The Lamborghini Temerario is the marque’s latest hybrid super sports car, which was recently launched in Malaysia with a starting price of RM1,350,000 (before duties, taxes, and personalisation). It has an all-new twin-turbo 4l V8 hybrid engine—which was developed from the ground up in Sant’Agata Bolognese—and can achieve a top speed of 343km/h, as well as rocketing from zero to 100 in 2.7 seconds. That engine is powered by three electric motors, resulting in a combined output of 920 CV (907bhp) and an astonishing capability of revving up to 10,000rpm. In other words, it emphasises the ‘super’ in ‘hybrid super sports car’.
The Temerario, the second sports car in Lamborghini’s range of High-Performance Electrified Vehicles (HPEV), replaces the beloved Huracan. When word got out, grumblings were whispered among enthusiasts while netizens were their usual cantankerous selves. But Francesco Scardaoni, Region Director of Automobili Lamborghini Asia Pacific, believes that fans, both new and old, will be won over once they’ve sat in the car and had an opportunity to floor it around a track.
“Of course, the Huracan is an amazing car, even until today, and it made history not only for Lamborghini but also for the super sports car segment,” Scardaoni told Robb Report Malaysia during the Malaysian launch event of the Temerario. “But the main point I will tell fans is that the Temerario can offer even more emotion than the Huracan. It’s given by the sound of the engine, by the torque, the acceleration, and revving it up to 10,000rpm, which is a pretty unique feeling.
“The first time you drive a Temerario, I can tell you, you’ll be shifting gears at around 7,000 or 8,000rpm, thinking that you’ve already reached the limit,” Scardaoni continues. “But look at the gauge, and you’ll see that you still have another 2,000 or 3,000rpm to play with. And when you get used to changing gears at 9,000 or 10,000rpm, you will hear this amazing scream of the engine that is really breathless.”
In this abridged conversation with us and fellow members of the Malaysian media, Scardaoni expands on Lamborghini’s future plans, placates naysayers who oppose hybridisation and electrification, and explains why the Temerario is perfect for a road trip.
What role does the Temerario play in Lamborghini’s hybrid and electrification roadmap?
The Temerario is the completion of the hybridisation strategy for Lamborghini. Now, our entire product line-up is hybrid—the Revuelto, the Urus SE, and now the Temerario. We had a clear strategy to keep the internal combustion engine alive for as much as possible. We never wanted to go fully electric, and we always said that, in going electric, we don’t want to be the first—we want to be the best.
Also, this is what our customers were asking for, that is, not to leave the internal combustion engine and not to go electric. Listening to the voice of our customers is what has brought us all of these amazing products that are very successful all over the world. But, yes, I can say that only in the second part of this decade, maybe the end of it, that we will have the first pure electric Lamborghini.
With the gradual push towards electrification, how does Lamborghini strike a balance between performance, heritage, and sustainability expectations?
This is crucial because it’s important, to us at Lamborghini, that our cars have to always be emotional. A key element for us is to always design a car that performs better than the car before. When you look at the Temerario, the Revuelto, and the Urus SE, you will really understand that, for Lamborghini, hybridisation doesn’t mean compromising performance or emissions. It means adding features to the car, creating more value, and offering more driving pleasure, more emotion.
Designing cars like the Temerario, the Revuelto, and the Urus SE is also necessary for Lamborghini to be regarded as a sustainable brand that delivers sustainable products. Customer behaviours and attitudes are changing; for instance, we know of younger customers who aren’t even considering buying a car if it’s not sustainable or eco-friendly. So, as a responsible brand, we have to ensure we have a long-term vision for these new customers who want to have sustainable products.
But there may be some loyal fans of Lamborghini that worry hybridisation will result in the loss of what makes Lamborghinis so special. What would you tell them?
As I said before, hybridisation doesn’t mean any compromise. It means adding features to the car, adding value for customers, and creating more emotion. The cars are always performing better than before. More performance, more emotion, more sustainability. More performance in terms of acceleration, driving dynamics, and sound.
And you can drive these cars in the morning without waking up your entire neighbourhood in electric mode. Thanks to the larger chassis of the new Temerario, there’s much more legroom and headroom, so taller people can sit comfortably inside, or you can wear a helmet properly while driving it around a race track. You can also fit two luggage bags inside the front trunk, and two more in the rear seats. The Temerario is a car you can drive for a long weekend, easily. Then, with the lower CO2 emissions, overall, you get so much more value with the Temerario—more comfortable, more fun, more emotion.
What kind of impact do you foresee the Temerario having on not just customers but other carmakers in the near future and long-term?
It’s important that manufacturers are always raising the bar. By doing so, all of us can develop better products. We believe that, with the Temerario, now we are at the top, we’ve set the highest bar, and we’re happy to be in this position—because this means our competitors will work to design something that can match the Temerario. It’ll be difficult, but the beauty of competition is always designing something better.
I’d like to say that the Temerario is a car on its own. The way it drives, the way it’s so light on the steering wheel, the way it’s able to go so fast into and out of corners. It’s not only about longitudinal performance but also about lateral acceleration, which is what makes a car emotional. So, when you consider all of the features of the Temerario—in terms of pure numbers, emotion, and sustainability—it’s a unique car that has set the bar at the highest level.
