[TusharK]

Gautam Singhania, MD of the Raymond Group, recently took a Lamborghini Revuelto for a test drive on the Trans-Harbour Link. His drive was cut short after the supercar stalled and had to be towed back.



Following the incident, Singhania took to X and questioned the reliability of the new Lamborghini Revuelto, after it suffered a “complete electrical failure.”

Singhania wrote in his post: “I took the new Lamborghini Revuelto for a test drive and ended up stranded on the trans-harbour link due to a complete electrical failure. It's a brand-new car—are there reliability concerns? This is the third one I've heard of experiencing issues within 15 days of delivery.”



The Lamborghini Revuelto was launched in India almost a year ago at a starting price of Rs 8.89 crore (ex-showroom). It is the brand’s flagship model, which is powered by a V12 hybrid.

The Revuelto uses a new 6.5-litre naturally-aspirated V12, which produces 825 BHP @ 9,250 rpm and 725 Nm @ 6,750 rpm. It is paired with three electric motors, two at the front and one at the rear, which, along with the engine, offer a combined power output of 1,001 BHP. The hybrid powertrain is paired with a new 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Link to Team-BHP news

[Taronish_E]

The issue most likely stems from the hybrid component of the power train. Those battery packs are extremely finicky.

Being that it’s the first hybrid Lamborghini supercar, maybe it has teething issues.

Side note: GHS himself owns a Revuelto in London.

[Rohit_Quad]

Watch the Matt Armstrong video, where he along with Mark face a similar issue with a brand new Revuelto. If my guess is not wrong, I feel it is the same thing. Nothing to do with any reliability issues or parts failing, rather human error. Not able to understand how the system works, especially on a new Revuelto.

[ex-innova-guy]

Watch the below video from 14:50 where something similar happened. The car just wouldn’t start when the hybrid battery doesn’t have enough juice in it.

https://youtu.be/zAVcY5jTXYQ

[Raghu M]

Does he own one or just took one for TD from the showroom? The tweet says, he took it for a test drive and some articles say it's his own car. Can someone pls confirm?

[AtheK]

Seems photo is pretty much of the actual car breaking down, and since it has red plates it is a test drive car.

[Taronish_E]

Originally Posted by Raghu M

Does he own one or just took one for TD from the showroom? The tweet says, he took it for a test drive and some articles say it's his own car. Can someone pls confirm?

This car is the Lambo Mumbai TDV. Singhania does have his own Revuelto, but in London, UK.

[Freespirit27]

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

Watch the below video from 14:50 where something similar happened. The car just wouldn’t start when the hybrid battery doesn’t have enough juice in it.
https://Youtu.be/zAVcY5jTXYQ

Right and at around 21:50 he explains exactly why! It again shows the importance of reading manuals or listening to instructions which both the Showroom Service assistants and wannabe owners are not very particular about (though, if that be the case with this(GS) owner, then it is surprising).
I guess like the old school Bullet it requires a good level of charge in the battery for starts - so it may not exactly be a electrical failure, but more like allowing the charge to drop below the warning levels. And rather than understanding that, I guess, few are 'jumping the gun' and dissing the car!
The cause, may be different if it happened while driving along the highway though and in that case also, more info is required before jumping to conclusions/ airing doubts on SM.

[Pontiac]

A similar thing happened to me as well and came as a surprise. Before starting for a local trip, I got a warning that the hybrid battery on my Audi A6 is low on charge. Like one normally does with any car, and how one would think in a similar situation that this will get charged once we start driving, I did the same. But before getting to the destination, the car started giving strong warnings to park safely and call for assistance. Since we were close to the destination, I drove to the destination and stopped the car. Out of curiosity, I tried starting it and it won’t start. Had to get it towed to the nearest Audi dealership. Since it was the hybrid battery that was at fault, the car could not be jump started either.

Up on checking at the dealership, the 12v battery was intact, but the Lithium Ion battery had to be replaced. Although the vehicle warranty covered everything, that was an eye opener towards hybrid vehicles. Something similar could have happened here as well.

Call me old school, but I don’t like the idea that a battery can die any time and one can get stranded anywhere.

[sameerg]

Originally Posted by Pontiac

A similar thing happened to me as well and came as a surprise. Before starting for a local trip, I got a warning that the hybrid battery on my Audi A6 is low on charge. Like one normally does with any car, and how one would think in a similar situation that this will get charged once we start driving, I did the same. But before getting to the destination, the car started giving strong warnings to park safely and call for assistance. Since we were close to the destination, I drove to the destination and stopped the car. Out of curiosity, I tried starting it and it won’t start. Had to get it towed to the nearest Audi dealership. Since it was the hybrid battery that was at fault, the car could not be jump started either.

Up on checking at the dealership, the 12v battery was intact, but the Lithium Ion battery had to be replaced. Although the vehicle warranty covered everything, that was an eye opener towards hybrid vehicles. Something similar could have happened here as well.

Call me old school, but I don’t like the idea that a battery can die any time and one can get stranded anywhere.

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but arent hybrid batteries supposed to get charged as we drive? I thought the core concept behind hybrid is to "store" the excess energy being produced under certain driving conditions and reuse it. If one needs to charge hybrid battries for the car to start, to me it feels like an electric car and not hybrid.

[Taronish_E]

Originally Posted by Freespirit27

Right and at around 21:50 he explains exactly why! It again shows the importance of reading manuals or listening to instructions which both the Showroom Service assistants and wannabe owners are not very particular about (though, if that be the case with this(GS) owner, then it is surprising).
I guess like the old school Bullet it requires a good level of charge in the battery for starts - so it may not exactly be a electrical failure, but more like allowing the charge to drop below the warning levels. And rather than understanding that, I guess, few are 'jumping the gun' and dissing the car!
The cause, may be different if it happened while driving along the highway though and in that case also, more info is required before jumping to conclusions/ airing doubts on SM.

In this case, he does not own the car here in India and hence he hasn’t checked the state of the hybrid battery before going for a drive. It’s a test drive car.

Secondly, he’s driving on MTHL from his residence in the western part of South Bombay. Approximately 25 km from where he must have begun, this issue has occurred. I’m sure he also spoke to the team at Lambo Mumbai and voiced his concerns.

The issue isn’t Lambo alone as other hybrids also have sketchy moments. It’s that the technology itself is seemingly unreliable in certain applications.

[Freespirit27]

Originally Posted by sameerg

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but arent hybrid batteries supposed to get charged as we drive? I thought the core concept behind hybrid is to "store" the excess energy being produced under certain driving conditions and reuse it. If one needs to charge hybrid battries for the car to start, to me it feels like an electric car and not hybrid.

We have been led to believe so but if you refer quoted video in the earlier post by @ex-innova -guy, towards the end (around 21:50 onwards) he explains why that is not the case.

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

Watch the below video from 14:50 where something similar happened. The car just wouldn’t start when the hybrid battery doesn’t have enough juice in it.
https://Youtu.be/zAVcY5jTXYQ

Some or maybe all the hybrids still need to be plugged, if being driven in start-stop type regimes (test drives being one such example). Probably one of the possibilities is that the hybrid battery charging rpm's are not achieved and so it runs out of juice. Strange as that may sound in concept.
So as said, the new technologies need a little adaptation and understanding.

[Pontiac]

Originally Posted by sameerg

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but arent hybrid batteries supposed to get charged as we drive? I thought the core concept behind hybrid is to "store" the excess energy being produced under certain driving conditions and reuse it. If one needs to charge hybrid battries for the car to start, to me it feels like an electric car and not hybrid.

You are right on a normal usage case. But unlike a traditional car that only has a 12V battery, the hybrid battery which is Li-ion tends to break down completely. The cars have safety mechanisms that stop battery from charging If it detects some cells have died to prevent battery fire. 12V batteries on the other hand will never catch fire even if you try recharging a dying battery and hence there are no such safety precautions. Worst case, the battery will discharge quickly, or the car’s electric system will show signs of a weak battery by showing random messages in case of a German brand.

[Turbanator]

If I understand correctly, the car can be charged in Recharge mode. It must be charged electrically or put in this mode, run for 6-7 minutes, and fully charge. It won’t recharge on while driving in other modes, likely for performance reasons.

If this situation applies to Gautam Singhania’s car, the showroom should have ensured it was fully charged. Or it was sent to his home earlier and he/ others depleted the battery while checking functions etc.

The car should warn or change to Recharge mode when the battery falls below a certain point, which shouldn’t be difficult to do with a simple code. I don't see why such a basic thing is overlooked?

[ShortShifter]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

If I understand correctly, the car can be charged in Recharge mode. It must be charged electrically or put in this mode, run for 6-7 minutes, and fully charge. It won’t recharge on while driving in other modes, likely for performance reasons.

If this situation applies to Gautam Singhania’s car, the showroom should have ensured it was fully charged. Or it was sent to his home earlier and he/ others depleted the battery while checking functions etc.

The car should warn or change to Recharge mode when the battery falls below a certain point, which shouldn’t be difficult to do with a simple code. I don't see why such a basic thing is overlooked?

Totally Agreed, the onus lies on the Dealer in ensuring the car is primed to its optimum interms of fuel and charge levels when its a Hybrid before sending it out to any prospective customer, especially when one is GHS.

But unfortunately the state of 'most' Sales persons of dealerships in our country is that they generally lack the technical know-how themselves. Most of them undergo few weeks of theoretical training lacking memory recall or technical skills to react when pressed with a situation. At best they are good at selling more than operating a high end car loaded with electronics, many rely on seniors over call infront of customers to interact & answer their queries.

I would say being an enthusiast should be made mandatory for high end car dealers while hiring sales teams.