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By Jonathan Crouch

Lamborghini's Temerario proves that the Sant' Agata maker's future is in safe hands. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 50

Going forward, the Temerario will be Lamborghini's core sports car - and represents a change of direction for this famous brand. The switch to V8 power and PHEV drive will be new for the fortunate few who will own one of these. But the explosive drive experience might be familiar.

Backgroundword count: 140

It's hard to imagine a Lamborghini sports car without cylinder count measured in double digits. The brand's fastest offering, the Revuelto, still offers a throbbing V12, even with a PHEV system in tow. And the Italian maker's core sports car of modern times, the Huracan, was always based around a legendary normally aspirated V10. It's replacement though, this Temerario, gets a twin turbo 4.0-litre V8 - and it's a PHEV, or (in Lamborghini terminology) a 'High Performance Electrified Vehicle'. A fresh era truly has arrived for the Sant' Agata marque. It's interesting that this car rolls out of the same Neckarsulm Audi factory that used to produce Ingolstadt's old R8 super sportscar. Had we had a replacement third generation R8, this Temerario might have been it. But this is an R8 let off the leash. And a Lamborghini to savour.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 368

We'd understand if, like us, you consider that the idea of a Lamborghini sports car with a V8 engine feels somehow, well, wrong. But this 4.0-litre V8 isn't like the Audi unit the brand borrows for its Urus SUV. No: this is a proper Sant' Agata engine. A throbbing flat-plane-crank powertrain with titanium conrods, motorsport-derived valve gear and the biggest turbochargers it was possible to fit. As a result, it has an awful lot more power than any Huracan ever had - 920hp, 800hp from the V8 and the rest from the incorporated Plug-in Hybrid system's three motors. One of these motors is crammed between the engine and the rear-mounted eight-speed dual clutch transmission; the other two sit up front where they independently drive (and sometimes strategically slow) each front wheel. The combination delivers AWD traction - and quite astonishing performance, even by supercar standards. 62mph flashes by in just 2.7s en route to 213mph flat out. And the engine makes up for the two cylinders it's lost over the Huracan's old normally aspirated V10 by revving much higher - to a heady 10,000rpm. It doesn't actually need to; most of the meaningful thrust has been delivered by 7,000rpm: the rest is mainly about sound and fury - which is exactly the way it should be in a Lamborghini. Lots of power means the need for lots of cooling - 50% more than the Huracan required. But the airflow necessary for this is managed so effectively that Temerario has 103% more downforce than its predecessor. It carries around 300kg more weight, but that bulk (much of it from the 3.8kWh hybrid battery sandwiched between the seats) has been used strategically, lowering the centre of gravity. All of this, combined with the latest asymmetrical electric torque vectoring technology, means cornering grip is astonishing. But if you don't want it, a drift mode lets you pick one of three rear-out angle settings via a control knob. More normal modes are dealt with by steering wheel rotary controllers. The one on the left switches drive modes ('Strada', 'Sport' and 'Corsa'). The one on the right deals with powertrain ('Recharge', 'Hybrid', 'Performance' and 'EV'); yes, EV. Battery range is about 5 miles.

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