More power for Lambo? Is 677kW in the Lamborghini Temerario all you’ll ever need? We asked the boss when enough is enough

In the early 1960s when Ferruccio Lamborghini was warming up for a punch on with Enzo Ferrari over the price of a clutch replacement for his 250 GT the already successful businessman famously took the bull by the horns and decided to make his own sports car.

The Lamborghini 350 GT dropped jaws around the automotive world when it debuted in 1964, not only thanks to its dramatic Carrozzeria Touring design, but the spectacular 3.5-litre quad-cam V12 under the bonnet.

A mildly-detuned racing engine, developed by mechanical maestro Giotto Bizzarrini, in production form it delivered 206kW and 325Nm. Big numbers for the time, and tellingly, appreciably more than the 176kW/262Nm 3.0-litre ‘Colombo’ V12 in the nose of Ferruccio’s 250 GT.

Cue a horsepower arms race between the two Italian icons that rages to this day.

Which got us thinking... the just released Lamborghini Temerario’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 triple motor hybrid powertrain pumps out 677kW, or around 920hp. The engine alone produces 588kW/730Nm (nearly three times the power and more than twice the torque of the 350 GT).

And that’s before you get to the big brother V12 hybrid Lambo Revuelto which knocks out a lazy 747kW (1002hp) and 1062Nm. To which Ferrari counters with the outrageous 3.0L V6 hybrid F80 at 883kW (1184hp). Shake your head territory.

But enter the rarified air of Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Pagani and their ilk and figures like these are almost cost of entry.

So, we cornered Lamborghini President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann at the Temerario’s global launch to ask him if 920hp is enough for their ‘junior’ supercar line, or whether his customers will be asking for more power in future models.

And you guessed it, his response was, “I’m sure about the fact that they will be even more powerful in the future.

“If I look at our path in the last 20 years, the first Gallardo was 500 horsepower (368kW). It was 20 years ago. It was a really fast car. 

“It was a moment in time when we thought they will not ask for more horsepower, but… they did. 

“However, the point is how to get the performance down to the road. So, how you can translate the power into something which at the end of the day is also perceived by driving the car. 

“What I see for example in the big electric cars is that you have so much acceleration that you feel sick. So, this is not our type of car. 

“A quarter mile is not interesting for us. Just to go fast on the straight is not what we aim for. This is for people that are not owning and liking those cars. 

“For us, it’s the combination of power and lightness and handling behaviours. So, how you get into the corner and out of the corner, braking, the perception that is giving you this easiness of driving, and also the emotional part.

“Acceleration, top speed and handling. And most important is handling. If I can choose one, it’s about how the car is behaving,” he said.

So, while making the point that power and acceleration without the dynamic ability to make best use of it is meaningless, Winkelmann is certain ever-more powerful and accelerative Lamborghinis are on the way.

Extrapolate the four-decade power increase from Lamborghini 350 GT to Temerario and by 2065, the raging bull’s compact supercar should be giving 3000hp (2237kW) a serious nudge. 

Remember, you heard it here first!