Emotion as important as power for this car brand

People don’t buy Lamborghini’s just because they are fast.

Sure, the Italian brand makes some of the fastest cars in the world, but speed and performance is just part of what makes its cars so desirable, according to its Chief Technical Officer, Rouven Mohr. In an interview with Australian media to discuss the new Huracan-replacing Temerario, Mohr revealed the importance of the “emotional perception” of its cars.

The Temerario, for instance, features an all-new twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine combined with three electric motors to create a plug-in hybrid powertrain. But the engine has been specifically designed to rev to 10,000rpm in order to give customers a traditional Lamborghini driving experience.

“ This for sure was also the most relevant decision that we had to take when we set up, let we say the successor of the very successful Huracan,” Mohr said. “First we start with the classical matrix, you know, matrix for potential, also weight of the engine… But then we added also one column that is very important for our brand, and this means that we say the ‘emotional perception’ of the engine.

“And I can tell you that from our point-of-view, it was quite clear at the beginning that it has to be a turbo engine. Why? Only because at the end, the power level of the segment was increased in the last years, dramatically. And for sure with a naturally-aspirated one, for instance, considering we could’ve decided to continue with V10, we would have to increase dramatically the displacement. And at the end of the day, then we would end up with displacement close to the Revuelto, and then we would have, let me say, two cars with a quite similar architecture with two naturally-aspirated engines.”

The petrol-electric hybrid powertrain manages to make 677kW of power, can launch 0-100km/h in just 2.7 seconds and has a top speed of 340km/h. But Mohr said statistics and outright performance are not Lamborghini’s main priority, and instead ensuring a car is both fast and makes the driver feels special comes first. That’s why the new engine revs so high, in order to create a more dramatic and emotional experience from behind the wheel.

“If you speak about Lambo, the brand DNA has to be always the maximum emotionality that you can have in the segment,” he said. “This is our DNA, therefore, it starts with the sound. But not only [sound] it’s also about the vibration that you feel, the shifting perception, how the car is rotating in the corners. So everything has to be the number figure. Therefore, like I said, to be honest, we could have a much easier life if you look only at the performance figures.

“The V8 was not needed, the V6 would also be enough and also the 10,000 revs, it’s not needed for the power output. You can generate exactly the same, let me say driving dynamics, from the pure number point-of-view with the engine that is only revving to 8,000, like most of the competitors. We are doing this extra mile exactly for this reason, what you mentioned, to transport the maximum emotion to the customer.”