Lamborghini's Revuelto SV Has More Power, But That's Not What Makes It So Much Better

Since the dawn of motoring, performance engineers have been trying to do more with less. In the case of Lamborghini, though, it's usually been about doing more with more. This is a brand known for big cars with big wings powered by big V12s.

The Revuelto is the latest of those. That 1,001-horsepower machine made a stir thanks to a trio of electric motors that not only added power but poise, too, enabling a torque-vectoring system at the front axle that worked like magic to help the car turn. When I first drove it back in 2023, it absolutely rocked my world.

Now, Lamborghini has a new version, the Revuelto SV, and while it adds a bit more power, the real story is how it delivers it. A bigger battery, a more advanced hybrid package, and an injection of sensor-fusion technology create a 1,050-horsepower raging bull that's delightfully easy to drive.

The bulk of the power in the 2027 Lamborghini Revuelto comes from the same place that it does in the base version: A 6.5-liter, naturally aspirated V12. That means no turbochargers and no superchargers, but that doesn't mean it's unassisted.

The gas engine is mated to an electric motor, the first of three, which not only adds more power to the rear wheels, but can also act as a sort of recuperative traction control. Whenever the rear wheels start to spin, instead of the car cutting the throttle, it instantly cranks up regenerative braking, preventing wheelspin and recharging the battery.

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Two more electric motors live up front, one per wheel. This setup not only gives the Revuelto all-wheel drive, but also lets the car spin or slow each wheel individually. This enables the 3,907-pound Revuelto SV to feel far more nimble than it should.

The Lamborghini's total system output, with engine and motors combined, is 1,050 horsepower. That's 64 more than the Ferrari SF90 Stradale.

That's much the same architecture as the base, 1,001-horsepower Revuelto, the V12's output of 814 horsepower is exactly the same. So where do the extra 49 ponies come from? The answer is an upgraded electrical system.

The 2027 Revuelto SV features a 7.3-kWh battery pack, up from 3.8 in the original. Cylindrical cells, like those used in the Tesla Model S, help provide that big increase in capacity. Equally importantly, the new pack has a higher maximum charge and discharge rate.

That means more power under acceleration and greater recharging of the battery under braking. Meanwhile, the extra capacity lets the car lean on those electric motors for even longer without running out of charge.

Those electric motors on the front axle let the base Revuelto do some interesting things, braking or spinning opposing wheels to pull the car through the corners. In the Revuelto SV, Lamborghini raises the bar with an integrated sensor and dynamics package.

Like in the new Urus SE Performante, Lamborghini integrated things like stability control, traction control, and anti-lock braking into a central system that feeds on data pulled from a six-dimensional sensor. This sensor monitors both motion and rotation along the typical axes (X, Y, and Z).

That extra insight into the car's current state, combined with the software to integrate all that together, means the Revuelto SV is on another level when it comes to braking, accelerating, and turning.

To get the most out of that new control system, the Revuelto SV has an additional drive mode that Lamborghini calls Pilota. It's a step above the raciest mode in the Revuelto, Corsa.

Pilota mode is designed exclusively for the track and has five different levels. Choose level one if you're on a slippery track or maybe are still getting a feel for your 1,050-horsepower hypercar. Or, dial all the way up to level five if you really want to feel what the thing can do, both in terms of outright power and cornering capability.

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It's a little like the Performance Traction modes that fiesty Corvettes like the Z06 and ZR1 have had for years, but with a sleek red button and dial that sits front and center on the race-minded steering wheel.

It wouldn't be an SV (which stands for Super Veloce, or "Super Fast" in Italian) without a raft of other upgrades, and Lamborghini's engineers really went to town with this one. The first upgrade is more carbon fiber, from the lightweight bucket seats to the giant fixed wing on the back. All that, plus some other weight savings elsewhere in the car, makes the Revuelto SV 17 pounds lighter than the base car despite the bigger battery pack.

It has an upgraded set of Brembo brakes, relying on a different type of carbon than before. These CCM-R Plus brakes cool 23% better than the other ones, while offering 11% stronger deceleration. They're paired with a new set of tires from Bridgestone. While the Potenza Race Rs are optimized for on-track use, they are still street legal so you can flex that semi-slick tread pattern at your next Cars & Coffee.

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A radically different suspension setup is the final big upgrade. Where the base Revuelto has adaptive dampers on all four wheels, the SV has a set of high-end, race-spec dampers with four-way adjustability. They enable far more precise suspension tuning than before.

However, where the base Revuelto can change suspension settings at the touch of a button, the Revuelto SV requires the owner to manually twist a set of knobs on each damper. Fumbling around in a fender well is hardly luxurious, but the resulting performance is worth the effort.

Lamborghini invited me out to drive the 2027 Revuelto SV at a track called Vallelunga, which just so happens to be the same place where I drove the original Revuelto three years ago. That made it the perfect place to feel what's new this year.

I confess that I wasn't expecting much. After all, 49 more ponies in a car with over 1,000 just seems impossible to detect. But it was the brakes that made the strongest first impression. They're razor-sharp, so much so that I was slowing down too much for each turn.

Coming out of the corners, though, I immediately felt the extra power from the electric motors. The car is much more eager than before, leaping forward with the kind of instant aggression you expect from a performance hybrid.

You get the quick kick from the electric motors when you first dip into the throttle, and then a moment later the big V12 is screaming and driving you all the way up to the car's 9,500 redline, all the while filling your ears with a beautiful sound.

The dynamics enabled by the suspension and Pilota mode, plus the grip of the tires, creates a car that is remarkably playful. I started in Pilota level one to be safe, but quickly worked my way up to level five, where I could really feel the balance of the car. It was very happy sliding through the corners, understeering or oversteering at will, and doing an excellent job of making me smile.

The 2027 Lamborghini Revuelto SV is an addictive mix of electrified urgency and internal combustion power, paired with a next-gen stability control system so advanced you can barely feel it.

It's not often that I've driven cars with this much power and found them to be this approachable, but the Revuelto SV manages to hide its weight without losing its intensity. It's simply a joy to drive. An expensive one, though: The Revuelto SV starts at $741,172 (plus $3,995 destination).