The Lamborghini Fenomeno Is The Company’s Quickest, Most Powerful Car Yet

This angry-looking wedge of yellowness is the new Lamborghini Fenomeno, and it’s quite simply the quickest, most powerful car to ever come from a company with a long history of very quick, very powerful cars. Need we explain anymore?

Erm, yeah, we do actually, because the Fenomeno is also the latest in the line of what Lamborghini calls its ‘few-offs’, those limited-run things that take its ‘regular’ cars, clothe them in even more astonishing bodies and sell them in tiny numbers to those for whom a series production Lambo is just a bit too common. Think Reventon, Centenario, Sian and so on.

Fundamentally, the Fenomeno is based on Lambo’s current V12 flagship, the Revuelto, and uses the same 6.5-litre V12 hybrid system and eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. However, it turns everything up to 11 (and let’s face it, the base car was already at a solid 10). The V12 has a redesigned valvetrain that not only lifts its power output from 814 to 823bhp, but allows it to rev out to a goosebump-inducing 9500rpm.

The trio of electric motors, meanwhile – two powering the front axle, and a third mounted just above the gearbox – have had more juice squeezed out of them so they now make 242bhp rather than 187. The result is a peak combined output of 1065bhp, a whole kei car’s worth more than the Revuelto.

Lambo quotes a top speed of over 217mph, and the Fenomeno will hit 62mph in 2.4 seconds – a tenth quicker than its base car. 0-124mph, meanwhile, is dusted off in 6.7 seconds.

The aero’s had an overhaul, too. Those big nostrils up front aren’t just for show – they open up to an S-duct, which helps push the nose into the ground. The subtle sculpting in the roof is designed to channel air both into the engine’s intakes and out to the movable rear spoiler. Meanwhile, those vast air ducts on the side help to cool the engine 30 per cent more efficiently than the ones on a Revuelto.

Underneath, the biggest change from the Revuelto comes in the form of Brembo’s CCM-R Plus braking system. Originally designed for endurance racing and also featured on the Ferrari F80, it’s essentially a carbon ceramic setup turned up to 11, with a 3D carbon structure and a new coating designed to increase strength and reduce fade. The result is that even thinking about touching the left pedal in the Fenomeno should rearrange most of your major organs.

There’s a set of manually adjustable shocks, with a view to giving the Fenomeno a greater breadth of ride heights depending on whether it’s being used to peacock in a city centre or getting hammered around a racetrack. They have longer travel too, giving them a wider, more precise range of movement.

Also making its Lambo debut is a new 6D sensor, buried somewhere in the Fenomeno’s belly, close to its centre of gravity. This measures forces on six different planes, then feeds everything back to the car’s brain, which in turn can control its dynamic systems with more precision than ever. It’s all a bit complicated, frankly, but one result is a reduction in stopping distances of up to 10 per cent.

The new turbine-design wheels are racing-style centrelock items, measuring 21 inches at the front and 22 at the rear, and they’re wrapped in bespoke Bridgestone Potenza Sport rubber as standard. An even racier but still road-legal track-biased compound is optional.

Inside, the relationship to the Revuelto, including its triple-screen setup, is clear to see. The Fenomeno, though, brings more swathes of carbon fibre, which is also used for the brand new bucket seats. Naturally, that cabin as well as the exterior finish will be hugely personalisable through Lambo’s Ad Personam bespoke service.

Per Lambo boss Stephan Winkelmann: “The combination of the most powerful V12 in our history, breathtaking design, superior aerodynamics, and cutting-edge technologies such as extreme lightweight construction make the Fenomeno the most extraordinary super sports car of our time."

The company doesn’t give us a rough price for the Fenomeno, as is standard practice in the land of supercars these days. What we do know is how many examples will be offered up, presumably to Lambo's wealthiest and most loyal customers: just 29 Fenomenos will be made. If you miss out, though, we wouldn't worry too much – given how many limited models the old Aventador platform spawned, don’t expect this to be the last time we see the Revuelto spun off into something even more rarefied.