Lamborghini Revuelto: Hybrid tech brings hypercar performance
Like an automotive sequel to Night at the Museum, I half-expect the slumbering supercars to burst uproariously into life. But there’s still an hour to go before the Museo Lamborghini opens its doors to the public, the lights are dimmed and all is eerily calm. I sit alone for a few moments in quiet contemplation, surrounded by some of the most exotic and outrageously exciting cars ever made: Miura, Countach, Diablo, Murcielago, Aventador and more. Can the Lamborghini Revuelto really live up to their legacy?
I won’t need to wait long for an answer. Parked outside the museum in Sant’Agata Bolognese is Lamborghini’s new flagship: its prodigious 6.5-litre V12 proudly on show, its 3.8kWh battery plugged in and charging.
The Revuelto still “looks like a spaceship” – to quote Lamborghini design boss Mitja Borkert – but beneath this riot of aggressive angles is something radically new. Time to grab the bull by the horns…
Plug-in power
Synonymous with decadent 10- and 12-cylinder engines, even Lamborghini has now been forced to embrace electrification. Technically, the Italian marque’s first hybrid was the Sián in 2020, but that car’s clever ‘Supercapacitor’ mainly served to smooth out shifts from its single-clutch gearbox, shared with the Aventador. The Revuelto is a proper plug-in hybrid, capable of driving short distances on electric power alone. And it has a ‘proper’ dual-clutch transmission, too.
One side of the equation is a mid-mounted, naturally aspirated V12 that delivers 825hp at a giddy 9,250rpm. The other is a lithium-ion battery and three electric motors: two driving the front axle and one at the rear. Add everything together and the total is a faintly preposterous 1,015hp – enough to outgun the rival Ferrari SF90 Stradale.
Use launch control and it also means 0-62mph in a blistering 2.5 seconds, 0-124mph in 7.0 seconds and a top speed of 217mph. Lamborghini has ‘gone green’, but nobody could accuse it of going soft.
Inside the Lamborghini Revuelto
I lift the upwards-opening scissor door and drop into a big-bolstered seat. The Revuelto is roomier than the Aventador it replaces, with a portrait-oriented touchscreen that allows you to swipe functions across to secondary screens in front of the driver and passenger. Apple and Android smartphone connectivity come as standard, along with voice control using Amazon Alexa.
The steering wheel has two manettino-style rotary switches to flick between the plethora of drive modes: some 13 combinations in total. On the left-hand dial are the familiar Strada, Sport and Corsa options, plus a new Città (City) mode for electric-only running. The right-hand dial controls the drivetrain, with additional Recharge, Hybrid and Performance settings.
Some aspects of the interior – the red ‘bomb switch’ start button, for instance – are too cartoonish for my taste. But build quality is as flawless as you’d hope for £446,742 (call it half-a-million pounds with a few options added) and the view in the mirrors – all lurking V12 and ravenous air intakes – feels suitably special.
Rush to the redline
I take a deep breath, push the button and… nothing happens. Because it defaults to Città mode, the engine stays dormant and I glide away in serene electric near-silence. Apologies to the underwhelmed Lambo spotter who filmed my exit through the factory gates.
With a range of just 6.2 miles before the V12 gatecrashes the party, though, the Revuelto is arguably more effective at gaming the official WLTP test than actually saving fuel. At least the stealthy getaway option means you needn’t wake up the entire county if you leave early for work.
Crossing the ‘Miura’ roundabout on the edge of Sant’Agata, I switch into Sport and the engine erupts into being. With a vocal range that extends from malevolent snarl to demonic shriek, it feels like a physical presence inside the cabin – and drop-kicks the electric motors firmly into the background.
By God, it’s fast as well. Those few-and-far-between moments when you can unleash all 9,500rpm are illicit, immersive and utterly intoxicating. And where its Aventador predecessor would have punctuated every rush to the redline with a brutal upshift, the Revuelto scarcely even pauses for breath.
Fighting with physics
The electric tech comes back into play in the corners, though. The axial flux e-motors provide torque vectoring across the front axle, while regenerative braking supports the traction control without the need to cut engine power. Rear-wheel steering also sharpens the car’s appetite for tighter corners, then stabilises it at higher speeds.
Crucially, and unlike the Ferrari SF90, the Revuelto seems to roll up its sleeves and work with you, building your trust through finely honed feedback. Its steering is alert and accurate, its carbon shift paddles are wonderfully tactile and its chassis feels dependable under duress.
That said, the Lamborghini can’t entirely disguise its girth (57mm wider than a Range Rover) and considerable weight (222kg more than an Aventador Ultimae). For all its 1,015 horses, a well-driven VW Golf R would probably be quicker point-to-point on a British B-road.
Lamborghini Revuelto: Verdict
Yet if outright speed is what matters, you may as well buy a Tesla. Like every mid-engined V12 Lamborghini since the Miura – which arguably invented the modern supercar in 1966 – the Revuelto stimulates all of your senses. From its shock-and-awe styling, to its thunderous soundtrack, to its nuanced steering and handling, it transforms even the most mundane journey into an event.
Those concerned that electrification would water down this potent cocktail can rest easy, too. Hybrid hardware makes the Revuelto faster, more exciting and more usable. It also bodes well for the successor to the Lamborghini Huracan, to be revealed later in August, which will follow a similar template – combining a high-revving V8 with three electric motors. Look out for a full preview soon.
In time, the Revuelto will quietly shuffle into place among the icons at the Museo Lamborghini. But for now it roams free, as exotic and outrageously exciting as ever.
Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research
Lamborghini Revuelto
PRICE: £446,742
POWER: 1,015hp
0-62MPH: 2.5sec
TOP SPEED: 217mph
DRY WEIGHT: 1,772kg
EV RANGE: 6.2 miles