With the dawning of a new era of hybridization in the automotive industry, more and more manufacturers are integrating electric propulsion into their lineups. Mild-hybrid systems are well-established, and more beneficial plug-in hybrid systems keep getting better and better. Even Lamborghini’s participating in the latest wave of hybridization, which might come as a surprise to some.
That’s because this Italian company’s outlandish supercars have never been regarded as thrifty, or ever trying to be thrifting. They’ve always returned old-truck-like fuel economy thanks to their ravenous 10- and 12-cylinder engines. And their innate ability to make those behind the wheel drive them as inefficiently as possible doesn’t help, either.
But by God, it’s a reality in the 2025 Lamborghini Revuelto, the Italian brand’s top V12-powered model. Its plug-in hybrid system is mainly there to up the thrills, but surprisingly, it can also return respectable fuel economy with no downsides to its ravenous driving experience. Here’s how $612,858 (before costly options) worth of Lambo slots into our current golden age of hybridized high-performance.
Lamborghini goes out of its way to call the Revuelto its first-ever plug-in hybrid HPEV (high-performance electric vehicle), and it truly is: a 3.8 kWh battery sends juice to two AC motors mounted on the front axle, and another attached to the transverse-mounted eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. By default, the mighty Lambo comes to life without firing up its engine, instead sending power to the front motors for backing up (there’s no reverse gear), as well as offering up to five miles of EV-only range.
That may sound comically low, but considering just 30 miles of normal driving can fully top it back up, it’s more useful than one might assume. If I was allowed more mileage for my press loan, I would’ve loved to run the battery down on the highway, firing up the engine until it was recharged, and repeating the process until the tank ran low.
Its plug-in hybrid system is mainly there to up the thrills.
After all, it’s rated at 23 MPGe—12 combined without hybrid assistance. The latter barely beats its Aventador predecessor and means this thing carries a $4500 gas guzzler tax for not meeting minimum fuel efficiency standards. Not many PHEVs can claim that honor.
That said, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to come close to 23 MPGe. Over a generally traffic-free, 15-mile stretch of Los Angeles freeway with radar cruise control set to 75 mph, I was able to easily exceed 21 MPGe. Not only that, it prioritized EV propulsion for passing slower cars while the engine sat dormant at a very calm 2,000 rpm in eighth gear. Despite some significant road noise, this brutish supercar was rather relaxing on the highway. But exiting off and transitioning to twistier blacktop high up in California’s San Gabriel Mountains, it quickly became anything but.
As the Revuelto is Lamborghini’s flagship V12 supercar, the specs are insane: its 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 screams to 9,500 rpm and produces 814 horsepower and 535 lb-ft of torque. The three motors contribute up to an additional 296 hp and 364 lb-ft, reaching a peak total output of 1,001 hp and 1,044 lb-ft of torque. You’d never know from behind the wheel that this thing weighs 4,290 pounds, as 0-60 mph happens in just 2.5 seconds, and 150 arrives in less than 10.
If the main reason for hybridization is pure excitement, then I’m here for it. Launching off the line, you feel the motors punch down low as the V12 revs up, and once the tach needle reaches the midrange, all hell breaks loose in wonderful electron-flowing and fuel-burning harmony.
The Revuelto doesn’t hold back in its pursuit of filling the cabin, and several city blocks in either direction, with glorious V12 music. It’s endlessly entertaining regardless of mode and RPM, even lightly cruising around between 3,000 and 4,500 RPM. I’d never been so content having a ringing in my ears as I did filling up its 22.5-gallon fuel tank twice in one weekend.
The shove back in the seat while ripping off the line is truly something special, too. I’ve had the honor and privilege of driving some thrilling hardware during my tenure in automotive journalism, but this takes the cake for all-out savagery. Upshifts seamlessly continue the effort forth towards felony offenses, and once it’s time to slow down, some light gearbox whine and sharp puck noises make for buttery smooth, GT3 race car-like downshifts. It’s all intoxicating.
The Bolognese brand didn’t just make the Revuelto faster and optionally thriftier. Active aerodynamics sitting atop the rear deck to help it cut through the air 66 percent more efficiently, as well as bleed off speed. Carbon fiber and aluminum comprise its chassis and bodywork, making it 10 percent lighter and 25 percent more rigid than its predecessor. Combined with a mix of adaptive dampers and double-wishbone independent suspension, its rectangular battery pack mounted in what used to be called the transmission tunnel, all-wheel drive, plus its mid-engine layout, this thing is a monster at corners.
Conveniently, switching between damper and motor settings, as well as drive modes, was quite easy as they’re all done on the steering wheel. I’ve never been a big fan of complication here, but Lamborghini’s method works great.
This thing is a monster at corners
The steering itself possessed decent weight under cornering and sufficient communication, tack-sharp front-end response, and above all, the perfect ratio for high-performance driving. It was so nice being far tilted back in the Lambo’s sport seat (this was very necessary, as headroom is at a high premium for tall folks), hands at nine and three, and getting into a daze-like rhythm of carving corners at breathtaking speed. While power delivery was merciless, it was quite easy to tame with smooth inputs and thoughtful downshifts, which weren’t as frequent as other exotic fare thanks to the engine’s sky-high redline.
The end result was reaching well-traveled mountain top landmarks in a shockingly short amount of time. All while experiencing an immensely good ride quality in either its stiffer or softer damper mode, too—a testament to how much engineering went into this beast’s chassis dynamics.
The 2025 Lamborghini Revuelto is unlike anything I’d ever driven before. I may not have fit very well inside, the seat back may have been designed for someone a foot shorter than me, but goddamn was it totally worth it.
Not only was the sensation of a screaming, 6.5-liter V12 behind me something beautifully unique, but behind all the drama was a chassis tremendously potent in its grip and athleticism. Then, its unparalleled mix of 12-cylinder ferocity plus hybridization created a harmoniously hilarious good time. It even returned admirable fuel economy numbers for a supercar, if I wanted… but I mostly didn’t, as its consumption proved to be one of the wisest financial investments ever.
Photography by Peter Nelson / The Verge
Source: The Verge
