The new Lamborghini Temerario, due next summer, has made its UK debut at a special event in London.
The Temerario slots into Lamborghini’s range beneath the flagship Revuelto and replaces the long-serving Huracan, trading its predecessor’s naturally aspirated V10 for a turbocharged V8 and three electric motors. The headline numbers are 920hp, 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 211mph.
Fittingly, the latest Lamborghini was unveiled at Ladbroke Hall, an art gallery near Notting Hill with an automotive backstory. Opened in 1903, the site was originally home to the Sunbeam Talbot Motor Company – and was Britain’s first purpose-built car factory.
We joined several senior Lamborghini execs – including CEO Stephan Winkelmann – for a detailed look at 2025’s most exciting new supercar, from its design to its plug-in hybrid powertrain. Short of how the Temerario drives, here is what you need to know.
Let’s talk about six
Lamborghini design director Mitka Borkert waited a long time for this opportunity. “I went to the Geneva Motor Show in 2003, when the Gallardo was first presented,” he recalls. “If somebody had told me back then that I’d end up designing its second-generation successor, I’d have said ‘dream on’.”
The Temerario’s wedgy profile draws on every mid-engined Lamborghini since the Countach (“that silhouette is the star in the sky we always follow”), with further inspiration coming from the angular 1974 Lamborghini Bravo concept.
“A hexagon was the starting point for sketches,” says Borkert, drawing my attention to the car’s daytime running LEDs, tail lights, fuel flap and exhaust tailpipes – all of which echo the six-sided shape. “This is an honest design; there’s a combustion engine, so we decided to show it. But a Lamborghini also needs to look like a spaceship.”
As for size, the Temerario remains “compact and agile”. Its wheelbase has grown by 40mm versus the Huracan, but width has only increased by 10mm. Lamborghini’s ‘junior’ supercar is nearly a foot shorter than a Revuelto, too.
Hybrid with hypercar pace
At the heart of a (20 percent stiffer) aluminium spaceframe is the 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 with a flat-plane crankshaft and dizzying 10,000rpm redline. As chief engineer Rouven Mohr proudly explains: “If we are talking about turbocharged road cars, only the Mercedes-AMG One [a £2.4 million hypercar with an F1-derived V6] can rev higher.”
Mohr stresses the Temerario’s engine was “a clean-sheet project” unrelated to the V8 powering the Urus SUV – nor indeed the V8 in Lamborghini’s SC63 Le Mans racer. “It combines the power and torque of a turbocharged motor with the linearity and crescendo effect of a naturally aspirated one. The best of both worlds, I think.”
According to Mohr, Lamborghini also evaluated new V6 and V10 engines, but decided a V8 was the best fit. Like the Revuelto, it is supplemented by two electric motors on the front axle (providing four-wheel drive) and a third at the rear, sandwiched between the engine and eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
The resulting 920 horses at 9,450rpm would, until recently, have planted the Temerario’s flag well inside hypercar territory (the Huracan STO, for example, offers ‘just’ 640hp). Maximum torque of 538lb ft is available from 4,000-7,000rpm. Oh, and if you want a quiet getaway, the 3.8kWh lithium-ion battery provides an EV range of around six miles.
Inside the Lamborghini Temerario
Inside, the Temerario looks markedly more sophisticated than the dated Huracan, yet it still evokes the cockpit of a jet fighter, right down to the red ‘bomb switch’ cover on the start button.
There are three screens: a 12.3-inch digital display for the driver, an 8.4-inch central touchscreen and a slimline 9.1-inch readout for the passenger. The graphics are crisp and cartoonish, while some of the car’s functions, such as the security tracking system, can also be accessed via the Lamborghini Unica app.
An on-board telemetry data logger, combined with forward- and driver-facing cameras, means you can record your track day or a special road-trip, too.
Customers get a choice of electric comfort seats or hard-backed carbon fibre buckets. Both headroom and legroom are greater than the Huracan (up 34mm and 46mm respectively) and there is space for two flight cases inside the front boot, plus a few squashy bags behind the seats.
A superbike soundtrack?
We won’t get behind the wheel until next year, but Rouven Mohr confidently promises “the best in class for a driving experience”.
A rear-biased 4WD setup is said to place the Temerario “somewhere between a Huracan Performante and STO” for dynamic balance, while rear downforce is up by 103 percent compared with a Huracan Evo (or 158 percent if you spec the lightweight, carbon-tastic Alleggerita Package).
If the YouTube videos are anything to go by, Lamborghini’s new engine has a very different voice to the bombastic V10: smoother, much higher pitched and more like a superbike than, well, a supercar. A symposer channels extra V8 volume into the cabin, but there’s no artificial enhancement via the speakers.
Using the rotary controller on the steering wheel, you can cycle through Città (front-driven and fully electric), Strada, Sport and Corsa settings. Inspired by the acclaimed Huracan Sterrato, this is also the first Lamborghini to feature a drift mode.
“The difference between the Temerario and Revuelto is much greater than it was between the Huracan and Aventador,” says Mohr. “These cars have their own distinct characters.”
Bullish prospects for Lamborghini
Our afternoon at Ladbroke Hall ends in the company of Stephan Winkelmann, who has headed up Lamborghini since 2005 (with brief stints at Audi Sport and Bugatti along the way).
Highlighting that Sant’Agata is once again on course for record sales in 2024 (exceeding 10,000 cars for only the second time in its 61-year history), Winkelmann also talks about the marque’s motorsport plans. “A Temerario GT3 will compete in 2026, followed by the Super Trofeo version [for Lamborghini’s one-make race series] a year later,” he says. “Neither of the race cars will be hybrid, unlike the road model”
If the Temerario equals the longevity of the Huracan and remains on sale for 10 years, that will take it into 2035, by which time the motoring landscape could look very different.
Winkelmann says Lamborghini is often “unexpected”, so the Temerario will doubtless evolve and spawn new variants. Perhaps a hardcore, track-focused version might ditch the hybrid hardware altogether, aligning with the race car? And maybe we’ll see a second-generation Sterrato? Whatever happens, it’s sure to be an exciting journey.
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