Lamborghini CEO talks new hybrid supercar, and the 'YOLO' effect boosting sales

CARMEL, Calif. — Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann will likely go down as one of the most influential leaders in the Italian luxury automaker’s history.

From getting the Gallardo supercar launched back in the early 2000s, to shepherding the Urus SUV into the marketplace 15 years or so later to a smashing sales success, much has happened over the years, across his two stints at Lamborghini.

Now with the much-loved Huracán supercar heading out to pasture, Winkelmann’s latest release is the Temerario, the successor to the Huracán.

Though the Temerario lacks the much-loved V-10 naturally aspirated motor that powered the Huracán, Winkelmann believes its evolution will still bring the passion for the Lamborghini faithful. The new Lambo’s V8 bi-turbo engine still revs to an astounding 10,000 RPM. That combined with three electric motors — two on the front axle, one between the engine and the gearbox — provide 907 horsepower, taking the Temerario from from zero to 60 mph in just 2.7 seconds, all the way up to a 212 mph top speed.

“You have to be more performing than the generation before, and this including handling behavior, so the weight to power ratio is paramount for the success for us, because this is one of the peculiarities of Lamborghini,” Winkelmann said to Yahoo Finance from the Lamborghini stand at the Quail event, held during Monterey Car Week.

Winkelmann believes the ability for the hybrid powertrain to reduce emissions through its battery system, and improve performance with the electric motors is “the right direction for Lamborghini.”

It’s the recipe the company is following with the success of the Revuelto hypercar , the big brother to the Temerario which has a V12 hybrid powertrain. The Revuelto is sold out for at least the next year of production, if not longer.

While introducing a brand new, cutting edge supercar is a great success for the automaker, it comes as the luxury consumer has hit some speed bumps . Concerns about a slowdown in the US and abroad, global tensions, and high interest rates are taking their toll.

Winkelmann acknowledges those concerns, but for his particular clientele, they are still buying.

“Since the end of the covid, we have this ‘YOLO’ effect - you only live once - which, despite the global crisis we have here, or the crisis we have here and there, in the markets, geopolitics changing, we're still going strong, and the people still want to buy those cars, and we have a long waiting time,” he said when asked about his buyers.

While his fingers are “crossed,” he said, the sales data shows the Italian company - part of the Volkswagen (VWAGY) empire - is one of the few successes in the luxury automotive world.

One doesn’t have to follow in the footsteps of a storied rival like Ferrari, if it can build its own organic passion through bold design for its supercars like the Temerario, and cutting edge powertrains that now count hybrid power across all its vehicles. Winkelmann has shown since the release of the Gallardo some 20 years ago, that this is indeed possible.

“This year is going in a perfect way, we had another record first six months in 2024,” Winklemann notes. “So if things are going ahead like this, the year 2024 will be a very good one for Lamborghini.”

Can the YOLO effect last through the balance of the year, and beyond? Winkelmann and Lamborghini believe they have the right recipe in place.

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance covering the auto industry. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram .