The Lamborghini Revuelto feels like an Audi R8, but that's no bad thing
It might be all-wheel drive, hybrid and more complex than ever, but the Revuelto proves that this isn’t always a recipe for reduced thrills
Electrification is one thing, but the introduction of all-wheel drive into each and every corner of the performance car world has drastically reshaped the landscape for good. While it might make for bigger numbers, it’s undoubtedly taken the edge off some of our favourite driver’s cars – thankfully, though, there are exceptions, as we discussed in evo podcast episode 16.
A total of 1001bhp from a triple-motor assisted 6.5-litre V12 put the Lamborghini Revuelto firmly within reach of through and through hypercars, but unlike some cars of its kind, it performs beyond the marketing brochure. As editor at large Richard Meaden and senior staff writer Yousuf Ashraf discovered in evo issue 333’s all-wheel drive mega test, it’s one of the greatest modern supercars we’ve seen.
> Lamborghini Revuelto review – a worthy successor to the Aventador?
Meaden said: ‘Given it's trying to blend the big V12 and electric motors while still keeping the car feeling neutral and rear biased, it's super impressive. What you put in is what you get. It reminds me of an Audi R8 actually, because they're the least all-wheel drive feeling cars aren't they? Always have been. You wouldn't know it's four-wheel drive.’
‘I think if you drove an Aventador it would feel like you're driving a 20 year old car even though it's actually only just been replaced, so I think if you wanted to put someone that's never been in any of those sorts of cars before, that would be the one that would give them a lot of the Countach, Diablo kind of raw propulsive energy, but then with all this refinement it's just a really really clever car.’
Lamborghinis of old are chock full of character but they're far from scalpel sharp: ‘With older Lamborghinis there was a pause and then you lunged off down the road, and then you didn't really feel the need or want to go through a corner particularly quickly but the Revuelto gives you all of that excitement and then you can really enjoy pushing it through the corners as well, so it's a much more complete car but it doesn't seem to lose any of the old school thrill you would want to have in a V12.’
Electrification hasn’t dampened that trademark Lamborghini theatre, either, with Meaden adding: ‘...it sounds brilliant inside and out. It still has that kind of Lamborghini occasion that Ferrari seems to have forgotten how to do lately.’
Yousuf continued: ‘On a basic level it feels like everything I wished a Lamborghini was like when I was a kid, and I know the Aventador/Murcielago they weren't actually completely living up to that standard but this feels like everything's come together, and it's got the drama and the noise, you're in a crazy cabin and you can drive it really hard at the same time. It's got all of those elements.’
To listen to our findings from issue 333’s all-wheel drive test, watch episode 16 in full here, and get your copy in the evo shop.
