A Non-Hybrid Lamborghini Temerario Isn’t Going To Happen

Lamborghini recently revealed its GT3-class racing version of the Temerario supercar, and it’s missing a major component: the electric motor. Unlike the road car, the race car is not a hybrid. Naturally, that left us wondering if the Italian automaker would consider non-hybrid variant of the road-going Temerario. Fortunately for us, and for you, dear readers, we were able to bring up the idea to Lamborghini’s Chief Technical Officer Rouven Mohr. Mohr told us that we shouldn’t expect any non-hybrid road cars because the Temerario’s incredible performance and engine specs would not be possible without that electric motor.

The Temerario Plays To The Strengths Of Electric And Combustion Power

Just as a refresher, the Temerario uses a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 combined with one electric motor on the engine, and two motors at the front of the car. The engine makes a massive 789 horsepower all on its own (908 with the motors), and it revs to 10,000 rpm. As Mohr explained, to get an engine to do that requires an engine made for high revs, which doesn’t make much low-end torque. To have boost all the way to that huge redline also requires large turbochargers that don’t necessarily spin up quickly at low rpm. Put all that together, and you would have an engine that would be slow and unresponsive down low. Mohr continued:

Just as the combustion V8 is fantastic for high-rpm power, electric motors are superb for low-rpm torque and instant response. It fills in at the bottom while the engine spins up to its power-producing revs. Plus, those two front electric motors offer additional traction, power, and some torque-vectoring trickery. The electric motors enable the engine to really shine.

The Race Car Proves Mohr’s Point

Now of course, a non-hybrid Temerario is possible as proven by the GT3 race car. In fact, the race car couldn’t have electric motors due to class restrictions. Just as Mohr said, though, the lack of electric motors meant that the engine had to be adjusted to be more flexible, and as a result, it doesn’t have the headline-grabbing specs that the road car does.

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The Lamborghini Temerario GT3 Says No To Hybrid, Yes To Race Tracks

Debuting at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Temerario GT3 follows in its successful Huracán predecessor’s tradition of privateer racing.

Mohr explained that smaller turbochargers had to be fitted. With a bit less top-end boost and more restrictive plumbing, the redline was reduced to under 9,000 rpm, rather than the road car’s 10,000 rpm. Power is down significantly, too, to just 550 hp, as opposed to the more than 789 from the road-car’s combustion engine alone. Naturally, it also loses the driven front wheels. So it really is true. It’s not just a case of needing to be cleaner and more efficient. The Temerario is only able to be the high-tech, high-revving, high-power monster that it is because it’s a hybrid. In this case, electric power allows combustion power to be the best it can be.