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Lamborghini has finally revealed the successor to its long-standing Aventador flagship. Called the Revuelto, the new flagship is a hybrid with a naturally aspirated V-12 and three electric motors, set to usher in a new era for the storied Italian brand.
Like most other Lamborghinis, the Revuelto gets its name from a Spanish fighting bull. Revuelto was a particularly rowdy bull; according to Lamborghini he jumped into the stands no fewer than eight times throughout his career in Barcelona in 1880. Revuelto also roughly translates to scrambled, or mixed—an ode to the bull's wild personality and the car's complex drivetrain.
The Revuelto's drivetrain is unique not just to Lamborghini, but to the industry as a whole. Up front you'll find two oil-cooled axial flux electric motors, one for each wheel. Each can deliver up to 147 hp, and allow for torque vectoring through turns to enhance agility.
All normal hybrid supercar stuff so far. But the front axle setup is about the only thing the Revuelto shares with competitors. The battery, a 3.8-kWh unit, is mounted longitudinally inside the car's central tunnel, acting as a spine inside the carbon fiber monocoque between the driver and passenger.
Things get more interesting once you peek beyond the cabin. Directly behind the monocoque rests a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V-12 that Lamborghini says has been heavily revised for more power and revs. There's a new block, a new valvetrain, new pistons, and a slew of other changes. The entire unit is 37 pounds lighter versus the Aventador's V-12, and makes 813 hp at 9250 rpm. Redline is an incredible 9500 rpm.
Since the Countach, Lamborghini has mounted the transmission of its V-12-powered cars in front of the engine. That changes with the Revuelto. The transmission, an eight-speed dual-clutch, now sits behind the engine, perpendicular with the rear wheels. It's a notable upgrade over the Aventador, which made do with a single-clutch gearbox for a decade. Even more interesting is its transverse design, something no other modern manufacturer is doing right now.
As we explained in a separate piece, the Revuelto's DCT is an impressive piece of engineering. Its transverse layout was chosen to optimize the Revuelto's center of gravity, while saving space so engineers could implement a working diffuser. Instead of mounting the third electric motor between the engine and gearbox, Lamborghini mounted it atop the gearbox independent of the motor. This way it can connect and disconnect from the ICE depending on drive mode and conditions. Lamborghini has even figured out how to use extra energy from the V-12 in low-traction situations to recharge the battery using the third motor.
Total output for the drivetrain is a gargantuan 1001 hp. Lamborghini claims the Revuelto can sprint from zero to 62 mph in just 2.5 seconds, and on to a top speed over 217 mph. That battery pack can be recharged through the built-in plug in just 30 minutes, or go from empty to full in just six minutes through regenerative braking or through the V-12. No other performance numbers have been released, but Lamborghini says the Revuelto is quicker than the outgoing Aventador SVJ both on a race track and in a straight line.
Taking a page from Ferrari's and Porsche's books, Lamborghini has added knobs to the steering wheel for adjusting drive mode and hybrid power settings. In addition to the standard Strada, Sport, Corsa, and Ego modes, the Revuelto gets a new mode: Città. Italian for City, this mode runs the car in EV mode, where the company estimates the car can travel just over six miles purely on electric power.
It's not just the drivetrain where Lamborghini has made strides. The carbon monocoque, which now incorporates the company's patented forged composite material for the tub section, stretches out into the front support and crash structure. And despite being physically bigger to accommodate taller drivers, it's 10 percent lighter than the Aventador's monocoque, while being 25 percent stiffer.
Looks-wise, the Revuelto is unmistakably Lamborghini. Executives said they wanted to avoid the car looking like a reskinned Sián, and from our eyes, the designers have done well. There are several Y-shaped accents scattered throughout that remind us of Lamborghini's limited-run hypercar, including the daytime running lights, but overall, the Revuelto is very much it's own car. It helps the design is 60 percent more aerodynamically efficient than the Aventador, and provides 70 percent more downforce.
Inside the Revuelto you'll find not one, but three different screens scattered throughout the dashboard. The first is for the 12.3-inch gauge cluster, showing things like speed, revs, drive mode, and energy consumption. Then there's the 8.4-inch vertically oriented central infotainment screen, which controls things like sound and climate. For the first time Lamborghini will also offer a passenger-side screen, mounted in the dash over the glovebox. It measures 9.1 inches, and displays things like speed and revs for the person riding right seat.
The Revuelto is the first step in Lamborghini's plans to transition to a purely hybrid-powered brand. After its release in 2023, the brand will introduce a hybrid Urus in 2024 before revealing the Huracán's replacement, also a hybrid, at the end of 2024. Beyond that, Lamborghini plans to launch its first EV, an all-new model, in 2028, before replacing the Urus in 2029 with a new EV model. If the Revuelto is any indication of what to expect from the rest of the lineup, we have at least a decade of exciting Lambos on the way.
Road & Track staff writer with a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing.
