Lamborghini Says Its 10,000-RPM V8 Will Stick Around for a Long Time

The Lamborghini Temerario is electrified, but it’s not electric. There’s a difference. Rather than ditching internal combustion for battery power, the Sant’Agata manufacturer developed a new V8 that works in concert with electric motors to make 907 horsepower. You can argue that it doesn’t sound as good as the old Huracan’s V10—which I would push back on—but it still revs to 10,000 rpm. And according to Paolo Racchetti, the Temerario product line director, it’s not going anywhere for a long time.

The Drive spoke with Racchetti at a media event earlier this week. During our conversation, we asked a simple question: How are you thinking about the future of this V8?

“We have talked about it, and it’s an engine that is designed to stay for at least two life cycles,” Racchetti responded. “Because we carefully thought about what to do, and we have a plan of improvement for it. So we know what we can do and how we can improve it for the future.”

Given that the Huracan’s life cycle lasted 10 years, you can pretty much bet on this high-revving, twin-turbo 4.0-liter running deep into the next decade.

It wasn’t hard to get Racchetti to talk more about the engine. Everyone at Lamborghini is pretty proud of it, considering they were able to maintain the astronomical rev limit while incorporating forced induction. In fact, the Temerario’s flat-plane crank V8 revs higher than the Huracan’s naturally aspirated V10 ever could. It doesn’t lose any of its character that way.

According to Racchetti, 10,000 rpm was always the goal:

“It’s the connection to the racing. The motorsport engines are running over 10,000 [rpm], so 10,000 was our entry point there. Then we have a little bit of space over 10,000. But nevertheless, that was the target we gave ourselves. And it was driven by the idea that we had to replace something iconic like the V10 with something that could be even more iconic.

“Because it is unique. It’s something that nobody else is offering. And definitely, the combination of a turbo engine with 10,000 RPM was a challenge that led us to make technical choices that are really rooted in the racing experience. Create a flat [plane] crankshaft, but minimizing the inertia, the titanium connecting rods, and the machined lightweight pistons are solutions that are coming from motorsport.”

Excitement like this is refreshing for gearheads after years of hearing the best gas engines would be forced out with the rest of ’em by 2035, if not sooner. The course seems to be reversing in the U.S., at least for the time being, and many automakers are insisting to other governments that such a timeline to phase out internal combustion is unrealistic. There was even a time not long ago that Italy pressured the EU to exempt Lamborghini and Ferrari from a future gas engine ban—y’know, because of the heritage and all.

Finally, Racchetti asserted that Lamborghini plans to guard this particular V8 for the Temerario. The Urus SUV currently uses a different 4.0-liter V8, and apparently, this one won’t fit in there without significant modifications. (Yes, we asked.)

“I really think it’s a signature, so it’s something that we have to [limit] as much as possible to the Temerario because it will make the Temerario what it is, giving it this unique soul and this unique driving experience,” Racchetti continued. “So to me it’s really important that it will be the distinctive component for this platform.”

I don’t know. I feel like Lamborghini might budge if enough Angelenos signed on the dotted line for a limited run of 10,000-rpm Uruses.

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