Lamborghini Temerario unleashed at Monterey

LAMBORGHINI’S replacement for the decade old and best-selling Huracan V10 has been announced at Monterey Car Week in the US.

It is a V8 PHEV powered model called the Temerario (which translates to reckless, rash or dare devil) and is the first V8 sports car (the Urus V8 is an SUV) from the Italian marque since the Jalpa back in 1981.

Details of its availability and price are not known at the moment.

With the unveiling, the Sant’Agata, Bolognese-based manufacturer, part of Volkswagen Group, becomes the first luxury automotive company to hybridise its full product range.

The new mid-engine super sports car’s engine is a high revving (up to 10,000rpm) 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 with a flat plane crankshaft backed up by two electric traction motors on the front axle and an integrated electric traction motor on the rear axle between the engine and eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The rear electric motor performs generator and starter duties as well as adding to performance (and efficiency).

The combined petrol/electric AWD system aids traction and dynamics but can also function in EV mode driving only the front wheels via a 3.8kWh battery for a potential 10km range.

With turbo boost up to 36PSI (2.6bar), the Temerario calls up a whopping combined 677kW and 950Nm that is claimed to propel the 1690kg sports coupe from 0-100km/h in 2.7 seconds and on to a v-max of 340km/h. No fuel efficiency or recharging data is yet available.

The new model is the second Lamborghini HPEV (High Performance Electrified Vehicle) and third step in the electrification strategy for the company, completing the hybridisation of the entire Lamborghini line up following the Revuelto and the Urus SE.

The Temerario’s three electric motor hybrid drive system and 3.8kWh battery are shared with Lambo’s flagship Revuelto model but there the similarities end as the latter runs a 6.5-litre V12 engine with even more power than the Temerario.

Inside is a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with an 8.4-inch centre screen along with a 9.1-inch screen for the passenger providing driving data.

The newcomer rides on an aluminium spaceframe chassis said to provide a 20 per cent increase in torsional rigidity compared to the Huracan.

Luxury kit includes 18 way electrically adjustable seats and a Sonus faber audio system.

Temerario rolls on 20-inch front alloys and 21-inch rears covering carbon-ceramic brake discs with monobloc callipers, 10 pistons apiece on the front and four apiece on the back.

“Every new Lamborghini must surpass its forerunners in performance terms,” said Automobili Lamborghini chairman and chief executive officer Stephan Winkelmann.

“With the Temerario, the new hybrid plug-in reaches a new paradigm in terms of performance, sportiness and driving pleasure.

“The Temerario is the first and only production super sports car engine able to reach 10,000 rpm: a feat typically only achieved in motorsports.

"With the Temerario, we’ve exceeded our expectations with what the mid-engine sports car can be in terms of performance and design.

“The Temerario completes the next chapter in our Direzione Cor Tauri plan by hybridising the full product line, while we continue the development of our full electric model debuting at the end of the decade,” he concluded.

Alongside its global unveiling at Monterey, the Temerario made its virtual debut in the Lamborghini Lab, the official design and driving experience on Roblox, created by Automobili Lamborghini to inspire new generations.

In the virtual realm, visitors can customise their own Temerario by using colours and options from Lamborghini’s Ad Personam studio.

They can also experience “unparalleled performance” taking the customised supercar “on the (virtual) track, competing with friends and challengers worldwide”.