With its sublime technology, the 1015 hp Lamborghini Revuelto joins the illustrious list of Countach, Diablo, Murciélago and Aventador. We make a test drive of 200 kilometers with this super sports car, which weighs more than 5.5 tons.
It is almost 40 degrees in the shade, and yet the… Lamborghini Revuelto is still warming up its twelve-cylinder. We are in the beating heart in Sant’Agata Bolognese. The display shows why the engine blows CO2 into the air: as long as the V12 has not yet reached operating temperature, the hyper sports car drives purely electrically. And now to drive away on the electric motor while Lamborghini employees watch…
Since its founding in 1948, Automobili Lamborghini SpA has been famous for the dominant roar of large twelve-cylinder engines. The Revuelto also has a beautiful example in the engine compartment behind the cockpit, freely breathing and with a capacity of 6.5 liters. It delivers its full power of 825 hp at a hellish 9250 revolutions per minute.
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Lamborghini Revuelto price and specs
- 6498 cm3, V12 + 3 electric motors
- 1015 pk, 725 Nm
- 0-100 km/h in 2.5 s, top speed 350 km/h
- 11,9 l/100 km (1 : 8,4), 276 g CO2/km
- L/B/H 4947 / 2033 /1166 mm, 1847 kg
- Price: 568,509 euros
V12 with electric assistance
The Revuelto is not only the youngest member of an illustrious family, with ancestors such as the Countach, Diablo, Murciélago and Aventador. He is also the bridge to the future. Two electric motors of 150 hp and 350 Nm each drive the front wheels, and the transmission contains an additional 150 hp electric motor. The Revuelto therefore has more electric power than many other sports cars, whether they run on petrol or electric.
Electric Lamborghini Revuelto
However, the motors are more of a by-product, allowing you to drive purely electrically over a very short distance. The battery capacity is enough for 15 full electric kilometers. Then you can drive straight from the city center to the highway or sneak somewhere quietly at night.
The charging port of the Revuelto, which is a true plug-in hybrid thanks to the plug, is located under the hood at the front. The charging power is 7 kW, but with such a small EV range it is unlikely that anyone will bother to park at the public charging station next to the organic supermarket.
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The electric powertrain is more than political correctness and is not only there to reduce CO2 emissions, so that the entire fleet remains within the average permitted by the EU. Perhaps the most important task of the three electric motors is to let the twelve-cylinder engine shine in all its glory. They are there to support the V12 in every gear in such a way that the drivetrain delivers optimal performance at every speed and rpm.
Bends, bends, bends
The large twelve-cylinder has reached its operating temperature. We steer the low and wide Lamborghini through the flat landscape southeast of Sant’Agata. Fields of grain and rice rush by, while the V12 roars quietly, just above idle speed, and the electric motors do most of the work.
We pick up the pace on the ring road around Bologna, after which we rush on to Mugello, a relatively unknown region in Tuscany. There are picturesque mountain villages on top of the ridges, on the slopes you see a farm here and there, and in the valley we drive through smaller and smaller towns – until they too start to become rare.
And then it begins: the road winds up from the valley and we string the successive bends together. We end with a steep hairpin bend in a dense forest, climb over a ridge and slide down the other side into the next valley. Bends, bends, bends. On to the Passo della Raticosa. Then the forest ends and we drive over the highest peaks of the hill, while the surrounding landscape disappears into a blue mist.
Best Lamborghini of all time
We have our hands full with the Revuelto, but of course we are not complaining. It seems like it handles better than other Lamborghinis, whether they are called Miura, Countach or Aventador. The Revuelto is the first Lamborghini with which you can really have fun on winding back roads. The chassis with multilink instead of pushrod rear suspension in combination with rear axle steering makes the Revuelto much more agile.
The V12 only needs to drive the rear wheels and no longer also send its torque to the front wheels. Although the Revuelto has four-wheel drive, the front wheels are only driven by the electric motors. There is no mechanical connection to the twelve-cylinder in the rear.
The electric motors on the front axle send exactly the right amount of torque to the front wheels within milliseconds. Or with torque vectoring they conjure up more torque to the outer wheel in the bend, while the inner wheel is braked in a controlled manner. If you try to do that via drive shafts and a differential, you always get friction, but electrically it happens effortlessly.
With characteristic Italian passion, the Revuelto tackles the winding roads of the Mugello, smoothly handling even the tightest hairpin bends. Memories of rides with the Murciélago, Reventón or Aventador in this region keep flashing through our minds, and it remains amazing how easy it all goes now.
Thanks to the refined steering, the Lambo dives eagerly into the corners and you feel the intensity of the engine reaching its peak. First comes the somewhat clinical power of the electric torque, and then the V12 follows. It seems to draw its power from a deep, dark hole with a primal roar. Roaring and growling; an orgy of sound, power and pure energy.
Battery as a weapon
The secret weapon of the Revuelto is the battery, which can supply power to the electric motors ultra-fast and also absorbs it during braking. In other super sports cars, excess power would be absorbed by the traction control – in the Revuelto, the electric motor in the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission takes care of this and stores the energy in the battery.
On the track, this means that the battery of the Lamborghini Revuelto is virtually impossible to empty and it did not happen during our drive on the Italian mountain roads. The Revuelto uses the power as if it were a mild hybrid: thanks to smart recuperation, the battery is always sufficiently charged to be able to accelerate with full power at any time. This refined combination of driving pleasure and efficiency is impressive.
Finally easy parking
Even maneuvering now goes smoothly, as we notice when we park the Lamborghini Revuelto in one piece. That is no longer such a hellish job, despite the confusing bodywork. The electric motors on the front axle can be controlled much better than the four-wheel drive V12s of the past, which were always a bit jerky.
Source: www.autoreview.nl
