A lot of automakers talk about wanting to minimize or eliminate driver distractions so as to make the experience of driving more rewarding and safer overall. Lamborghini has a different strategy; it wants the driver to become one with their vehicle. This helps explain the storied super car maker’s tagline for the new Revuelto SV: the quantum of driving.
“For us, quantum of driving is the moment when you get into the car, you start driving the car, and the car and you become one piece,” said Alessandro Farmeschi, product line director for the Revuelto, the Italian brand’s top V12 powered model. “And you start just thinking about your drive, feeling the adrenaline of the acceleration, braking, the G-forces, you know. You feel everything and you basically forget about the rest because you are so concentrated and you enjoy so much this experience.”
Be the car! What better way to be less bothered by all of modern life’s distraction? I can’t speak from experience, having not driven the Revuelto yet, but standing next to the sharklike SV version, you can certainly begin to understand where Farmeschi and his colleagues are coming from. Be the car? Sure, I’ll be this car. And I’ll eat all others on the road for breakfast.
SV stands for Superveloce or “superfast,” which dates back to the iconic 1971 Miura SV. Lamborghini has also used the designation on higher-performance versions of the Diablo, Murciélago, and Aventador — and now the Revuelto, it’s flagship V12 supercar.
It’s a high-performance evolution of an already very fast, very high performing vehicle, which begs the question: How much is too much? The Revuelto SV’s hybrid-electric powertrain still features a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 and three electric motors, which can put out 1,065cv (around 1,050 hp), or around a 50 hp boost over the standard Revuelto. The additional capability is supported by a revised battery package that retains the same basic shape and geometry but increases energy capacity by 7.3kWh and provides higher power output.
The battery improvements are intended not simply to produce a higher peak figure but to make the car’s performance more consistent during hard driving. Lamborghini wanted the SV to deliver a flatter and more consistent level of performance throughout a lap rather than experiencing larger variations in output, Farmeschi explained.
The transmission shifting time has also been reduced by 30 percent for a more responsive and effective acceleration. Carbon fiber is used extensively throughout the vehicle to shave crucial kilograms. The front bumper is completely new, while the rear wing, door panels, and new racing seats also use carbon fiber as part of the effort to slim down and improve performance. The result? The Revuelto SV posts a power-to-weight ratio of 1.66 kg/CV, as compared to 1.75kg/CV for the standard Revuelto. Every milligram matters.
Downforce has been increased by 80 percent, thanks to the new front bumper and rear wing, which Farmeschi explained incorporates two wing designs into one. The front-end changes alone provide a 100 percent increase in front downforce compared with the standard Revuelto, which gives the car greater stability as it enters corners and begins turning, effectively helping to “glue” the front of the car to the track. This enables a 0–62mph acceleration in just 2.4 seconds — on par with the limited-edition Fenomeno, which Lamborghini previously described as its “fastest” in production. (I guess the Fenomeno will have to share that distinction now.)
But for Farmeschi, it’s not just about track performance metrics — it’s also about emotion. “Because emotion is driving the car, it’s being so fast… enjoying the car, going beyond even your limits because the car also helps you to manage the performance,” he said.
Of course, enhanced acceleration and performance also demands enhanced braking. The Revuelto SV features a new CCM-R Plus braking system, as compared to the carbon-ceramic brakes used on the standard Revuelto. The discs are thicker and larger in diameter, with radial holes extending along the radius to improve cooling. The result is a braking system capable of handling greater levels of stress while allowing the driver to brake harder and later.
Speaking of driving dynamics, Lamborghini is introducing a new Pilota mode, derived from its GT racing program. The driver can activate Pilota mode using the helmet icon on the steering wheel and then choose one of five levels using the rotary controls. These settings alter how sensitive the car is to its stability systems. The vehicle incorporates ABS and stability-control systems as well as a six-dimensional sensor located in the center tunnel, which measures vertical, lateral, and longitudinal acceleration as well as roll, pitch, and other vehicle movements. Pilota mode uses this information to change the car’s behavior according to the driver’s selected level.
“The customer can select this, like in the race, where you want maybe the car a bit more, let’s say, loose, because you want to, let’s say, manage the car differently, maybe using better the track, the cornering, rather than being more precise,” Farmeschi said, “so it depends on the driving style.”
After scraping its plans to make a purely electric sports car, Lamborghini doubled down on its hybrid strategy. The electric motors in the Revuelto SV allow for better torque vectoring and driving dynamics, Farmeschi said, arguing that those reasons help justify the added weight from the 7.3kWh battery.
The hybrid system also has a practical social benefit, he said with a sly grin. Your neighbors may appreciate the courtesy of rolling out of your driveway silently under electric power, for example. (The idea of anyone living close enough to a Lamborghini Revuelto owner to hear any engine sounds seems slightly ludicrous, but I digress.) The electric-only range is approximately 15 kilometers, or about 10 miles — not enough for a commute, but it can be useful for driving through areas with restrictions on combustion-engine vehicles.
Lamborghini isn’t announcing pricing yet, but come on — we’re already talking a minimum of $612,000 for the non-SV trim. You can expect the new version to set you back at least $750,000 before any options are added in. I can already hear the crypto bros frantically checking their account balances.
There may not be an all-electric Lamborghini coming any time soon, and the public’s reception to the Ferrari Luce underscores the minefield these specialized automakers will need to navigate in the future. But for now, Lamborghini is making the most of its hybrid super cars — emphasis on “the most.”
Photography by Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge
