Alex Kalogiannis
Ten years ago, the then-“holy trinity” of supercars kicked off a new era of performance by showing the world that electrification wasn’t just for drivers looking to stretch a mile. That year, Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren debuted limited-run hybrids that informed what would soon come to pass for each brand, with all three embracing electrons for the powertrains of at least one of their production vehicles.
Lamborghini’s name has been mostly absent from the discussion of hybrid supercars, and while the company teased us with electrified possibilities over the years, it was happy to let its V10 and V12 engines do all the talking. Now, the V10s are screaming off into the sunset, and Lamborghini is on the precipice of a new electrified future, one that begins with the Revuelto, the replacement for the V12 Aventador and the brand’s first production plug-in hybrid.
During the 2023 New York International Auto Show, Ars had a chance to check out the Revuelto up close and to speak to Lamborghini Chief Technical Officer Rouven Mohr about the car’s development, its challenges, and what to expect from Lamborghini in the future.
Alex Kalogiannis
The Revuelto is a clean-sheet follow-up to the long-running Aventador, and it sits atop Lamborghini’s lineup. In its final incarnation, the Aventador is powered by a 6.5 L V12 engine that delivers up to 770 hp (574 kW). The Revuelto succeeds it with an all-new V12 that is lighter and more powerful than the Aventador’s power plant.
Independently, the new naturally aspirated 6.5 L engine generates 814 hp (607 kW). This is married to the hybrid system, which is composed of a 3.8 kWh battery and three electric motors. Two motors sit on the front axle, while a third is tucked away within the Revuelto’s new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. All told, the Revuelto drops 1,001 hp (746 kW) and around 783 lb-ft (1,061 Nm) to all four wheels.
Right away, Lamborghini makes it clear that the V12 remains the focal point of the flagship hypercar. Rather than doing more with less as other performance car developers have done, the electrification is in place to enhance the V12 and the car’s already substantial capabilities. “We wanted to preserve and even improve the emotions of our natural aspirated V12,” Mohr told Ars. “This was priority number one.”
“The second is, for sure, we would like to bring the car to the next performance level,” he continued. “Bigger displacement doesn’t make sense, because we already have 6.5 liters… You can use superchargers or turbochargers, but then we would completely lose the character of this car, [and that] was not an option.”
How does Lamborghini define this oh-so important V12 character? “There are two things,” Mohr said. “The first is the sound everybody loves. We worked to improve a lot on the crescendo, especially if you go to really high revs. The second thing we worked a lot on is the reactiveness, because this is the biggest advantage of this drivetrain.”
Alex Kalogiannis
Mohr went on to explain how the engine’s reactiveness—the lack of turbo lag or supercharger spooling—in tandem with the e-motors provide the Revuelto with the hypercar performance Lamborghini customers and fans would expect from an Aventador follow-up. “Therefore, we came quite early on to the point that to use hybrid components is the best option. We wanted to use it always from the beginning as real performance hybrid, not a downsizing range-oriented hybrid.”
Indeed, this aspect is the gospel being preached by hybrid sports car makers of late. While recent examples such as the McLaren Artura and Ferrari 296 GTS sport smaller engines for reasons that include global CO2 emissions compliance, the hybrid system remains a supplement to the powerful combustion engine of choice. Yes, there are benefits, such as short stints in EV-only modes and a modicum of range-extending, but they’re more side effects than features. In short, the Lamborghini Revuelto isn’t your average hybrid, and the benefits don’t vanish once the battery is depleted—if you even manage to do so.
