2024 Lamborghini Revuelto PHEV review: the green way to enjoy a $1million screaming Italian V12?
Could it be that plug-in hybrid tech works better in a $1 million supercar than any SUV, sedan or wagon costing one-tenth as much?
In the case of the new Lamborghini Revuelto, the company’s first-ever PHEV, the answer is ‘Yes, it does’.
Propelled by a 6.5-litre V12 engine behind its two-seat cabin and three electric motors, the carbon-fibre bodied Revuelto is faster, more powerful, and more fuel efficient than the non-hybrid Aventador it replaces.
It’s also much, much more enjoyable to drive. PHEV tech makes it a far better Lamborghini supercar. It’s different with everyday PHEVs, which come with multiple disadvantages.
They’re short-range EVs, but with the added complexity and maintenance costs that come with an ICE.
As hybrids they’re burdened with the extra weight and cost of a larger, space-consuming battery pack. Which makes them the worst of both worlds. A less costly plain hybrid or a proper EV for similar money both look like smarter choices than a PHEV.
A Ferrari beater?
As with Ferrari’s flagship, SF90 Stradale of 2020, PHEV-tech adds a lot to the ability of Lamborghini’s top model. As we found out at its international dynamic launch at the at the Autodromo Vallelunga north of Rome, the Revuelto is a thriller.
Its electric motors not only boost the already stupendous straight-line performance of the Revuelto’s V12, they’re also cleverly engineered to increase cornering grip, improve steering precision through torque vectoring and boost braking power through recuperation.
The Lamborghini’s acceleration is simply brutal.
Just 2.5 seconds 0-100km/h – same as Ferrari’s super-PHEV – is the official claim, and the Revuelto feels capable of doing it. The Lamborghini’s other key performance stats – 0-200km/h in 7.0 seconds, top speed of more than 350km/h, and a maximum combined power output of 747kW – are all in the same ballpark as the Ferrari.
Still, there are important differences in the way the two supercars drive.
The Lamborghini’s mighty engine always runs in its everyday Strada, speedier Sport and track-only Corsa driving modes. The Ferrari has a Hybrid mode for everyday driving, and this stops and starts its twin-turbo V8 engine… just like in a normal hybrid. It’s the car’s default mode on start-up. Lamborghini clearly believes the sound of an exotic engine is an essential supercar experience ingredient, and they’re probably right.
Like the SF90 Stradale, the Revuelto can be driven in pure electric mode. Lamborghini’s label is Citta. This mode delivers all-wheel drive in the Lamborghini, but in the Ferrari’s electric-only mode only the front wheels are driven.
The Revuelto’s PHEV drivetrain reduces fuel consumption – by around 35 percent compared to the outgoing Aventador, according to Lamborghini engineers – and enables short-range electric-only driving. Driven at low speed around 10 to 12km is possible, it’s claimed. The SF90 Stradale, in contrast, is good for up to 25km.
A silent lap of Vallelunga
Driven as quickly as possible in Citta mode – which limits speed to 140km/h and power to 130kW – the Revuelto manages a little more than one lap of the 4.0km Vallelunga circuit before its V12 bursts into life.
As homologation for public road use of the Revuelto wasn’t complete at the time of its presentation to international media, it was only possible to drive it on the Vallelunga circuit.
So how it goes, stops, rides and handles on normal roads remains a question to be answered at another time. On the other hand, we did find out all about its brilliance on the track, where it’s an even more involving and entertaining drive than the SF90 Stradale.
The Lamborghini never seems to run out of grip or brakes. The steering is delicately precise, there’s good feedback through the firm brake pedal and the acceleration out of Vallelunga’s tight corners is, in the true sense of the word, awesome.
According to Rouven Mohr, the company’s chief technical officer, the Revuelto’s energy recuperation strategy is engineered to ensure 100 percent availability of maximum performance.
“The consequence is that you cannot empty the battery,” Mohr says, meaning there’s always power available for the electric motors to add their 140kW boost to the V12 engine’s output.
Having emptied the Revuelto’s battery pack in Citta mode, as mentioned, we return to Vallelunga’s pit lane after two more brisk laps in Strada and Sport modes. The battery gauge shows it’s 75 percent charged.
The Revuelto PHEV in a little more detail
First, the ICE. Lamborghini’s existing 6.5-litre V12 from the Aventador was redesigned for the Revuelto. And given a new codename.
To enable higher revs and increased power, its cylinder heads and exhaust system were redesigned and its compression ratio increased. The bottom end of the engine, including the cylinder block, crankshaft, con-rods and pistons, needed only small alterations according to Mohr.
The results are 607kW at 9250rpm, and a sky-high 9500rpm cut-out. And one of the automotive world’s more memorable exhaust notes from the Revuelto’s high-mounted pipes.
There are three 110kW electric motors. Two are connected to each of the front wheels. They’re compact, oil-cooled axial flux units made by Yasa, the same Mercedes-Benz-owned British company that supplies one of the three e-motors for the Ferrari SF90 Stradale. The third is a normal axial-flux machine, and it’s bolted to the Revuelto’s new eight-speed double clutch transmission.
Like the crudely clunky seven-speed single-clutch transmission used in the Aventador, this transmission is made by Italian specialist Dana Graziano. The new eight-speed shifts more smoothly.
The Lamborghini’s engine sits lengthways in the car, but the transmission attached to its rear is installed sideways. The 90-degree change of direction is via bevel gears that are between the transmission’s dual clutches and its input shafts.
It’s a complicated piece of machinery. But its innards are very cleverly arranged. The externally mounted electric motor can deliver a power boost to the rear wheels, recuperate energy when slowing or braking, charge the battery while the car is stationary, provide traction control function when required and also act as a starter motor for the V12.
There’s no reverse gear in the transmission. The Revuelto uses its front e-motors to push the car backwards, just like the SF90 Stradale.
The transmission was purpose-designed for Lamborghini and no-one else, and the company plans to use it in future models. The obvious candidate is the upcoming replacement for the Huracan sports car.
Revuelto’s lithium-ion battery pack is housed in the tunnel between the seats in its relatively roomy cabin. Its 3.8kWh storage capacity explains the Lamborghini’s meagre electric-only range. Though small, the battery pack’s maximum power output is 140kW, while its maximum recuperation power input is only slightly less.
The charging port is inside the luggage compartment, big enough for two carry-on trolleys, in the Revuelto’s nose. Considering the effectiveness of the car’s recuperation system, Lamborghini doesn’t believe most owners will want to bother with plugging in. Even so, they’ve taken this into account.
The bonnet latch can be flipped so that the compartment can be locked with the bonnet in a slightly raised position, leaving enough room for a charging cable to be connected.
A shift in supercar superiority?
Although Ferrari beat them to market, the Revuelto could be the best mid-engine, all-wheel-drive, two-seat super sports PHEV Italy has so far produced.
First deliveries of the new Lamborghini in Australia are scheduled for the first quarter of 2024, says Federico Foschini, the company’s global sales and marketing chief. It will wear a price-tag of $987,000, but he expects every customer will add some optional extras.
“I think it’s the best car in the segment,” Foschini says. “I’m not comparing it with anyone,” he adds, just in case anyone might think he’s just implied the Revuelto is better than the Ferrari SF90 Stradale… the only other car in the Italian-made plug-in hybrid supercar category.
Thing is, he could be right. And even if he’s not, it doesn’t really matter. Lamborghini can only produce 1500 Revueltos a year… and it’s already holding more than 3000 orders for its first-ever PHEV.
2024 Lamborghini Revuelto specifications
Price: $987,000
Basics: PHEV, 2 seats, 2 doors, sports car, e-AWD
EV Range: 10-12km (Lamborghini estimate)
Battery capacity: 3.8kWh
Battery warranty: Unknown
Energy consumption: To be homologated
ICE: 6.5-litre V12, 607kW/725Nm
E-motors: 1 rear, radial-flux, 110kW/150Nm, 2 front, axial-flux, oil-cooled, 110kW/350Nm
AC charging: Type 2 plug
DC charging: NA
0-100km/h: 2.5 seconds (claimed)
