Meet the future of supercars

Recently I headed down to Melbourne to witness the launch of Lamborghini’s next chapter, a step into the future, its first foray into electrified vehicles – the Revuelto, which combines a V12 petrol engine with electric motors to create a Lambo hybrid.

While the technology is mind-bending, the new model name is a tongue twister. It’s a word that takes quite a bit of practise to say. It’s not Revolto. It’s REY – WEL – TOE… but roll your R. That’s Peck’s supercar speech lesson for the day. The plan is for the ReyWellToe to replace the Aventador as Lamborghini’s flagship car.

What does Revuelto it mean? It’s named after a glorious, raging bull from the 1880s but also can mean scrambled, churning or topsy-turvy or ‘there’s a drink somewhere that needs to get stirred’. It’s a nod to the hybrid powertrain that combines or scrambles a 6.5-litre naturally-aspirated V12 engine with three electric motors. The world is going wild and is mildly outraged over this title as in Spanish it also means scrambled eggs.

Lamborghini, along with the rest of the world’s car manufacturers are having to ease their core fan base into the future, because the future is electric and most of the people who can afford these cars possibly haven’t made their money caring about the environment or being sustainable. So they need a little coaxing. Emissions regulations are here to stay people, we have no choice but to go hybrid or electric so we can continue to live on this godly green earth for longer.

But to be fair, there’s a big difference between the feeling, sound and emotion of a natural aspirated engine and a battery. So Lamborghini have started with the Revuelto hybrid but done everything in their power to retain as many core elements of what we love about the aggressive nature of a Lamborghini. Including the V12, an engine that has required huge investment on their behalf and something that Lamborghini has identified as a key attraction to their core market but also to competitors customers who can’t get the V12 hybrid where they usually shop. They only other place they can get it is via the Aurora from little-known Danish maker Zenvo but that starts at $6.1 million and they aren’t available ’till 2025. So good luck with that one.

Shifting the sustainability angle to the side, aka stuff the environment, this car is ridiculous. It has a mind bending 1015-horsepower, goes 0-100km/h in 2.5 seconds and will hit a top speed of 350kph. It manages to make 30 per cent more power while producing 30 per cent less emissions than the Aventador – win-win.

Another important element is the sound – Lambo have created its ‘aerospace sound’ designed for maximum wow factor. Or perhaps you’d like to engage the quiet electric mode you will be able to leave your place at 6am to catch up with your other supercar buddies for a weekend spin and not set car alarms, dogs, neighbours or your local drug dealer off. You have 20km to make your silent escape, then you’ll need to switch to hybrid mode.

Visually it’s breathtaking; as are all Lamborghinis to be fair. The focus for the Revuetlo is the spaceship, galactic vibes and as you enter the cockpit the lines and design are meant to recreate an alien aura. I did indeed feel like an alien hoping in… mostly because I haven’t done enough sitting in Lamborghinis (besides one insane track day) to feel anything but alien. However, at 5’11, the ergonomics made me feel quite at home. They have adjusted the space to suit larger, taller humans/aliens. Even aliens with large heads or humans wearing helmets can now fit comfortably within the cockpit, something that’s been a problem in the past especially for tall journo’s at track days trying to record video with their head bent on a 90 degree angle.

GALLERY: 2024 Lamborghini Revuetlo

Creature comforts have also been added to the cockpit – cupholder (I couldn’t find them but apparently they’re there), a charging dock to hold your phone and more storage for bags.

The steering wheel has a plethora of buttons and galactic vibes that extend to the dash/HMI where the pilot and co-pilot have an interactive screen that you can swipe across to each other. So, if the co-pilot is looking at maps on their screen but they want the pilot to see maps on their screen they can just swipe the screens across from one screen to the other.

Expect a smoother ride with the redeveloped eight-speed gearbox which is now located at the back of the engine.

As with every Lamborghini, the Revuelto has custom-designed Bridgestone tyre able to cope with the hypercar pressures, such as launch control, providing perfect handling and performance. Similar to Cinderella, this shoe fits only one foot.

Another style feature is the exposed V12 engine in the rear, similar to how Bugatti style their supercars but not that common in many other luxury cars. The question was asked – what if it gets wet? The answer was, “that’s obviously something we’ve thought about, it will be fine.” Good to know.

You can pick it up in over 400 colour combinations to create your lairiest, most ostentatiously outrageous dream boat so you can be seen by aliens from outer space.

So how much and when can I get it? The price tag sits around $987,00 and it will land in the second part of 2024. Expect much more in the hybrid and electric space from Lamborghini in the near future.