Lamborghini’s (VWAGY) latest creation, the Temerario supercar, has some big shoes to fill.

Let me rephrase that — the 900hp, all-wheel drive, plug-in hybrid Temerario with a 10,000 RPM turbo V8 has some big shoes to fill.

Che cosa?

That’s because it’s replacing the much-loved Huracán: the outgoing serpent-like, alien-looking creation equipped with a sublime, yet ferocious when needed, naturally aspirated V-10 engine.Say what? The Lamborghini Temerario in Blu Marinus. (pictures courtesy Lamborghini)·Lamborghini

The Huracán was amazing. But times are changing.

Around a year ago at Monterey Car Week, Lamborghini unveiled the Temerario, which loosely translates to “reckless” in Italian.

The long-in-the-tooth Huracán — which, believe it or not, is over 10 years old and shared some underpinnings with sister brand Audi’s R8 — needed a refresh. Lamborghini also sold 30,000 units of the $250K+ Huracán, its best-selling car ever. In other words, it couldn’t mess this up.Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann with the outgoing, and much loved, Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica.·Lamborghini

And with changing rules like emissions and electrified propulsion needed in certain European locales, hybrid power was needed. Lamborghini knew it had to convince buyers this wasn’t a “green” thing — it’s about performance. It did this convincingly with the Revuelto, its range-topping supercar that combines a V12 with a hybrid system, using electric motors more for performance than range.

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Lamborghini's CEO Stephan Winkelmann notes the car is completely new from top to bottom, including, of course, the new powertrain. It has to be exciting, he says, but also livable.

Lamborghini seems to have threaded that needle, at least for now: The car is sold out through its first year of production, he said, which is a nice start for the brand.

The driveThe Lamborghini Temerario in Blu Marinus.·Lamborghini

I took the Temerario on the track for a few sessions to put the car through its performance envelope.

Styling-wise, it’s a sleek, attractive car that fits the mold of what regular people envision when they think of a supercar. It's wide, low-slung, and angular. Not as extreme as the Huracán, but sexy in its own right.

The rear is more interesting, with its fully exposed V-8 engine out back and fenders with wide cut-outs exposing the car’s bulging rear tires, a nod to motorcycle design.

One area the Temerario vastly improves on the Huracán is the interior. Better materials all around, better infotainment and instrument cluster digital screens with nice animations —and more space owing to slightly larger dimensions. Fewer buttons is not a welcome change, though it seems most of these functions are now controls on the steering wheel.

On the track is where it all comes together.The Lamborghini Temerario in Blu Marinus.·Lamborghini

With its hybrid system, the Temerario features two motors powering each front wheel individually, giving the car true torque vectoring. That means the wheels can spin and apply force independently on their own.

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This also means that, while the rear wheels are powered by the monster V8, the front wheels can provide force at different times, like during an aggressive turn, keeping the car’s line true and giving extra assistance around corners. Traction is of course improved as well.

So handling-wise, the car feels a lot smaller than it really is, which makes even the most aggressive track easier to deal with.

But true heart of the beast is its twin turbo, flat-plane-crank V8 motor. Combined with the two motors up front and one sandwiched in between the 8-speed transmission, the Temerario has a mind-boggling 900hp on tap.The Lamborghini Temerario interior cabin.·Lamborghini

The engine alone is a marvel, able to spin up to 10,000 RPM. It is designed to keep pulling to that red line. Usually, most motors will start petering out at those heady levels.

This allowed the Temerario to hit ungodly, panic-inducing speeds on the straightaways of nearly 200mph, which then meant going hard on the brakes, and then into the next curve without losing it. Those front motors really helped get the car back on the proper race line if you braked too deeply into the first turn, for example.

The car allowed me to string faster lap after faster lap in succession, giving me confidence to push harder into every turn, and brake later.

Yes, it is overall a better car than the Huracán when it comes to aggressive track driving. And I’m sure it's a perfectly livable car too — meaning, in theory, you could take it around town to run some errands — though I didn't get the chance to drive on local roads.The Lamborghini Temerario in Blu Marinus.·Lamborghini

But I have a few complaints, believe it or not. The loss of the Huracán's V10 really hurts from an emotional point of view — the sound of the 10-cylinder revving higher is intoxicating.

Yes, the Temerario at 10,000 RPM screaming down the straightaway does give you that emotional kick, but most owners will not be pushing the car anywhere near that mind-boggling limit. Most owners will be driving around town or on some nice backcountry roads.

And though I said it was subjective, the styling for me is a bit too toned down too, at least compared to the outgoing Huracán. For a car that starts at $382,654 in the US, we would like more of a wow factor.

Lamborghini isn't done with the Temerario

Lamborghini won’t sit idly when it comes to special or updated versions of the Temerario. Performance models with aggressive styling and enhancements to the powertrain may mean more exciting versions could be coming.

This is all part of the game plan. And some buyers actually prefer the base models of Lamborghini’s creations because they are the purest form of these vehicles.

But, finally, I have to ask: Could we see a Temerario special edition combining a non-turbo screaming V8 with those trick electric motors up front, or one with an aggressive, race car-like aero package?The Lamborghini Temerario in Blu Marinus.·Lamborghini

Pras Subramanian is the lead auto reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.

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