Driven: The 2026 Lamborghini Temerario raises the bar for supercars
This V8 hybrid with more than 900 hp replaces the V10 Huracán.
Does this feel like an unusually restrained color for a Lamborghini? The car is the new Temerario.
Credit:
Bradley Iger
Does this feel like an unusually restrained color for a Lamborghini? The car is the new Temerario.
Credit:
Bradley Iger
While mainstream vehicles usually get comprehensive updates every few years, low-volume exotics tend evolve more gradually. Supercar platforms often remain unchanged for a decade or more, with manufacturers instead focusing on what can be tuned, massaged, added, or subtracted to keep their lineups fresh. Every once in a while, though, a performance car debuts that truly earns the label “all-new,” and the Lamborghini Temerario is one of them.
As the replacement for the Huracán, Lamborghini’s bestselling sports car to date, the Temerario has big shoes to fill. At first glance, it might seem like a more subdued affair than its predecessor, but the Huracán debuted in a similar fashion before wilder iterations like the STO and Sterrato were introduced to the lineup.
During a technical briefing late last year, Lamborghini sales chief Frederick Foschini noted that the Temerario’s streamlined look is intentional. The team sought to increase downforce by more than 100 percent compared with the Huracán Evo through the car’s core design, rather than relying on big wings, splitters, and other racy aerodynamic bits. Designers were also tasked with creating an all-new car that was distinctive yet instantly recognizable as a Lamborghini. Judging by the number of heads this car turned during my time with it, I’d say the company was successful.
The venerable Huracán served Lamborghini well for a decade, but its replacement is a bit of a step up in terms of price and performance.
Bradley Iger
It’s not obvious from a cursory look at the exterior, but the Temerario is longer, wider, and taller than the car it replaces. Underpinned by a new all-aluminum spaceframe that’s more than 20 percent stiffer than the Huracán’s, the Temerari’s dimensional changes become immediately evident when you settle in behind the wheel, as head and legroom are noticeably improved over the outgoing car. I’m 6 feet, 3 inches (1.9 m), and at a rained-out track session at Sonoma Raceway back in November, I was able to position my seat however I wanted with headroom to spare, even with a helmet on.
The Temerario is also a big step forward ergonomically, as Lamborghini seems to be taking a more pragmatic approach to the control layout, which, like the Revuelto, sees the majority of often-used features accessed on the steering wheel. The tightly packed array of buttons and knobs looks overwhelming at first, but once you’re used to it, having everything directly in front of you—and controlled by physical buttons rather than capacitive surfaces—means your attention can stay on the road.
They hybridized this bull
These are definitely welcome improvements, but the star of the show, and arguably the most controversial element of the Temerario, is its all-new powertrain. While the Huracán was motivated by a lovely naturally aspirated V10, the Temerario gets its propulsion from a 4.0 L twin-turbocharged DOHC dry-sump V8 that revs to a searing 10,000 rpm. An axial-flux electric motor is sandwiched between the flywheel and the eight-speed dual clutch gearbox. Combined with two additional electric motors that power the front wheels, the total system output is a healthy 907 hp (676 kW) and 538 lb-ft (730 Nm) of torque.
I’m not sure many owners will do anything with the knowledge of their engine’s firing order.
Credit:
Bradley Iger
I’m not sure many owners will do anything with the knowledge of their engine’s firing order.
Credit:
Bradley Iger
A 3.8 kWh lithium-ion battery mounted in the central tunnel of the spaceframe powers the electric motors and provides about six miles (10 km) of all-electric range. Though it can be recharged in about 30 minutes on a Level 2 charger, the hybrid system is designed to capture energy from the internal combustion engine and regenerative braking, so owners won’t need to plug in very often, if ever.
The sophisticated setup adds some heft: Lamborghini cites a dry weight of 3,726 lbs (1,690 kg), which means the Temerario weighs about 600 lbs (272 kg) more than the Huracán Evo. Additional mass is never a welcome development for a sports car, but to the automaker’s credit, Lamborghini has done a truly commendable job of hiding it.
Although I had originally planned to drive the Temerario exclusively on track at Sonoma, heavy rain forced us to scrap that idea after a slippery autocross session and a few harrowing laps around the course. To make up for the false start, Lamborghini graciously provided me with a Blu Marinus example for a few days at my home in Los Angeles. While the dry weather seat time reinforced the notion that you really do need to get this thing on a racetrack to see what it’s capable of, I was pleased to find it’s not a one-trick pony.
It’s not a dumb beast
As with the Revuelto, the Temerario defaults to Citta (Italian for “city”), its all-electric drive mode, each time it’s started. This makes pressing the jet-fighter-style start/stop button less exciting than it was in the Huracán, but it gives the Temerario an element of stealth that its predecessor never had.
There are 13 drive modes, but only four main ones (Citta, Strada, Sport, and Corsa), which can be augmented with additional settings selected via the EV knob on the upper right-hand side of the steering wheel. The latter offers Recharge and Hybrid settings in all four main modes, while a third Performance setting is available only in Sport and Corsa. Each of these EV-related settings alters how the hybrid system behaves and how the battery’s state of charge is managed. The Performance setting is the only way to get the full 907 hp out of the powertrain.
A Lamborghini’s cockpit should always look dramatic, and the Temerario does not disappoint.
Bradley Iger
The Temerario can reach highway speeds solely with electricity, but it’s not a particularly exciting way to get around. Acceleration is best described as leisurely, and the front motors’ torque output can struggle to contend with even a moderately steep hill, which often triggers the internal combustion engine to spring to life. But the engine has its own required warm-up process, so situations like this sometimes result in less-than-graceful powertrain handoffs.
How is it on the road?
Once all the systems are working together, though, the Temerario proves to be a surprisingly competent tourer, thanks to improved ergonomics and a firm but forgiving adaptive suspension that, in its softer setting, absorbs bumps on the highway instead of bouncing over them. But as impressive as the Temerario is at handling everyday driving tasks, everything starts to feel like a mere lead-up to the main event once you’ve unleashed it on a fast stretch of canyon road. Given room to stretch its legs, the V8 emits a superbike-like snarl as the revs climb, and the sheer thrust of the powertrain makes chasing its 10,000 rpm redline feel like a test of bravery, even in lower gears.
It’s a better road car than its predecessor.
Credit:
Bradley Iger
The way this car piles on speed is stunning on its own, but it’s the accessibility—and how confidently it can maintain a pace—that truly sets it apart from the Huracán. It feels every bit as nimble as the Huracan, delivering relentless grip even on standard Bridgestone Potenza Sport summer tires, while the brakes—which now use ten-piston calipers instead of the Huracán’s eight-piston setup—offer strong, repeatable stopping power at top speeds.
I did find myself occasionally wishing for more aero stability during these moments, though. Fortunately, for any would-be Temerario owners who plan to track their cars regularly, Lamborghini also offers the Alleggerita package. This add-on increases downforce by 67 percent versus the standard Temerario while swapping the Bridgestone Potenza Sport tires out for track-ready Bridgestone Potenza Race rubber. The package also includes a raft of carbon fiber components for modest weight savings over the standard car.
All this doesn’t come cheap, though. Temerario’s base price of $389,554 ($486,721 as-tested) represents a six-figure jump over the last Huracán, and you can tack on another 45 grand if you opt for the Alleggerita package in its most basic form.
That’s a tall ask, especially when cars like the Corvette ZR1 offer similarly incredible performance for substantially less coin. But something tells me that Lamborghini won’t have any problems moving its latest “entry level” model. Then again, have you seen the price of bitcoin lately?
