Powerful Lamborghini Revuelto plug-in hybrid launches brand into EV era

The super-quick Lamborghini Revuelto will accelerate the Italian supercar brand into the EV era, helped by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain.

The Revuelto combines the most powerful V-12 made by Lamborghini with three electric motors to boost its output to 1,001 hp.

The coupe accelerates from 0-62 mph — 0-96 km/h — in 2.5 seconds, 0.3 seconds quicker than the Aventador it replaces. It has a top speed of more than 218 mph, or 315 km/h. 

CEO Stephan Winkelmann said the Revuelto will cost about 500,000 euros (C$736,765) and is “the beginning of a new era for Lamborghini.”

The brand’s product range – the Huracan sports coupe and the Urus SUV – will be hybridized by the end of 2024, Winkelmann said at the coupe’s unveiling here on Wednesday.

Production of the Revuelto will ramp up in the second half and the first deliveries will be by the end of the year, Winkelmann said.

He declined to give volume targets, saying only that the order intake has been very positive, and the first two years of production have been sold.

The Revuelto follows the brand’s tradition of getting its name from a Spanish fighting bull. “Revuelto” is the Spanish word for” unruly.”

The Revuelto is Lamborghini’s first plug-in hybrid model. The brand previously produced the Sian, a limited series coupe derived from the Aventador, which had a 48-volt electric motor powered by a supercapacitor.

The Revuelto has an 813 hp, 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V-12 gasoline engine. It is coupled with an electric motor at the rear and one on each of the front wheels.

The electric motors are powered by a lithium ion 3.8 kilowatt-hour battery pack housed in the car’s central tunnel.

The hybrid has a 6.2-mile range — about 10 kilometres — in all-electric mode. The electric motors provide four-wheel drive and enable electric torque vectoring, a first for Lamborghini.

At 480 pounds (217 kilograms), the Revuelto’s V-12 engine is 37 pounds (16.7 kilograms) lighter than the Aventador’s V-12. 

Air intake ducts have been reengineered to guarantee optimal airflow into the combustion chamber and optimized the chamber itself. The result is a power level of 126 hp per litre, the highest output in the history of Lamborghini’s 12-cylinder engines, while maximum torque is 725 newton meters at 6750 rpm.

As part of the engine's design, Lamborghini rotated it 180 degrees compared with the Aventador.

A new eight-speed double-clutch gearbox is positioned transversally behind the mid-rear longitudinally mounted engine. It will equip all future Lamborghini sport cars.

Lamborghini has sold only two other V-12 cars with a transverse rear gearbox. One was the Miura, which was launched in 1966 and also had a mid-rear transverse engine layout. The other was the Essenza SCV12, a track-focused hypercar.

The Revuelto has a dry weight of 3,906 pounds (1,771 kgs), 490 pounds (222 kgs) more than the Aventador Ultimae. Carbon fibre has been widely used to keep its weight low despite the addition of the high-voltage battery.

Weight distribution of the Revuelto is 44 per cent at the front and 56 per cent at the rear.

Its design was inspired by aerospace elements, with sculpted surfaces encompassed by two lines that start from the front and embrace the cabin and engine, tapering down to the hexagonal-shaped exhausts. “We gave adrenaline a shape” said the brand’s design chief, Mitja Borkert

The exterior design reflects styling cues from past Lamborghinis, including the 1971 Countach prototype vertically opening scissor doors, the Diablo’s floating blade on the rear fender and the Murcielago’s the muscular inclined front.

The Revuelto’s Y-shaped lights at the front and rear set a design cue that is also followed by interior features such as the center console and the top of the dashboard.

Infotainment includes a 12.3-inch digital cockpit plus a 9.1-inch display on the passenger-side.

Four rotors on the driving wheel spokes are used for selecting both the driving modes and the car’s lifting system and rear wing tilt.

Lamborghini will launch its first full-electric car in 2028, with a second one following in 2029. One of them will be an entirely new model, while the other will be the successor of the Urus.