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Lamborghini's latest junior supercar was built to be driven hard. So we paid a visit to the exotic brand's homeland and did just that.
Lamborghini's latest junior supercar was built to be driven hard. So we paid a visit to the exotic brand's homeland and did just that. The headline figures are proof enough.
Armed with an all-new twin-turbocharged V8 hybrid powertrain, the Temerario produces a mammoth 677kW of power – 207kW option of a third display for the passenger, showing a selection of basic vehicle readouts. That's a box best left unticked, if you ask me.
I'll tell you what, though, the Sonus faber premium sound system is far from superfluous, delivering a breathtaking combination of immersion, power and clarity that I'd wager transforms the driving experience when commuting or cruising. Speakers are integrated throughout the doors, dashboard and rear bulkhead to create a convincing surround-sound effect, while the system is individually tuned according to the car's specification and interior materials.
Now, I realise some of you are probably sitting there thinking 'who cares if a supercar has CarPlay and a kickass set of speakers?
' I thought the same thing, until Lamborghini executives told me around 30 per cent of Huracán owners drive their cars every single day – and they expect the Temerario to be treated much the same way. As such, mod-cons matter more now than ever before.
And it's not like Lamborghini has forgotten its more hardcore customer base – an optional Lamborghini Vision Unit system adds cameras that capture both the road ahead and your reactions inside the cabin, working with Telemetry 2.0 to log full track sessions or up to two minutes of road driving. A dainty 112-litre 'frunk' is supplemented by enough space behind the seats for a couple of soft weekend bags, while smaller items can be stashed in a wide phone tray or segmented glovebox.
Such shortcomings are nonetheless forgivable, given just how much the Temerario gets right inside. There's a lot to unpack here, as the Temerario houses one of the most complex powertrains you'll find in any road car ever built. In simple terms, its powered by the combination of a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V8 and three electric motors. The V8 itself is anything but simple.
It uses a flat-plane crankshaft, dry-sump lubrication and a 'hot-V' layout, which places the turbochargers and exhaust manifolds inside the valley between the cylinder banks. Besides making the engine more compact, this arrangement helps reduce lag from the two massive turbochargers, which push up to 36psi of boost. In total, the V8 produces 588kW from just four litres, equating to an extraordinary 147kW per litre.
Even more extraordinary is its ability to rev all the way to 10,250rpm . The Temerario's power is sent through a new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission mounted transversely behind the engine. On the electric side, two independent motors drive the front wheels, while a third is integrated between the engine and transmission to help fill any torque gaps created by the turbos. All three are fed by a 3.8kWh lithium-ion battery.
Each motor is capable of up to 110kW, although battery output is capped at 140kW across the system. More importantly, the two front motors can vary torque independently between the wheels, allowing the Temerario to actively influence yaw and cornering behaviour rather than simply using electrification for extra straight-line shove. In layout, its closest rival is arguably the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, another all-wheel drive V8 hybrid supercar.
However, the Lamborghini's twin-motor front axle is considerably more sophisticated, enabling active torque vectoring across the front wheels. Lamborghini says the Temerario can travel up to 11km on electric power alone – enough to get to the supermarket and back, but not much more. What it lacks in EV range, though, it makes up for in configurability.
The hybrid system, powertrain and chassis offer four core driving modes plus three energy profiles , and three Drift settings. All up, there are 13 possible configurations. The numbers above provide an accurate representation of what you can expect from the Temerario in terms of straight-line speed.
Sitting stationary at one end of Vairano's longest straight, I excitedly prepare for launch – left foot on the brake, Corsa drive mode selected, chequered flag button firmly held and, finally, right foot hard on the gas. Releasing the stoppers is like being fired out of a cannon. No scrabbling for traction, no hesitation, just brutal acceleration, with triple-figure speeds coming up in a matter of moments. In first gear, too.
More impressive is what comes next. Because while many modern cars – including some electric family SUVs – can leave you breathless while sprinting from 0-100km/h, far, far fewer can maintain the Temerario's unrelenting rage. It simply doesn't let up, delivering its full 730Nm of spine shove from 4000 to 7000rpm before the 'Temerario Zone' – as Lamborghini calls it – arrives, bringing with it an equally outrageous top end before the dual-clutch transmission does its thing, transporting you back to the meaty mid-range via instantaneous upshifts. This intoxicating cycle repeats a few times before I'm seeing 300km/h on the dash and rapidly reducing runway ahead, meaning it's time to brake... and breathe.
Next we're sent to lap an extended version of the Vairano handling track, a mostly technical configuration designed to test low-to-medium-speed vehicle dynamics. And while I was somewhat ready for the Temerario's epic thrust, nothing can prepare you for just how well it takes corners. Up until recently, buying a Lamborghini was reason enough to update your life insurance policy. They were widely considered loose on a good day, and downright scary in imperfect conditions.
Still in Corsa mode, the Temerario slices its way around a dry Vairano with scalpel-like precision, keenly obeying the instructions of its driver despite weighing in at 1690kg – 300kg more than its predecessor, around 200kg heavier than a 296 GTB, and on par with an E-Ray which is, well, American. The steering is extremely fast , and light too, so it doesn't take much effort to get the Temerario turning.
Simultaneously, the e-motors shift torque to the outside front wheel, physically pulling the nose towards an apex. The job isn't done yet, though. Through faster corners, the front e-axle continues to work its magic, ensuring the car goes exactly where you tell it. This often generates huge G-forces with barely any discernible body roll, as well as significant tyre load, the latter barely felt as I dispatch a sweeping right-hander at 150km/h.
Some credit must go to the double-wishbone suspension and adaptive dampers. Even in Corsa, the Temerario is surprisingly compliant over Vairano's slightly coarse surface, while still feeling glued to the tarmac. Admittedly, the circuit is relatively smooth, so we'll reserve judgement on how that balance translates to bumpier roads. The standard Bridgestone hoops were chosen for their balance between grip and longevity, so track rats unbothered by road compromises stand to benefit from even stickier rubber.
The flexibility of the powertrain also lets you focus on your lines, rather than chasing the right gear. There's enough torque across the rev range to persist with higher gears than you might expect, throttle response is immediate, and the electric motors effectively fill any potential holes low down. When you do call for another ratio, Corsa mode serves up forceful shifts rich in character, with upshifts delivering an 'over-torque'-style kick.
It's never too long before you're forced to call upon the brakes – huge carbon-ceramic items clamped by 10-piston front and four-piston rear calipers. The left pedal is firm and easy to modulate, hauling the car down at an astonishing rate when pressed with authority. The Temerario remains composed throughout, wiping off speed without losing any of its stability. Our sessions weren't long enough to properly assess brake endurance, although Lamborghini has made substantial gains in cooling.
Compared with the Huracán EVO, it says the Temerario delivers 20 per cent more cooling to the discs and 50 per cent more to the calipers – changes intended to improve consistency during sustained track use. Bleeding off the stoppers into one of Vairano's sharper corners reveals yet another side to the Temerario's impressive agility and all-wheel drive neutrality. Point the nose and the tail follows in an orderly fashion, with no recovery required between successive direction changes.
Well, apart from the steering, which is light to the point of being too light , and lacks feedback – great for city driving, not so much for track work. The Porsche 911 GT3 has the Temerario covered in this regard.
Nevertheless, it's truly remarkable how controllable the Temerario can be, requiring minimal skill to make maximum progress. Switching over to Sport, the Temerario's personality changes perceptibly. Once almost entirely neutral, it's now clearly more rear-biased, with a newfound tendency towards manageable, grin-inducing oversteer. The front e-axle still chimes in to straighten things out, but its intervention is deliberately delayed.
There's extra fun to be had when shifting gears too, as Sport alters the transmission calibration to briefly interrupt torque on full-throttle upshifts, delivering a deliberate, invigorating kick in the back. Itself split into three skill-based levels, Drift does exactly what it says on the tin, enabling heroic slides through torque vectoring of the front wheels. But as I quickly found out, it doesn't guarantee them.
After all, you're dealing with a high-powered, rear-biased Lamborghini with sensitive steering, so the learning curve is steep – I spun the Temerario more than once before beginning to get a feel for it. Still, it's a welcome option, and one that slightly less sensible owners could get into some trouble with. Unfortunately, though, none of the available drive modes remedy the Temerario's most glaring transgression – how it sounds.
The Huracán's V10 was always going to be a hard act to follow, even more so given the noise and emissions regulations manufacturers now face, and the Temerario never quite escapes that shadow. At idle and low revs, it's comparatively muted and not nearly as cultured, producing a low, vibrating chatter. Wind it out and the acoustics improve dramatically.
Push past 7000rpm and the powertrain takes on the manic character of a superbike, culminating in a truly special engine note inside the cabin at redline. From the outside it's noticeably quieter, lacking the richness and theatre of Lamborghini V10s of years gone by. And this raises a dilemma for those considering the Temerario as a street car, at least in Australia.
Because to access its party piece you need to be pushing it hard, and that means exceeding our modest speed limits. Remember, first gear extends beyond 100km/h. As such, you're largely stuck in the low- to mid-range around town, where the engine is more rattly than melodic. It simply doesn't have the same sense of occasion at ordinary speeds, nor is it likely to snap necks from a block away like the Huracán once did.
Solutions are starting to emerge, namely aftermarket exhaust systems designed to beef up the Temerario's aural presence and better underscore its supercar status – albeit by 2026 standards. The Temerario's size also limits the fun that can be had with it on the road. It's larger than both the Huracán and its direct rivals, something that's easy to ignore on a circuit but harder to forget when threading it along a narrow mountain road.
Otherwise, despite its lofty performance capabilities, the Temerario shapes up as Lamborghini's most daily-drivable supercar yet. It starts up in electrified silence, so you'll never wake the neighbours, and can be driven as a 140kW front-wheel drive EV for up to 11km. It almost beggars belief.
Switching from Città into Strada turns the Temerario into a 588kW shopping cart with soft, supple suspension, easy steering, and a full suite of handy parking cameras... which you'll need, given visibility is predictably patchy. So, all told, the Temerario offers hypercar levels of performance, exceptional handling configurability, and genuine everyday usability, albeit at the cost of some emotion.
However, many features you'd expect to be standard – including cupholders! – are listed among the options. As such, the cost of options can add up quickly, particularly if you specify the $85,410 Allegerita package, which trims up to 25kg through greater use of carbon-fibre while increasing downforce by 67 per cent.
There is no crash data from any independent automotive safety authority for the new Temerario, and that’s unlikely to change given the low production volume and price of the vehicle. Short warranty aside, Lamborghini is quite generous in this regard, offering five years of free servicing and three years of complimentary roadside assistance.
For context, Ferrari and McLaren cover scheduled maintenance for seven and three years respectively, while Porsche does not offer any form of capped-price servicing in Australia.comparison tool By treating electrification as an opportunity rather than a death sentence, Lamborghini has raised the performance bar for 'junior' supercars. That much is clear on a racetrack, where the Temerario proves itself to be monstrously quick not only in a straight line, but also around Vairano's tight, technical handling course.
At the same time, it's remarkably approachable, combining impressive agility with a confidence-inspiring point-and-shoot driving experience in its most track-focused Corsa mode. So, in the context of a track test, the Temerario is pretty tough to fault aside from its overly light steering. The combination of a configurable driving experience and comfortable cabin suggest journeys to and from the track – in addition to daily duties – should be wholly pleasant, too, especially by Lamborghini standards.
Emotion may be harder to come by, though. Because the engine, as technically accomplished as it is, can sound a little agricultural at low revs compared with the musical V10 it has replaced, while long gearing limits transmission interaction at road-legal speeds. The Huracán sounded special from idle, whereas the Temerario asks you to work much harder before its powertrain really comes alive. Rest assured, Lamborghini is already working on that.
For MY27, insulation has been stripped from the engine bay in pursuit of a louder, more visceral experience. And at the end of the day, this is just the beginning for the Temerario. Lamborghini says there’s both headroom and flexibility to take the model in a variety of exciting directions, all of which should only broaden its appeal. With that in mind, the Temerario is poised to remain one of the benchmarks in its segment for years to come.
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