Red-Hot Lamborghini Revuelto Makes Canadian Debut in Toronto
Following its world premiere in late March, the all-new Lamborghini Revuelto made its first public appearance in Canada on Wednesday night at The Arlington Estate in Vaughan, near Toronto.
Earlier in the day, Andrea Baldi, CEO of Lamborghini Americas, took some time to chat with us and share his impressions of this plug-in hybrid supercar that’s replacing the Aventador.
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1,001 Horsepower
We went straight to the point: are the 1,001 horsepower a magic number that the company had in mind to capture people’s imagination and simultaneously eclipse the 986-horsepower Ferrari SF90? Baldi not even once referred to the Revuelto’s biggest rival while giving a long answer. More than just a psychological mark to achieve, he said the main goal for engineers was to improve the naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 as much as possible, but the first thing Lamborghini wants is design and handling.
Benefiting from optimized air intake ducts, combustion chamber, compression ratio and exhaust, among other things, the engine can rev up to 9,500 rpm. It pairs with a new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission mounted transversely behind it, as well as three electric motors. The Revuelto can sprint from 0-100 km/h in a mere 2.5 seconds—exactly like the SF90.
10 Km of EV Range
One of the motors is integrated within the transmission. The other two are located on the front axle, driving the wheels individually and creating a new type of all-wheel drive system for Lamborghini. The 3.8kWh battery, meanwhile, can be found where the transmission tunnel used to be.
There are a whopping 13 drive modes to choose from, one of which enables pure electric driving at low speeds (output is limited to 178 horsepower) and for no more than 10 km, Baldi told us. It’s mostly for getting out of your driveway and the neighbourhood in silent fashion. The idea with this hybrid technology is to increase performance and reduce emissions, not necessarily to drive in EV mode.
Sure, there’s a charging cable included if you want to plug the car in (the location of the charge port in the front luggage compartment makes it less convenient), but Baldi insists that the battery will almost always charge itself on the go through regenerative braking or by using the power of the V12 to turn the rear electric motor into a generator. You can top up the battery in just six minutes this way versus 30 minutes via a level-2 AC charger.
Like a Spaceship
The Revuelto is built on a completely new chassis known as “monofuselage” that is 10 percent lighter and more than 25 percent stiffer than that of the late Aventador. The entire front structure uses Forged Composites, a special material made of short carbon fibres soaked in resin. It is said to significantly improve handling and represents of the most important selling points for the car, Baldi claims.
From a design standpoint, the Revuelto “looks like a spaceship” but is instantly recognizable as a Lamborghini, with elements inspired from classic models such as the Countach, Diablo and Murcielago. That’s very important for customers, just like having a myriad of personalization options to ensure no two cars are perfectly similar.
Despite being the largest car to ever come out of Sant’Agata Bolognese at nearly 5 metres long and more than 2 metres wide, the Revuelto appears smaller than it actually is, the CEO pointed out. His favourite part of the exterior? The fact that the glorious V12, “the heart of the car,” remains fully exposed under a clear panel behind the cockpit.
The first units of the Lamborghini Revuelto in Canada will be delivered sometime between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. Demand will exceed supply, you can count on it. In fact, the first two years of production are already booked. Baldi expects sales to trump those of the Aventador, with around 30 percent of customers being new to the brand.
