The Lamborghini Temerario Makes 907 Horsepower Approachable: Track Test

I learned three very important things at the launch of the Huracán-succeeding Lamborghini Temerario:

The Temerario’s finger-follower diamond-like coated (DLC) valvetrain can support more than 11,000 rpm, if necessary.
Around 25 percent of Huracan owners “daily drive” their cars, according to Lamborghini.
Lamborghini Chief Technical Officer, Reuven Mohr, owns both a Honda S2000 and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV.

Although the Urus is the car that brought Lamborghini volume sales, it’s easy to argue that the Huracán was the car that gave Lamborghini its modern identity. The entry-level, mid-engined supercar was Lambo’s heart and soul, directly tied with the snarling, haunting harmonics of its departed 5.2-liter V-10. In short, it’s an extremely tough act to follow.

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

Enter the Temerario. With an all-new twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 that revs to 10,000 rpm, and a Revuelto-derived hybrid system, this car couldn’t be more different from the Huracán. This radical departure for Lambo is the biggest since the original Gallardo 22 years ago; an evolution from pure, screaming emotion into careful, calculated technical ascendancy with a sprinkle of animalism.

A Huracán successor? It’s closer to revolution.

Firstly, the Temerario is more than the sum of its parts. Literally. According to Mohr, the true “secret” of the Temerario lies in its software; the way it approaches a corner, reacts to driver inputs, delivers power, and its overall feel. It’s all carefully laid out in computerized strata.

No less than 15 control units speak to each other from all corners of the Temerario’s kingdom. The electric motors speak to the traction control, which speaks to the brake-by-wire system, which also speaks to the “vertical control unit,” which then speaks to torque vectoring—you get the idea. The Web of Things that makes up the dynamic picture of the Temerario is vast and endlessly complicated.

With how it’s wired up, the Temerario actively controls cornering attitude at any stage of the corner with a cavernous chest of tools, though it most heavily leverages its three electric motors. One motor exists between the engine and gearbox, and another pair of axial flux motors control each front wheel, all powered by a 3.8-kilowatt-hour battery pack. Every part is derived from the Revuelto, and with it, Mohr says, the Temerario can drive in almost any fashion, with a particular focus on approachability.

The front motors send stopping power to either of the front wheels separately, assisting in the baby Lambo’s rotation. But in the same breath, they also apply torque to the wheels, straightening the car’s yaw attitude.

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

Pros: Ridiculously Fast, Easy to Drive, Amazing Tech

The central electric motor boosts the high-revving V-8’s response, while also providing subtle straightening force under braking via additional engine braking. It also pre-boosts the colossal IHI turbochargers by applying a slight drag to the crankshaft before deploying full power. (Before you ask, they are not bigger than the Corvette ZR1’s turbos, but are damn close.)

Then there’s that flat-plane V-8. It revs to an astounding 10,000 rpm (10,250 rpm if you use launch control), and officially, it makes 789 horsepower. But a few Lambo folks on the ground dispute that number. Most will tell you that the engine produces north of 800 hp, closer to 840 in reality, and that it’s tough to claim total system output with a hybrid.

Nonetheless, the Lambo deploys up to 907 hp from 9,000 to 9,750 rpm, with only the slightest dropoff to redline. It is a totally ground-up Lamborghini design, cast and forged in Sant’Agata, using some trick stuff—titanium connecting rods, a DLC-coated finger-follower valvetrain, and the aforementioned BFTs.

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

Cons: Numb Steering, Too Subdued Visually (For A Lambo)

Put simply: Hybridization is a defining characteristic of the Temerario. Mohr proudly boasts that Lamborghini pushes the possibilities of electric assistance further than any other automaker, noting that the company writes its own firmware for all of the electronic controls.

With three lead-follow sessions at the storied, Formula 1-grade Circuito do Estoril, it was easy to see those efforts come to life.

I drove both a normal Temerario and the Allegerita package, which lightens the car by 28 pounds (55 if you spring for the optional carbon fiber wheels) and offers a host of subtle aerodynamic improvements for an overall 67 percent increase in downforce.

Photo by: Lamborghini

Photo by: Lamborghini

The biggest distinction between the two Temerario packages was the choice of tire: Bridgestone Potenza Sport for a “normal” Temerario, and the grippier Potenza Race for the Allegerita. Allegerita, oddly, means “she is lighter.”

In either permutation, understanding the dense inner workings of the thing proved to be extremely simple—nothing was too complicated. The Temerario simply provided a domain for me to play in, one with a wide, forgiving trough of grip and plenty of options.

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

If I asked for a bit more rotation on corner entry with brakes, it would give it to me. If I rolled the steering over early and demanded it to rotate on power, it would slingshot me out of a corner with a slight scrub of oversteer. No matter the situation, the Temerario remained adaptable in yaw attitude, almost lending to a feeling that it did everything on a pivot around your coccyx. I said this about the Revuelto: It handles like a loose, tippy-toes rally car. And learning about Mohr’s affinity for ass-happy Japanese cars explains this trait.

Its only sin is the steering: Numb, with a disappointingly flat effort curve. In an age where almost every sporting automaker has solved electric power steering, the Temerario’s wheel is resolutely disconnected. Only a faded whisper of the tires travel up in countersteer, even then, it’s mostly an exercise in listening to the seat rather than your hands.

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

The engine feels practically as powerful as the Revuelto’s 1,001-horse, naturally aspirated V-12, and revs with even more vigor at the top end. The instant torque and linearity were hard to believe, thanks to the electric motors delicately blending with the V-8 to achieve true naturally aspirated responsiveness.

The Temerario’s neatest trick? Making all 10,000 rpm useful and worthwhile, with an absurd surge of power all the way to redline. It almost wiped the V-10 clean from my neurons. Almost.

Too easy is an idiotic thing to say about a supercar. When can a sports car be too easy? Yet, I’ve always thought of Lambos as the dangerous ones. Not actually dangerous, but the best at simulating the feeling of danger.

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

The Temerario is objectively better in every single way than the Huracán–right to the point of being too easy. You get out of the thing, look at its slightly subdued (for a Lambo) looks, hear its much too quiet idle, and think—does it have the emotional edge of the Huracán?

Right now, the Temerario does not have the death’s razor blade character of that old V-10 beast. It’s a temperament Lambo still knows—the proof is in the Revuelto. But there is no doubt that the Temerario is a much better Lambo for someone who wants to use it every day.

But is it a better Lamborghini? I’m not quite sure.

Competitors

Ferrari 296 GTB
Maserati MC20
McLaren 750S

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