Test Driving the Lamborghini Temerario: What It Tells Us About an Audi R8 Successor

Words: Joe Kucinski

There have been rumors swirling around that Audi could potentially launch a third-generation R8 based on the Lamborghini Temerario supercar. To find out what that might be like, I took the Temerario out for a road test.

Lucky for me, I got to drive the Temerario in the most Audi-like conditions possible. The temperature was below freezing and dropping fast. Snow showers were moving in, and road salt and brine were all over the roads. Those conditions wouldn’t phase an Audi so why should an all-wheel drive, 907-horsepower Lamborghini be any different? It is easy to say any supercar is fantastic when it is 80 degrees and sunny. A true test is if the car can handle frozen roads with more potholes than a cross-drilled brake rotor. One concession to the weather was the Blizzak LM0005 snow tires mounted to the Temerario.

Pricing

The first thing we need to discuss is the price. The car I drove was specced out by Lamborghini. Much like a home builder puts every option available in their model home, this Temerario was loaded to the gills with options. As a result, the MSRP hovered near a budget-busting $650,000. A car with “reasonable” options would be closer to the $450,000 price point. Still a big ask, but at $650,000 the Temerario starts to make less sense as it is now encroaching on Revuelto territory. And the Revuelto packs a V12 hybrid setup instead of the V8 hybrid in the Temerario.

Let’s talk about that hybrid V8 for a moment. The 4.0L V8 spits out 789 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque on its own. The two front and one rear electric motor contribute the rest. The result is a combined 907 horses and 590 pound-feet of torque. The result is a car that is fast. It can rip to 60 mph in the low 2 second range. But honestly, once you are in a car that can do the deed in less than 3 seconds, it is really tough to tell one from another. Suffice to say the Temerario is quick, but does it feel worlds quicker than an Audi R8 V10 Performance? By perhaps the smallest margin only.

10,000 RPM

Back to that engine for a moment. It doesn’t sound as good as the Revuelto I drove last year, but that is to be expected being down four cylinders. But what was unexpected is how mechanical the engine sounded. It was almost like Lamborghini wanted to channel their tractor building roots for the Temerario. It is not at all unpleasant, but more workman like than the engines in other hybrid supercars I drove recently such as the Ferrari 296 GTB and McLaren Artura Spider. The last Audi R8 I drove was a V10 Spyder equipped with a Larini exhaust and that car sounded significantly sportier than the stock Temerario.

Still, this V8 hybrid is a marvel, and I think anyone would be thrilled to have a version of it in an Audi R8. The engine revs to 10,000 rpm. That is a rev limit that is almost impossible to comprehend. I was zipping along a back road and without looking at the rev counter my ears were telling me it was time to shift. But then I looked at the dash, and I was only turning 5,000 rpm. I had half the rev band to go yet. I have driven plenty of Porsche GT cars with 9,000 rpm rev limits so I thought that this would be similar. It isn’t. That additional 1,000 rpm is something you just have to experience. The car really comes alive once the engine is spinning above 8,000 rpm.

Daily Driver

Another surprising aspect of the Temerario is just how livable it is. If you ever sat in a Countach, you know that it is like looking through a bunker slit. The Temerario offers great sightlines. The view out front is expansive, and even the rear offers plenty of vision thanks to the lack of a giant rear wing. The car also has a ton of headroom. A six-foot-six buddy of mine sat in the car, and he had no issues getting comfortable. The interior of the roof above the driver and passenger is scalloped to offer additional headroom. The sport seats in the test car are manually adjustable and aggressive, but quite comfortable. I didn’t get to try the comfort seats, but they should obviously be more comfortable. And for the first time in a Lamborghini sports car the comfort seats are both heated and cooled.  

When driving in any of the more aggressive drive modes (Corsa or above) the ride can be a bit harsh but not anything you couldn’t live with. If you are looking for a more relaxing drive, you can dial it back to Sport or Strada mode and I found those modes to be quite comfortable even on the harsh winter roads. The car offers a total of 13 different drive modes, so there is one for every occasion. Much like the Audi R8, the Temerario could be a daily driver for you.

Watch Those Tires

It is a plug-in hybrid that you never have to plug-in. The car charges on the fly, so you really never have to plug it in. As I was driving, I watched the battery charge meter drop a bit and minutes later it was recharged to full capacity. There was no loss of performance as the car was being recharged, it was totally seamless.

Lamborghini consulted with Ducati on the design elements around the rear tires. The goal was to create a car that allowed a good view of the rear tires, just like on a motorcycle. They pulled it off. You get a great view of the giant rubber mounted out back. However, if you ever see a Temerario on the road, I advise you don’t get too close to the back of it. Those tires are going to be windshield killers to anyone unlucky enough to get too close to the car. But they sure look cool.

Brakes

The brakes on this car are fantastic. They are firm and reassuring. The pedal has very little travel before engagement. It actually reminded me a bit of the brakes in the Formula 2000 cars I raced back in the day.

Audi needs a car like this. Obviously, the price point needs to come down a bit. Maybe the engine isn’t as powerful and there is not as much carbon fiber and other tech. But the bones of this car are fantastic. It just felt like a slightly more exotic Audi. All the performance was there, but so was the daily drivability and even in the dead of winter, the car is a treat. The gear shifts are smooth as silk. The ride can be dialed in from comfort all the way to drift mode.

The Future Audi

Looks are subjective, but I think it looks great. Imagine a car that looks anything like this sitting in an Audi showroom. An R8 based on the Temerario might be beyond the budget of many. But everyone would want one. It would be that halo car that Audi hasn’t had since 2023.

Driving the new Lamborghini Temerario feels like a glimpse into the supercar future Audi walked away from when the R8 bowed out. Beneath the drama and Lamborghini attitude is familiar DNA. There is a shared engineering philosophy, cutting-edge electrification, and a focus on usable performance. Those elements would align perfectly with an Audi halo car. The Temerario isn’t an R8, but if Audi ever brings its supercar back, this may be the closest preview of what it could look and feel like.