Driving Lamborghini’s $600,000 Ultra-Powerful Plug-In Hybrid
4 min
No longer are supercars powered strictly by muscular V8 and V12 engines, producing a mighty roar as they burn gallons of gas at a ferocious rate. Today’s entries can have hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or pure electric drive. But they’re still awesomely fast, with neck-snapping acceleration.
The new Lamborghini Revuelto, a novel form of plug-in hybrid, puts out an eye-opening 1,001 horsepower (with 739 pound-feet of torque) via a combination of three electric motors (two on the front axle) and a mid-mounted—and exposed to the elements—V12 that, by itself, produces 825 horsepower. It manages to produce more power with some beneficial weight loss. That’s coupled to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic (with manual paddles) and a 3.8-kilowatt-hour battery pack (with LG cells) that gives the Revuelto five or six miles of all-electric travel.
Hybrid drive in the Revuelto is not so much to achieve better fuel economy, though that’s one result, but is primarily a way of boosting power output as needed. It also yields all-wheel drive. Sales started early this year, and Lamborghini plans to produce about 1,500 to 1,600 Revueltos annually (with the supply limited by the company’s ability to produce its carbon-fiber structure). The inventory is sold out until 2026. As is true of many supercar companies, the SUV is the biggest seller—Lamborghini produces about 5,000 Urus SUV models each year.
Lamborghini photo
The list price of the 2024 Revuelto is US$604,363. As tested, with the biggest option being US$13,100 for the special grayish paint, the bottom line was US$681,258. Lamborghini handed over the Revuelto keys at the 140-acre Wildflower Farms resort in Gardiner, N.Y., for a 90-minute drive around the scenic Hudson Valley. Although the car is capable of a stated 217 miles per hour in the right context, it was still huge fun to drive it at much more moderate speeds on the curvy local roads.
Matteo Ortenzi, product line director for the Revuelto, explained that having two motors up front increases the opportunity for effective torque vectoring, which improves handling by delivering power to the individual wheels as needed. “The feel is of a lighter and more powerful car,” Ortenzi says. “We didn’t build the Revuelto just to say we did a hybrid.”
As in other hybrids, the Revuelto returns power to the battery on deceleration, a process called “regenerative” braking or in Ortenzi’s words, “using negative torque.” After the 90-minute drive, the Revuelto still had a 90% charge. Lamborghini doesn’t think owners will need to plug it in often, though it provides a charging cord. The charge portal is actually under the front hood, a “frunk” where the car has its limited luggage space.
Jim Motavalli photo
Entering through the vertically opening scissor doors requires some agility, but soon becomes second nature. Leg room is good, and the bolstered seats hold the driver in firmly—a good thing considering the speeds and g-forces the car can achieve. The gauges are brightly digital, with huge single-digit numbers for the gear selected. There’s an 8.4-inch touchscreen mounted centrally, and a third 12.3-inch unit for the passenger. The start-stop button is under a military-grade protective cover.
The drive started in EV mode, yielding a quiet getaway that didn’t disturb resort guests. Small dials on the dash control the driving modes. Città (city) is for city electric, Strada (street) for comfortable cruising, Sport (self-explanatory), and Corsa (race, for total performance).
All the modes were sampled, but Strada was a nice balance of performance and driving pleasure. Sometimes using paddles seems not worth the bother, but in the Revuelto the big flippers provided instant gear changes and a nice feeling of control. Slowing down, the transmission acts on its own to downshift. Everything works together: the tight steering (with rear-wheel steering, too), the firm but not harsh suspension, and the hugely reassuring carbon-ceramic brakes. The engine barks out a very Italian song. It’s quite a driver’s car, though not one that can take the family to Disneyland.
Jim Motavalli photo
In the classic muscle car, huge V8 engines were stuffed under the hoods of regular passenger vehicles, sometimes without much thought as to how the powerful result would get around corners or stop. The Revuelto, despite that fearsome 1,001 horsepower, seems to have been fully engineered to handle what it puts on the ground. It can reach 62 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds, with the driver in firm control.
Plug-in hybrids like the Revuelto are a big step toward battery EVs. Lamborghini showed the Lanzador, a fully electric concept car, during Monterey Car Week in 2023. Exactly when a production model will appear is unclear. “It’s not when, but how,” Ortenzi says. “The world doesn’t need just another electric car; it needs an electric Lamborghini.”
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2 min
Sydney’s nightlife has long flirted with reinvention, but its latest arrival suggests something more deliberate is taking shape beneath the surface.
Razz Room, the new underground bar and disco from Odd Culture Group, has opened in the CBD, marking the group’s first step into the city centre.
Tucked below street level on York Street, the venue blends cocktail culture with a shifting, late-night rhythm that moves from after-work drinks to full dancefloor immersion.
The space itself is designed to evolve over the course of an evening. An upper bar offers a more intimate setting, suited to early drinks and conversation, while a sunken dancefloor anchors the venue’s later hours, with a rotating program of DJs and live performances.
“Razz Room will really change shape throughout a single evening,” says Odd Culture Group CEO Rebecca Lines.
“Earlier, it’s geared towards post-work drinks with a happy hour, substantial food offering, and music at a level where you can still talk.”
As the night progresses, that tone shifts.
“As the evening progresses at Razz Room, you can expect the music to get a little louder and the focus will shift to live performance with recurring residencies and DJs that flow from disco to house, funk, and jazz,” Rebecca says.
The concept draws heavily on New York’s underground club scene before disco became mainstream, referencing venues such as The Mudd Club and Paradise Garage. But the intention is not nostalgia.
“The space told us what it wanted to be,” Lines explains. “Disco started as a counter culture… Razz Room is no nostalgia project, it’s a reimagining of the next era of the discotheque.”
Design, too, plays its part in shaping the experience. The upper level is warm and textural, with timber finishes and burnt-orange tones, while the sunken floor shifts into a more theatrical mood, combining Art Deco references with a raw, industrial edge.
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