Let’s be honest here, the Revuelto is a transitional car for Lamborghini. It’s an in-between step for a brand that, like the vast majority of the automotive industry, is being forced to accept electrification, whether it’s excited about it or not.
But if you’re already a confirmed EV convert, despite what you may think about Lamborghini—and more importantly, perhaps, the kind of people who drive Lamborghinis—the Revuelto is a car that signals the astonishing things a hypercar-manufacturer can do if it leans in to what electricity can offer diehard petrol heads.
This replacement to the aggressive Aventador is a plug-in hybrid with not one but three electric motors. As orders are being taken in the US for delivery early next year, it is an intimidating statement of intent from Lamborghini on how it views future electrification—even if we’ll have to wait until 2028 for Lambo’s full EV vision in the form of the 1,341-hp Lanzador (though, if you’re impatient, you can design and race one in Roblox right now).
In an attempt to distinguish this car from what it considers to be run-of-the-mill hybrids, Lamborghini calls the Revuelto an HPEV, short for “high-performance electrified vehicle,” which sounds boastful until you get behind the wheel of this electrically enhanced V12. That electrification results in a 30 percent performance boost, while emissions are reduced by the same amount.
The key to the Revuelto’s success is that, aside from reducing ICE emissions and trying to make the appearance of a V12 hypercar somehow more socially acceptable, the purpose was always to use the hybrid system to support the combustion engine, boosting power when needed and improving handling.
That support to the naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 comes from those three electric motors. Two are mounted on the front axle, each producing 110 kW; the third is integrated into the all-new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, and also acts as the starter motor and a generator. The engine itself has been turned 180 degrees to squeeze in the gearbox and e-motor. At 218 kilograms, it is 17 kilograms lighter than the outgoing Aventador.
The central tunnel houses a 3.8-kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which is so small that the car can be fully charged in just 30 minutes on a 7-kW power supply, or via regen from all three motors and the engine in just six minutes. This also means it manages a pitiful eight miles on battery power alone. In truth, the Revuelto is not intended for EV-only operation. It’s all about how the e-motors and the ICE working in harmony.
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