciates a bit of intrepid helmsmanship, quick flicks of the light steering, and heavy doses of full-throttle acceleration. After just a few laps, I easily found and exceeded the limits of the Bridgestone Potenza Sport tires, the magic point where slip-and-slide actually allows for more speed and confidence beyond the edge of full traction.
I spent the rest of the day after that first stint in a Temerario equipped with the lightweight “Alleggerita” package, which adds Potenza Race tires as well as a host of carbon fiber to save pounds and a titanium muffler that further enhances the engine’s soundtrack. The Alleggeritapackage dictated slight modifications to the Temerario’s suspension tuning to handle the additional cornering load, too. But the tires alone unlocked a whole new level of performance, with more feedback and grip that improved the steering feedback, clamped down the braking, and accentuated all-out grip while blasting back out of corners.
So much so, that once I found a rhythm, the speedo eventually topped out at 308 kph – not too far off the top speed of 340 kph. And I left a fair amount on the table, too, because my lead-follow instructor, senior attributes and performance developer Mario Fasanetto, had me braking early at the end of the front straight in the name of safety. I figure that holding off and trusting the Temerario more into Turn 1, I might have easily hit 315 kph.
Slipping and Sliding Around Estoril’s F1 track
Later in the day, Fasanetto hopped into the passenger seat to coach me through a few tries at the Temerario’s drift mode. Turning on drift mode requires simply pushing a button on the steering wheel, then spinning a dial to select one of three levels: Level 1 targets 15 degrees of drift angle, Level 2 allows for 30 degrees, and Level 3 maxes out at 40 degrees.
In each mode, the Temerario’s advanced traction control computations prioritize front-wheel torque vectoring by the dual electric motors to help enable and extend slides. I started out in Level 2, and lit up the rear tires easily by initiating a quick hit of steering and throttle simultaneously. But I struggled to finish the drift smoothly after a second or so spent sideways, and even spun out on my next attempt.
Surprisingly, stepping up to Level 3 actually made the process easier, with more predictable throttle response and greater stability over the nose. Or maybe practice makes perfect, but by the last couple of runs, Fasenetto started cheering and might have even exclaimed “Like a pro!”
Next, we cruised back over to the start of Estoril’s front straight to give launch control a go. Again, I pushed a little button on the steering wheel – this time on the left of the Lambo badge – to activate the new mode. Then, I braked with my left foot and pushed the accelerator pedal to the floor for two seconds to let the V8’s 70-millimeter turbos build boost, until I just stepped off the brake. All four tires only chirped for a millisecond before leaping forward, as the Temerario managed to deliver the kind of neck-snapping acceleration typically limited to only today’s era of highest-performance EVs.
Though the day at Estoril proved beyond a reasonable doubt the performance benefits of arguably the world’s greatest V8 engine working alongside the triple e-motor setup, all the Temerario’s modern tech also improves daily driveability, as well. Push the start-stop button, still under the red jet fighter cover, and the powertrain wakes up automatically into all-electric Citta mode. Though the centrally located battery pack only holds 3.8 kWh of electrons, the Temerario can cruise along for approximately six miles in silence.
Want softer dampers for a long highway journey? No problem, change the drive mode. And Lambo will even sell more comfortable seats with ventilation too.Most importantly, accessing every mode from Citta quiet to full drifting fun never gets confusing thanks to a simplified user interface and plenty of physical switchgear.
Unlike, for example, another incredible Italian hybrid, the Ferrari 296 GTB – that can easily border on frustrating due to incomprehensible haptic buttons and the lack of a center touchscreen. The 296 GTB delivers similar hybrid punch, but lacks the almost limitless revving of the Temerario. And even if the sublime steering slices perfectly through any corner, the Ferrari also lacks some of the hooligan fun of Lambo’s all-wheel-drive drifter. A McLaren 750S similarly sticks with RWD only and definitely benefits from McLaren’s quintessential priority on weight savings. But the Temerario’s powertrain takes the cake, while contributing to a bit more daily-driver confidence, as well.
From a design perspective, this latest Lambo continues a trend toward classier styling that allows for more apt comparisons to Ferraris and McLarens, not to mention pricing that will likely take abig step up from the Huracán, too. But I also spent plenty of time at Estoril contrasting the Temerario with the 1,064-hp Corvette ZR1 that I drove earlier this year, which proved that four-figure horsepower stats don’t need to cost seven figures.
Lamborghini Temerario Conclusions
The Temerario’s Gallardo and Huracán lineage shines through, with plenty of cues taken from Revuelto, but the gut-punch of acceleration and track performance most closely resembles the ZR1 that I tested at COTA this past spring. Don’t even ask about Corvette design versus Lambo, though…
And keep in mind, this is just the first Temerario variant. Lambo’s reps on hand stayed mum on potential Evo or STO track specials, much less a Sterrato off-roader. The Temerario starts at $382,654, with the Alleggerita package costing $49,113. Ticking that box improves upon my main two critiques for the car, the lighter steering and underwhelming exhaust note with the base muffler.
Regardless, when specced properly, the Temerario arrives as a stone-cold stunner, maybe the most enjoyable supercar ever to drive hard at the limit. Stupendous technological competence allows the Huracán’s successor to make everyone a better driver, myself included, all from behind the scenes. And might, just possibly, even outshine the V12 Revuelto in terms of true driving delight.