Yahoo Finance Lamborghini's Temerario Is Inspired by Planes, Bikes and Hexagons
It's been 10 years since the Lamborghini Huracán began gracing roads with its naturally aspirated V-10, razor-sharp design, and compact cockpit, and what a decade it's been — but every good run comes to an end. Fear not, however, as the long-teased Huracán successor, the all-new Temerario, only makes right what the Huracán got wrong.
At least that's how Lamborghini design director Mitja Borkert sees it, speaking with Road & Track during a sneak peek at the supercar earlier this summer. As ever, the performance-forward fighting bull character remains, but Borkert says that a conscious effort to improve driver ergonomics and give the car an aggressive presence was key in the design team's clean-sheet efforts.
By the numbers, Lamborghini's entry-level model has grown in some ways and shrunk in others. While it adds 1.58 inches to its overall length versus the Huracán, the Temerario's most prominent physical shift is in its height, growing 1.3 inches taller compared to the outgoing model. Part of that is a result of greater accommodations for passenger, but Borkert said that raising the car also makes driving on the roads easier, in addition to a more convenient entry and exit for passengers.
Borkert and the rest of the design team found inspiration for this new model in the humble hexagon. Features from the daytime running lights to the protruding, exposed exhaust pipe to the taillights are hexagon-shaped, creating a common design characteristic between the supercar and its SUV sibling, the Urus. Plus, the hexagon-shaped lights actually serve a performance function, oallowing air to be funneled through the front end without turbulence and thus feeding the rear-mounted radiator out back.
"You need to recognize the Lamborghini by the silhouette, by the architecture, by the volume of the car," Borkert said, explaining that his job requires a strong sense of balance. "We have chosen a design language that is more futuristic, but also unseen in terms of surface treatment because it's a little bit more human."
Lamborghini's successor model is powered by a hybrid twin-turbo V-8, which created a set of packaging constraints for the design team. It'll be well worth the switch from the Huracán's V-10 in the end, what with the new car's 907 horsepower. Still, Borkert said that fitting in electric motors and a battery pack wasn't actually all that challenging.
"Honestly, I found that seamless. I mean, it's always a challenge and a big task to design a new Lamborghini because you need to make a big step into the future," Borkert said in a phone interview with Road & Track. "Together with all the technicians, we were saying, 'Let's watch that the wheelbase is not getting too long.' I was very carefully watching that the car is staying in proportion, while still being the lowest in the segment."
The Temerario's design language is steeped in performance of all kinds — two wheels included. Borkert has a healthy love of MotoGP, and he said that exposed pieces of the successor are a direct homage to the hot-pipe, naked look found on bikes by brands like Ducati. Likewise, the decision to leave some of its rear end exposed is purposeful, helping show off that meaty rear rubber.
"Lamborghini could only be influenced by a super sport motorcycle. I've been a big fan of superbikes since I was a kid. I'm fascinated by those bikes because of their dynamic shape and everything about it," Borkert said. "I like, for example, how sometimes the engine is visible, but then it's covered by the fairing and so on. You can see from the top view of the [Temerario's] engine bonnet, and then the way the exhaust is sticking out, the way we have those cooling outlets positioned, it is giving this superbike feeling."
Speed is paramount for Lamborghini, of course — and what better way to exemplify the physical experience of that than by modeling your interior after an airplane cockpit? While repeatedly using the term "feel like a pilot," Borkert said that the seated ergonomics and the tactile control surface experience are key to making a supercar seat feel like a flight deck. The steering wheel mounting point has been re-adjusted, the rocker panel has been slimmed down, and a fresh set of cool graphics all combine to make the cockpit feel like a fighter jet — while also being roomier than its predecessor.
"We were working on the roominess because it's a new generation. People are growing, and we want to have the customer able to drive this car with the helmet," Borkert said.
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