The Lamborghini Temerario: A New King of the Quarter Mile
Move aside, Ferrari. The Lamborghini Temerario has officially claimed the title of the quickest vehicle with an internal combustion engine that MotorTrend has ever tested. This remarkable machine, powered by a 907-horsepower plug-in hybrid system, laid down a blistering 9.58-second quarter-mile run with a terminal velocity of 148.5 mph, narrowly beating the 2021 Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano by a mere 0.03 second.
Of course, electric vehicles (EVs) have already surpassed the Temerario’s straight-line speed. The Tesla Model S Plaid, Lucid Air Sapphire, and several variants of the Porsche Taycan Turbo have all posted faster times in our testing. However, none of these electrically powered marvels can match the sheer drama and visceral thrill that the Lamborghini delivers. The Temerario’s unique powertrain masterfully blends the immediate low-end torque of three electric motors with the sustained top-end pull of a twin-turbo, flat-plane-crank 4.0-liter V-8 engine, creating an unparalleled driving experience.
Lamborghini has always been a master of supercar theater, and the Temerario is no exception. To achieve the fastest times on the drag strip, drivers engage the steering wheel-mounted dials to select Corsa handling mode and Performance powertrain mode, then press the small checkered-flag button to activate launch control. Once launched, the car surges forward with controlled ferocity, the rear Bridgestone Potenza Race tires howling off the line as the V-8 revs to a screaming 10,250 rpm. The eight-speed dual-clutch transmission executes a brutally efficient upshift into second, chirping the tires again before repeating the process.
How Fast Is the Lamborghini Temerario’s 0–60-MPH Time?
You don’t achieve a 9.6-second quarter mile by dawdling off the starting line. The Temerario sprints from 0 to 60 mph in a mere 2.2 seconds. While this is incredibly fast, it’s not enough to be the absolute leader among internal combustion engine vehicles. The Lambo currently ranks third in our all-time records for a combustion-powered vehicle, trailing the Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano and the 2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S. However, the leadership is well within reach; it takes only 4.6 seconds to reach 100 mph, by which point the Lamborghini has already surpassed both the Ferrari and the Porsche.
The Plug-In Hybrid Powertrain Weighs on Braking Distances
When it comes time to slow down, the Temerario’s standard carbon-ceramic brakes bring the car from 60 mph to a stop in 96 feet. This is respectable, but certainly not as impressive as its acceleration figures. The plug-in hybrid powertrain likely hinders rather than helps the Temerario in this regard. Our test vehicle was equipped with the $84,100 Alleggerita package, which shaved 55 pounds, yet the car still weighed a hefty 4,185 pounds. As with the acceleration times, increasing the speed puts the Lambo in its best light. Stopping from 100 mph in 266 feet, the Temerario sits in a three-way tie for 12th place among the thousands of vehicles we have tested.
How Does This Bull Do in the Handling Arena?
MotorTrend’s figure-eight course is the ultimate test of a car’s performance. It combines cornering, braking, and acceleration into a single lap that reveals a car’s dynamics in both objective and subjective terms. When pushed to its limits, the Temerario grips the corners with 1.14 g of force on its way to a 22.3-second lap time. This places it 0.7 second behind our record holder—which is actually three record holders locked in a tie: the 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, the 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring, and the 2022 McLaren 765LT Spider. The starter Lambo’s lap time matches that of the 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder, the 2025 Lucid Air Sapphire, and two of its (much lighter) predecessors, the 2020 Huracán Evo AWD (3,645 pounds) and the 2021 Huracán STO (3,390 pounds).
We like to frame the figure-eight performance with a second number—the average g-force experienced throughout the entire lap from acceleration, braking, and cornering. The Temerario’s 1.05 g average means that for the entire lap, you are either being pushed from behind, pressed into your seat belt, or pinned against the bolster harder than gravity is holding you to the Earth.
While the Temerario’s raw performance numbers are undoubtedly impressive, arguably the biggest takeaway from this testing is that Lamborghini has successfully managed to maintain an exhilarating driving experience without sacrificing the numbers. Its Corsa mode keeps everything controlled for focused, fast laps, but the Lambo really loosens up in Sport mode, offering playful but easily controllable rotation. If that’s still not wild enough, the three-stage Drift mode is engineered to help you pull off spectacular slides. The Lamborghini Temerario is a cocktail of caffeine, adrenaline, and pure testosterone on four wheels. We look forward to sharing more details in a full road test coming soon.
