In static form, it looked the part. Yes, the naturally aspirated V10 had been jettisoned and an all-new (read – definitely not repurposed from the Urus) 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged plug-in hybrid V8 with three electric motors has taken its place, but the resulting numbers are exceptional.

A combined 907bhp meant it was up 305bhp on the Huracán when it was introduced in 2014, while a 0-62mph time of 2.7 seconds meant the baby Lambo was breaching hypercar territory. Incredibly for a twin-turbo road-going engine, it even revs to 10,000rpm with peak power arriving at 9k. Even the fairly chunky 1,690kg dry weight wasn’t enough to poor cold water on Sant’Agata’s latest creation.

But then, it was time to leave the studio and head down the road to Lamborghini HQ. Here, we would be treated to a demonstration of what the car sounds like. This part, I was really curious about as the howling timbre of the Huracán’s V10 was part of what made that car so special. Hell, without it there’s not a chance Lambo would have shifted nearly 30,000 units in just over 10 years.

For the audio demonstration, I was shown into a soundproof room with a camouflaged Temerario prototype taking centre stage. This wasn’t a finished car, but Lamborghini was clearly confident enough with how it sounded that they were happy for me to listen and record. There was even a PC simulator (complete with steering wheel and pedals) in the corner that would allow me to ‘drive’ a virtual version of the car and hear the sound it made in various drive modes.

Given the amount of time and effort that had clearly been spent on getting the V8 to sound as sonorous as possible (it was always going to be a talking point after the V10), I found it odd that I’d been allowed to experience it a) unfinished and b) static, while revving in neutral. Anyone will know that a car’s powertrain produces its best aural experience under load, foot-pinned into the carpet running through the gears. Not revving in out of gear in a sound-deadened room with no echoes.

As it turned out, my concern appeared justified. We knew the twin-turbo V8 would never sound as good as the V10, but I couldn’t help but feel after my audio experience that the Temerario was not shown – or rather, heard – in its best light.

From where I was stood, the sound while revving in neutral was akin to a superbike. Very smooth (as you’d expect from a flat-plane crank), but also lacking in the raw edge and character usually associate with a Lamborghini supercar. Interestingly, when I tried the Temerario on the simulator, there was much more intake sound, but only in the Corsa (Race) drive modes. So how much of this was thanks to the cabin sound symposer is up for debate.

I strongly believe that the finished Temerario will sound better than it did during my experience in the factory, but the question is why would Lamborghini be so willing to showcase it in a less-than-ideal environment. Could they be managing expectations following the end of the V10? Or is it more than that? Are we seeing Lamborghini move away from its reputation as the entertainer of the supercar pack? The loud, flamboyant, Hot Wheels-esque take on performance cars?

Well it’s possible that the Lamborghini is, arguably, moving into Ferrari territory more than ever before. The Temerario is, just like the 296 GTB, a mid-engined, twin-turbo plug-in tech fest teetering on the brink of hypercar territory and forging a path towards hybridisation for ever more.

In fact, when I spoke to Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann, he was very clear on his views around petrol and electric powertrains – ‘We don’t see hybrid technology as bridging technology anymore, we see it as something that could be here to stay. In our opinion, the supercar should stay hybrid as long as possible.’

He does also, however, admit that a lot depends on ‘political decisions’. In other words, it’s out of Lamborghini’s hands as to what powertrains are available for its future supercars. And, should the time come when Sant’Agata has to make the reluctant switch to full EV, surely it would be easier to do this if the brand image itself was not so reliant on the screaming engines that would instantly be outlawed…

What we may be seeing with the Temerario, then, is an automotive hedging of bets. A move away from the shouty, powertrain-dominated Lambos of old into a new, more well-rounded range of products. The Temerario certainly appears to fulfil that brief. The cabin, for example, is a world away from the charming but cramped Huracan. There’s room for 6ft 5” passengers, electrically adjustable heated and cooled seats, smartphone integration and three displays running bespoke Lamborghini software.

There’s also a drift mode (accessible via a physical dial on the steering wheel, not hidden behind a touchscreen), that uses electric torque vectoring on the front axle to control the angle of slide, plus onboard 4K cameras to record on-circuit telemetry and even passenger reactions to the scarcely believable performance figures.

In short, the Temerario – on first appearances – looks to be a more serious, comprehensive performance car than the Huracán. Lamborghini CTO Rouven Mohr explains that, while the Revuelto is the brand statement, the Temerario is ‘the car you want to drive’. It’s also a change of course from Lamborghini and one that you feel it perhaps has to make if it’s to survive the apparently impending – but also not entirely certain – transition to full EV. Whether it pays off, only time will tell.