Monterey Car Week: the story behind Lamborghini’s new Temerario

The new Lamborghini Temerario was unveiled this month in California, ushering in a new era of electrified performance to replace the company’s best-selling Huracán model

BY JONATHAN BELL

Lamborghini chose Monterey Car Week to reveal the successor to its crucial Huracán model – ‘the greatest-selling super sports car’ in the brand’s history. Introduced in 2014, the mid-engined Huracán was ripe for replacement, and given how much the world has moved on in the past decade, its replacement looked likely to incorporate new technologies and approaches.

The new Lamborghini Temerario continues what the company calls its High Performance Electrified Vehicle strategy (HPEV), following the flagship Revuelto plug-in hybrid model. The company now has a fully hybridised line-up, if you take into account the new Urus SE as well, putting it a step ahead of many of its close competitors.

The new car retains the mid-engined layout that has defined every sporting Lamborghini since the Miura. In addition to a twin turbo-charged V8, there’s also a powerful hybrid system which creates enough power for a 0-62mph time of 2.7 seconds and a class-leading top speed of 210mph. As noted by Lamborghini’s Chairman and CEO Stephan Winkelmann, ‘every new Lamborghini must surpass its forerunners in performance terms,’ a formidable engineering and technical challenge.

As part of this relentless quest for more power, Lamborghini claims the Temerario is the ‘first and only production super sports car engine able to reach 10,000 rpm’. If the residents of Monterey found Lamborghini’s fleet of corporate Uruses (Uruii?) to be a little on the shouty side, expect the Temerario to cause even more of a ruckus.

We spoke to Lamborghini’s Design Director, Mitja Borkert, about the genesis of the new model.

Wallpaper*: Describe the design approach behind the new Temerario

Mitja Borkert: It was a personal mission to create something that was agile, yet with a compact volume. The Temerario continues the new design language started by Revuelto – it’s about giving adrenaline a shape.

W*: What are the distinctive design elements of a modern Lamborghini?

MB: We’re very recognisable – especially our silhouette. You can see this in the Gallardo in 2003, through to the Huracán in 2014 and now its successor, the Temerario from 2025. The new car is 40mm longer than its predecessor and has a bigger cabin as a result, although it’s still 273mm shorter than the Revuelto. The shapes and ‘muscles’ of this car are very sensuous, almost human.

W*: What’s your typical design process to shape such a distinctive sports car?

MB: We always start with sketches. For this car, the hexagon was the design element we start with. You can see it in the side air intake, the hexagonal daylight running lights, the exhaust, the taillights. The car is divided into two, with very clean lines on the upper surfaces, and a lower level that catches shadow for more drama. We now have a very distinctive lighting strategy for all three of our models, Urus, Revuelto and Temerario. It’s very important that our cars each have their own distinctive character.

W*: Are there are notable details that set this car apart?

MB: The way the rear tyres are exposed, for example, or the deep side intakes. Also, we don’t want to follow the trend of having light bars across the entire rear of the car. You’ll also see that the hexagonal DRL at the front of the car are also aero ducts, channelling air to an exit just below the main lights.

The rear of the car is almost like a spaceship – the V8 engine is at the heart of the design. We have a lot of personalisation choices as well, with 20” wheels at the front and 21” at the rear and three different wheel choices, including the first full carbon fibre wheel and a hexagon-based design as well.

W*: Will there be other options?

MB: Yes, we’re going to launch two versions of the car right from the start, with a track-focused lightweight package that includes different design elements, a new splitter and rocker panel, carbon rims, bonnet and rear wing.

W*: What will the interior be like – it’s yet to be revealed?

MB: Yes, it’s designed to feel like a cockpit, with a start-stop button, switches and rotary controls that feel like a jet. We’ve always believed in creating very mechanical elements in our interiors. It’ll be a spaceship on the outside, alien on the inside. There’ll be three screens, including one for a passenger, with very distinctive and different graphics. Also, there’ll be many colour options, perhaps around 400.

W*: How did the hybrid system inform your design approach?

MB: It had no impact in terms of design. We’re opening the door to the next chapter of Lamborghini. This car is very compact and agile, as short as possible. It’s also the first super sports Lamborghini to have the mandated ADAS (Advanced driver-assistance system) technology.