For all of the new Lamborghini Temerario‘s cutting-edge tech, there’s still plenty of old school about it. The name itself is a reference to a fighting bull from the late 19th century, in true Lambo tradition. And just looking at it, there’s little mistaking what lineage this 907-horsepower wedge belongs to. But perhaps one of the Temerario’s most surprising firsts is its use of forced induction, because no production Lamborghini supercar ever has before.
Oh sure—the Urus SUV packs turbos, but that’s not quite a supercar regardless of its capabilities. Every Lamborghini product before it was naturally aspirated. The reason for that, in the words of Lamborghini Squadra Corse vice president Maurizio Reggiani, was simple:
“We never [used forced induction] because our vision was that the sound of the V12, the frequency of the V12, cannot be done with a turbo,” Reggiani told Autoblog two years ago. “Clearly, today you have so many filters in the exhaust system that the sound is reduced.”
Sound aside, the Temerario’s 739-hp twin-turbo V8 certainly won’t be struggling in the frequency department. It revs to 10,000 rpm—an even greater achievement for a car that isn’t naturally aspirated—and Lamborghini considers that a record for a “production super sports car engine.” You can lament the discontinuation of many free-breathing engines with high cylinder counts on the global tightening of emissions, but if Lamborghini is able to offer a five-figure redline as a consolation prize, well, that’s a damn good consolation prize.
Of course, many Lamborghini owners and tuners have taken it upon themselves to turbocharge the company’s masterpieces over the years, against the company’s own judgment. One of the most famous examples is this cherry red Countach LP400S from 1980, engineered by Franz Albert and said to churn more than 700 hp. The Temerario looks stunning as is, though a pair of all-caps “TURBO” decals on the side sills couldn’t hurt, right?
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