2026 Lamborghini Temerario First Drive: A 907-HP Hypercar in Supercar Clothing

Motor Trend

23-07-2025

The 2026 Lamborghini Temerario has big shoes to fill. The car it replaces, the universally loved and praised Huracán, is the bestselling two-door Lamborghini of all time, with more than 29,000 units sold in just more than 10 years. The Lamborghini Huracán, you might recall, famously replaced the Italian supercar maker's Gallardo, the previous sales leader with about 14,000 examples sold. The new hybrid-powered Temerario's mission, then, is to at least maintain if not increase the number of entry-level super sports cars the fine folks in Sant'Agata build. But is a hybrid V-8 powertrain with three electric motors the right recipe for success? That's the multi-billion-dollar question.
The 2026 Lamborghini Temerario, replacing the Huracán, features a 907-hp hybrid V-8 powertrain with three electric motors. It boasts a 10,000-rpm redline and a 2.3-sec 0-60 mph time. Priced at $389,554, it offers advanced design, improved brakes, and enhanced handling.
This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article Read Next
Aside from the Urus super SUV, Lamborghini has some history with V-8 engines. It's something of a stretch, but in a sense the Gallardo was the successor to the Jalpa, which featured a transverse mid-mounted 3.5-liter V-8. Lambo dorks no doubt want us to mention both the Gandini-penned Urraco and Silhouette, both of which had V-8s and predate the Jalpa. All that out of the way, the 2026 Lamborghini Temerario's V-8 has as much in common with these previous eight-cylinders as, well, as much as it has in common with the Jalpa. Which is to say not one single thing other than having four wheels and two doors. Looking at Temerario
Replacing the Huracán was always going to be tricky as the older car is simply a knockout design, one of Lamborghini's best. The Temerario isn't an all-timer, but the design has grown on us. Even the bits we're not fond of—like the hexagonal DRLs mounted below the headlights—sort of work visually, especially once Lambo design chief Mitja Borkert explains he wanted to mimic the design of the Death Star hangar bay. The Temerario's shape definitely works with some colors (yellow, orange, green, purple) better than others (Blu Marinus, like we saw at last year's Quail event during Monterey Car Week). The Alleggerita package (see below) makes a big positive difference, too. Lamborghini stretched the Temerario's wheelbase 1.6 inches compared to the Huracán's, and the roof is higher, with both changes made to accommodate taller drivers. A Disturbance in the Force
Force meaning forward thrust. So when the initial Huracán LP 610-4 replaced the final-form Gallardo LP 570-4 Edizione Tecnica, the famed V-10's power increased by 40 hp, from 562 to 602. The most powerful versions of the Huracán, the Performante, STO, and finally the Tecnica, all made 631 hp (though because it was all-wheel drive, the Performante made more torque, 443 lb-ft compared to 413). The Temerario? Well, the twin-turbo 4.0-liter flat-plane-crank V-8 with an axial-flux motor wedged between the flywheel and transmission produces 789 hp and 538 lb-ft of torque.
That's a massive jump over ye olde Huracán, and it doesn't even count the power output from the two front motors. Total combined system output for the Temerario is 907 hp. A brief reminder: The Porsche 918 Spyder, a legitimate hypercar, produces 875 hp. The McLaren P1 makes 903 hp. Again, this is meant to be Lamborghini's entry-level two-door! Also, because it's impossible to calculate hybrid torque accurately, we should point out the rear motor provides 221 lb-ft of torque fill when the transmission is between gears. Lambo's chief technical officer, Rouven Mohr, told us he wanted to 'elevate the car to an entirely different level.' Mohr and his team have certainly done that.
Did we mention the 10,000-rpm redline? No? Well, the Temerario's V-8 (internally known as L411) revs to that number. Actually, when you use launch control, the redline rises to 10,250 rpm. Peak power arrives at 9,000 rpm, but don't pull that huge, carbon-fiber shift paddle too quickly—peak power is sustained all the way to 9,750 rpm. The L411 employs two massive turbochargers that are so big, they don't fit in the V of the V-8. Instead, they're mounted above the valve covers. Since the turbos are so large, they don't contribute much of anything below 4,000 rpm. That's where the oil-cooled rear electric motor comes in, effectively covering for the turbos until they can flow enough air. Once spinning, they crush it, with a maximum boost pressure of 36 psi. The result is a linear power curve that begins down low and climbs at a 45-degree angle all the way until 9,000 rpm.
How did Lamborghini get an engine to spin so fast? For one, its race-car-inspired flat-plane crankshaft helps. The connecting rods are all titanium, helping to reduce rotating mass, the pistons are motorsports-inspired, and the DLC-coated finger followers are good to 11,000 rpm. The low-mounted engine has a dry sump with five scavenger pumps. No doubt there will still be some who lament the loss of the V-10, and we get that. However, this new powertrain is such a radical departure from the previous two decades of small Lambos, you would be wrong to dismiss it based on preconceived notions.
Like the Huracán, power is sent to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. Like its big brother, the Revuelto, the Temerario is e-AWD, meaning there's no mechanical connection between the engine and the front wheels. Moreover, the front axle is the same one found in the Revuelto. As is the 3.8-kWh battery pack. The two front motors do bring 118 hp to the party, but torque vectoring and steering feel are their primary functions. Mohr says he feels like 70 percent of the Temerario's character comes from the front motors. One final big change compared to the Huracán: This car features a brake-by-wire system, and the front calipers have grown from eight pistons to 10. Let's Drive
Lamborghini only allowed us to drive the new Temerarios on a track, and while even more fun than it sounds, we have no clue how the car drives in pure electric Strada mode (it has a range of about 10 miles, so this part probably matters little), and perhaps the tiniest of teeny insights into how it behaves in Sport. But fortunately for us, 99 percent of our time was spent in Corsa (race) mode.
What strikes you first and foremost is how utterly easy the Temerario is to drive. Some online tough guys will say different things, but we find that the easier a car is to drive, the more confidence the driver has in said car. This means the more confident you are, the more you are able to push the car, to test its limits, and the more fun the vehicle is to drive. Even with more power than a McLaren P1, the Lamborghini Temerario is a sweetheart on the racetrack.
Power is everywhere, with the mighty V-8 providing all sorts of shove and the two front motors pulling the Temerario smartly out of corners. What surprised us was how linear the engine felt. With a fast-spinning crank, massive turbos, and motors, all sorts of sorcery goes into blending the power into a straight but rising line. The throttle feels linear, better than most normally aspirated engines, in fact. Mohr credits the LDVA 2.0 'brain' that controls all the Temerario's functionality. Whatever the case, we love keeping our right foot in it.
Doing so, we saw some remarkably large numbers appear on the digital speedometer. Our favorite corner on the Estoril track is a right-hand kink that, if you're brave enough, you can take flat in fourth gear. Doing so will lead you into Parabolica Interior (Turn 6) at more than 160 mph. Get the tricky-yet-satisfying increasing-radius Turn 13 correct (aka Parabolica Ayrton Senna), and you find yourself approaching 190 mph by the braking zone at the end of the main straight. And we braked early just to be safe. The best we saw was 189 mph, or 304 kph. Lamborghini says the Temerario's top speed is 343 kph, or 213 mph.
Then there's those brakes. They are excellent and perhaps the most important improvement over the Huracán. Brake-by-wire ensures that even if the brake fluid heats up substantially, the pedal feel never changes—an important thing on a racetrack. Moreover, the big carbon-ceramic stoppers are cooled so effectively that unless you're simply abusive, fade won't be an issue. It certainly wasn't during our rapid nine laps of the circuit.
As far as handling goes, the Temerario is well balanced and predictable. Perhaps a bit more steering heft is needed to be perfect, but the feel is excellent. There just aren't any surprises, which again we think is a good thing. We only experienced one 'incident,' and it's a stretch to call it that, but coming out of a second-gear corner, we gave the Temerario too much throttle and were treated to an organic, progressive, easy-to-catch drift. Considering the power levels at play, what Mohr and his team have crafted is remarkable.
Is the Lamborghini Temerario as sweet to drive as the Ferrari 296? Difficult to say without a direct comparison, but we'd love to find out. We suspect the answer will be, 'not quite,' but the former should beat the prancing horse in a drag race. Lamborghini quotes a 0–62-mph time of 2.7 seconds and a 0–124 time of 7.1 seconds. Seeing how the last Huracán we tested back in 2018 hit 60 mph in 2.6 seconds, we suspect these official numbers are quite conservative. More important, there's a smoky-launch mode where the Temerario performs a rolling burnout. Good times. She Is Relatively Light
Lamborghini actually snuck in a second Temerario variant when no one was looking. Meet the Alleggerita pack. Pronounced as 'alledge-a-rita,' it translates to something approximating, 'She's light.' Yes, Lamborghini stated the Temerario is a "she." The front splitter, side skirts, ducktail spoiler, and engine cover are all made from CFRP (carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic), saving nearly 28 pounds. The underbody is reskinned in recycled carbon fiber. Add in a titanium muffler, some interior carbon pieces, lightened rear and rear-quarter glass, plus (extra $$$) carbon-fiber wheels for a total weight savings of just more than 55 pounds. But she's more than just light, as the new body pieces increase downforce by 67 percent and aero stability by 62 percent, the company says. The Alleggerita pack also gets you stickier Bridgestone R-compound tires. She Ain't Cheap
The bad news is that the Alleggerita option is expensive. As in $49,113, and that's not counting another $20,000 for the carbon-fiber wheels. That's $458,667 before any other options. We suppose that in a world of $900K Porsche 911 S/Ts, this isn't the craziest price tag we've ever seen. Of course, the regular Temerario isn't a cheap date, either. Its base price is $389,554, which includes the destination fee and an assumed $3,000 gas guzzler tax—the EPA has yet to certify the Temerario. This makes the new-entry Lambo dearer than both the Ferrari 296 ($340K to start, 818 hp) and McLaren 750S ($351K, 740 hp). But again, 907 hp (although we can hear Chevrolet executives and engineers in Detroit congratulating themselves while saying, 'ZR1 ... '). Turns out supercars are really flippin' expensive. In other news, a fork was found in the kitchen. Should you have the necessary duckets, the Temerario goes on sale early in 2026. What Comes Next?
The 2026 Lamborghini Temerarios we drove are but the starting point for this new model. The Huracán had numerous variants—Performante, Evo, RWD, STO, Tecnica, Sterrato—and that's not even counting all the Spyder (roadster) variants. There's no doubt the Temerario will follow a similar iterative strategy. In fact, Lamborghini employees were chomping at the bit to tell us about what's coming. They mostly stopped themselves, though one let slip the story about how, on a bench dyno, the mighty V-8 can produce more than 1,000 hp. 'Two-hundred-fifty horsepower per liter is totally possible,' our unnamed source said. He/she might have mentioned something about active aerodynamics, too. Sounds like an absolutely delicious recipe for a Temerario Performante, no? We'll be here for it.