2024 Lamborghini Revuelto | UK Review

When even Ferrari is finding electrification a little tricky, you know it’s a tough challenge. Sure, the 296 GTB is sensational, although it’s probably fair to say the SF90 hasn’t captured the collective imagination quite like a 1,000hp Maranello flagship ought to. McLaren has made changes to the Artura PHEV just a couple of years after a difficult initial launch. Maserati is skipping the hybrid step entirely, offering its performance cars with purely ICE power or crazy quick EV. Porsche’s toe in the water is encouraging, albeit with a battery the same size as the one used in a Honda Civic. 

Consequently, the Lamborghini Revuelto, Sant’Agata’s first plug-in hybrid model (but certainly not its last), enters a market that might be deemed to be choppy waters. Moreover, despite track time already having been assessed, it’s much easier to impress on a circuit drive than it is on actual roads. Can a car of such prodigious power, weight and scale really show its best self hemmed in by the rest of the world?

Handily, nobody fortunate enough to own a Revuelto will have to go anywhere to fall head over heels in love with it. This is a stunning bit of supercar design; pictures (even ones this good) don’t really do it justice, the way it can be so large and yet so taut, so recognisably Lamborghini with the light signatures and details while also representing something new. It’s impossible not to pore over the Revuelto, baffled at how that rear diffuser – beautifully exposing so much rear tyre – can meet homologation, how the wheels can be almost the height of the car, how it can exude such drama and presence without silly spoilers or tarmac scraping splitters. Probably it’s the orange. But rest assured you won’t forget seeing a Revuelto for the first time. 

While the interior is still a little short on headroom and the screen sometimes still a tad fiddly, it seems more likely that the focus will be on the beautiful materials, vivid displays and a steering wheel that makes you feel like the captain of a V12 spaceship. There’s undoubtedly more to get your head around than before, though also a logic and approachability to how things are laid out. Mad modes are on the top left dial (including Thurst with the chequered flag), electrical ones are on the top right. The nose lift, indicators and full beam flash are also within easy reach, too. 

Starting a Lamborghini and hearing nothing but a whirr will take a while to get used to. The Revuelto is perfectly pleasant as an EV, however, even if some of that appeal is down to the incongruity – and being able to hear what passers-by are saying. There’s just enough performance from the 187hp electric side to scoot along cheerily enough, the control weights engender plenty of confidence, and the system can so aggressively recharge via a dedicated mode when the engine’s running (top right dial for that) you’re never likely to be without battery power when required. Anyone who now feels a tad self-conscious using giant V12s in built-up areas will enjoy it. Even those that aren’t surely will, because the lack of noise (beyond the gentle hum of the high voltage system) will focus attention on details like the genuinely sumptuous ride and the easy effort of the steering. (Notably nothing changes about the rack regardless of mode, so it remains light and almost delicate all the time.)

The V12 won’t erupt unnoticed, that’s for sure. Typically there’s praise forthcoming for the subtle integration of an ICE into a PHEV powertrain, but it’s a very different situation here: the enormous 6.5 explodes into life with Sport mode, and brings a smirk every single time. Even just at startup and even in a 40mph zone, there’s no doubt at all that the combustion engine is still going to dominate the Lamborghini supercar experience.

Mad though it will likely sound, this is a demonstrably faster car than any Aventador. Despite the weight, despite the same capacity, despite everything. That’s by the numbers – an Ultimae would do 0-124mph in 8.7 seconds, this is seven dead – and certainly in terms of real-world thrills. The electrical assistance means the lower order of the rev range feels stronger than ever, the DCT can thump like the old gearbox if you wish (while also shifting quicker) and all the while that glorious feeling of every Lambo V12 – of getting faster, faster and faster to a dizzying peak – has been retained. It’s epic.

Opportunities to get near the 9,250rpm required for max power are obviously scarce for those who value their freedom, though they’re truly exhilarating when they arrive. Perhaps the sound is smoother than the valve-gnashing old engine, but the superbike-style shriek makes any lesser configuration feel very junior indeed. The zeal for revs matches the smaller V10, and the seamlessness of the shifts – where the automated manual always had a pause – makes the Revuelto’s acceleration seem even more relentless. It’s a wild, intoxicating ride. 

Yet it’s probably the chassis that marks the biggest advancement. While Aventadors were undeniably fast and massively capable – see those incredible Nurburgring videos for proof – they maybe didn’t encourage the driver to impart their own style on the car. You drove how the car wanted to be driven, were astonished by what it could do, and that was that. Now the Revuelto, thanks to its electrification and the advances it’s brought in torque vectoring, can be a whole lot cleverer. And even more fun. To be honest, just Strada is fairly brilliant, the Revuelto cornering with an economy of effort that belies its complexity and weight. It drives like an XL mid-engined sports car, feeling deft and agile and gliding over bumps. Four-figure power output supercars shouldn’t be this easygoing – or this enjoyable at sane speeds. 

Corsa is the lap time mode, though you can feel what it’s doing on the road, maximising the power that’s going to the front wheels to further speed up the corner exit. The setting is taut, aggressive, loud and exciting, a very different prospect to a Revuelto just a couple of steering wheel clicks away. Sport changes things again; through a similar corner with similar throttle, the front axle doesn’t do as much, more directed to those giant 345-section Bridgestones and just a sense of that end dictating what’s going on. All within the confines of the assists and the road, the seat of your pants says the outside rear wheel is helping a 1,000hp V12 corner. And that feels absolutely ruddy marvellous. Of course, the car is helping, but it all feels so authentic – complete with just a bit of jeopardy – that nobody will care. It’s a Lamborghini flagship that’s using the best in new technology to offer up genuinely different experiences under the same roof, all – from EV to Corsa – feeling valid and massively rewarding. 

A few hours is barely enough to scratch the surface of the Revuelto’s potential, while easily being enough to be completely enamoured with it. The car’s range of abilities has been significantly broadened – it genuinely feels like it could work as a commuter or a cruiser – without ever feeling like anything less than a bonafide V12 monster when required. Far from diluting the experience, hybridisation has made for a Lamborghini flagship that suits more situations, more of the time. An Aventador wasn’t this usable, yet its powertrain was not this thrilling either. Talk about having your 6.5-litre cake and eating it. What the heck is an SV going to be like?

Engine: 6,498cc V12, triple motor hybrid assistance, 3.8kWh battery
Transmission: 8-speed twin-clutch, rear-wheel drive plus twin motor electric front axle
Power (hp): 1,015 (total system peak)@9,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 535@6,750rpm (total system TBC)
0-62mph: 2.5sec
Top speed: 218mph
Weight: 1,911kg
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Price: from £376,700 (plus VAT; price as tested £434,420 plus VAT comprising Arancio Apodis paint for £15,940, Q-citura on roof, door panel (contrast) for £1,060, Altanero Shiny Black 21-/22-inch wheels for £2,920, Contrast colour Corsa Tex Pack trim for £800, Nero Lucido CCB brake Calipers for £1,290, Inverted stitching for £1,330, High Gloss Black Style Package for £6,200 Bicolour Carpets and floor mats for £700, Engine frame Inserts on Cofango in Shiny for £880, Surround Assistance Pack for £1,770, Wheel cap in matt carbon for £520, Headlamps package for £2,650, Rim bolts in Titanium for £880, Smartphone interface and Connected for £2,440, Exhaust Tailpipes in Matt Black for £880, Cup holders on dashboard for £520, Windscreen frame of front Bonnet for £1,550, Passenger Display for £2,650, Contrast colour trim for £2,210, High Assistant for £1,770, Embroidered Lamborghini Logo for £700, Lamborghini Connect Vehicle Tracking for £1,420 Gearshift paddles in Carbon Matt for £1,420, Floor mats with leather border for £440, Steering Wheel in Carbon with leather for £2,650 and Fully electric and heated seats £2,130)