Lamborghini’s Aventador replacement is indeed a hybrid but there is no downsizing here: The big V12 is here to stay, riding right in the middle of the 2024 Revuelto. That’s great news! Particularly when you discover how the “high-performance electrified vehicle” is still mostly combustion-powered with a little plug-in gravy drizzled on for extra kick.
Here are some numbers: a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 paired with three electric motors – two in the front axle and one married to the double-clutch eight-speed gearbox that’s been rotated 180 degrees from in front of the engine to behind it. What’s in the “transmission” tunnel then? A 3.8-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, of course. All told, the Revuelto can churn out 1,001 horsepower and 739 pound-feet of torque, giving it the ability to launch from 0 to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds on its way to top out at 217 mph. That’s what the stats say, but finally getting behind the tailored wheel reveals things that the numbers can’t.
A Silent Lamborghini Is Amazing
Part of the enjoyment of having an increasingly rare power unit like a V12, particularly a 6.5-liter one from Lamborghini, is the visceral pleasure of the noise it makes. Either grumbling as it rolls through a crowd of onlookers or screaming at speed, the sound of this bent-twelve is a major selling point.
With that said, It’s quite a special thing to experience the Revuelto when this central feature is completely switched off. With the two e-motors on the front axle and one in the double-clutch, there are lots of ways the Lamborghini distributes its available power. Uniquely, one of these is the fully electric Citta mode (named for the Italian word for city), and it’s the default setting when the car fires up.
Running on battery only means your attention-grabbing Lambo can quietly slink out of the neighborhood towards the fun roads so long as there’s more than 25% of battery charge available, or around 6.2 miles with a full charge and a light foot. This is really the only limit here, as the engine doesn’t kick back on over a set speed. Of course, Citta only uncorks a fraction of the available power, but it’s eerie to drive around in Lamborghini’s flagship car in complete silence.
It’s also helpful in certain situations too. For a car that’s as loud visually as it is sonically, it helps to be able to rig it for silent running in some spots. Say you’re out with your supercar friends in the backroads of the countryside. In between switchbacks are the inevitable towns with folks who live there, ostensibly to avoid people like you. It seems only fair then that you engage the Revuelto’s EV mode to roll through, following a session of V12 screaming in the hills.
It’s a matter of one button to switch the Revuelto from its most aggressive mode down to electric-only driving, which after such a drive feels like you’re suddenly free-falling. Not only is this polite, it’s a handy way to avoid the ire of folks who’d complain to the local dispatch about you. It even gives you plausible deniability when you roll past a squad car. What’s that, officer? Some jerk’s racing around in a loud Lambo? Not me, sir, I’m just cruising along in my humble hybrid.
No Need To Charge It… Unless You Just Want To Show Off
The biggest fear expressed by folks disdainful towards the mere idea of a hybrid supercar (read: nobody who can or will actually buy one) is that a car like the Revuelto will have the same issues and require the same attention as the PHEV Tucson in their driveway. Namely, it will spend most of its life being charged while other non-hybrid competitors are free to zip around the country club without a second thought.
While you certainly can charge up the Revuelto’s battery at a charging station, you never have to, as the 3.8-kWh battery can top up in other modes, like while in use, under braking, or even just idling. Plug it in for 30 minutes or drive it for six. I know which one sounds more fun.
The catch? You need to drive your Revuelto once a week. Otherwise, you risk irrevocable damage to the battery. There’s a magnetic trickle charger that’s easy to attach in case the Revuelto is more of a showpiece or the weather conditions suck, but again, taking your Lambo out for weekly walkies is the kind of maintenance I can get behind.
More Complicated Than The McLaren Artura
This may seem absurd, but driving the Revuelto had me thinking about the McLaren Artura during most of my drive. Admittedly, it’s not an even comparison; with the McLaren’s hybrid V6, 671 hp, and around $300,000 asking price, it is very nearly half the car the Revuelto is – numerically at least.
The thing is, the Macca has been an outstanding benchmark for what a plug-in supercar can be in real-life conditions. Like the Revuelto, the electronic components are there to elevate the combustion side of things rather than act as the 60/40 split that normies like I am used to when it comes to PHEVs. It showed us all the good stuff – a silent running mode, filled-in gaps in the power band, and the rare need to actually charge it.
As such, this was what I thought to expect when it came time to see Lamborghini’s take on PHEV tech in a full-production model, and for the most part, those expectations were met. Lambo’s particular flavor of this, however, feels a bit more involved to what McLaren has put together. Again, to be fair, the expectations are higher here. The Revuelto is a flagship vehicle while the Artura is essentially entry-level, and that’s not going into the complexities of hybridizing a V12 performance unit.
Still, in practice, the Revuelto is busy to the point of distraction when it comes to its modes and battery power management. Along with the driving modes from the car’s “anima” controller – the ones that dictate street, sport, and track modes – there is now a dial for the hybrid system. Hybrid, Recharge, and Performance settings let the driver dictate how the battery power is used, only it doesn’t really feel like it makes that much of a difference at all. Performance should give more juice and recharge should save more, but the Revuelto’s internal systems are already managing that without your fiddling.
You don’t need to tell the car to charge the battery, because it’s doing it already. Think you need more “performance” power? At a street level, probably not, and even at a track, it’ll take a keen driver at the wheel to spot the difference. This is all to say that another dial and a new set of swishy gauge graphics make an already overwhelming interface even more so, and it takes a lot of effort to simply ignore it and enjoy the actual drive.
Classic Lamborghini Cabin
As a modern Lamborghini, the Revuelto is cutting-edge in terms of supercar engineering, design, and performance. The interior is also extremely sharp and includes many modern amenities that are must-haves for even non-superpowered rides, such as navigation and entertainment functions. The Revuelto even has a passenger-side touchscreen for those riding shotgun to co-pilot certain functions or to keep track of how fast they’re going.
Like an Italian suit, the fit of the Revuelto is very tight, though more forgiving than you might imagine. Still, don’t expect the cabin to be as luxurious as a Maybach, or even as accessible as Lambo’s Urus crossover. To start, the footwell is narrow, and it kind of diverts your legs towards the center of the car, making you feel twisted to a very small degree.
Speaking of small, while the windscreen ahead is clear, the view out the back is just a narrow porthole between the headrests and above the engine bay. That, of course, is to be expected, but what makes it comical is that when the Revuelto’s air brake engages, the little view of the cars behind you is suddenly replaced by a chunk of body element. Naturally, the Revuelto has classic Lamborghini scissor doors, and getting in and out elegantly is a practiced skill.
But since practice makes perfect, that’s yet another reason why you should be taking one out to drive once a week.
Base Price: $608,358
As-Tested Price: $700,000 (est.)
Engine: 6.5-Liter V12
Motors: Dual Axial Flux Front / Single Radial Flux Rear
Output: 1,001 Horsepower / 738 Pound Feet
Transmission: Eight-Speed Dual-Clutch
Drive: All-Wheel
Fuel Economy: 10 City / 16 Highway / 12 Combined (est.)
EV Range: 6 Miles
0-60 MPH: 2.5 Seconds
Top Speed: 217 Miles Per Hour
Weight: 3,907 Pounds
Seating: 2
Cargo Capacity: 6.0 Cubic Feet (est.)
