The 8 best hybrid supercars | GRR
With the reveal of the Lamborghini Revuelto, it feels like the hybrid supercar has come full circle. Ten years ago, when the so-called ‘holy trinity’ debuted, it was a bleeding-edge technology, featured in only the latest, most experimental, most expensive and most exclusive machinery. Now, Lamborghini’s latest generation of flagship supercar, often seen as a key anchor for context in the market, is a plug-in hybrid. Meanwhile both McLaren’s and Ferrari’s latest volume models also have a plug socket as well as a filler cap. Electric augmentation in the last decade has gone from a gimmick, to the standard. So at what feels like a big moment for the genre, we thought we’d count down some of our favourite hybrid supercars, leading up to the new Lambo.
1. McLaren P1
The arrival of the McLaren P1 was such a massive moment. It was a debutant for the tech and it was extraordinary in the way its two power sources collaborated. See, McLaren’s 3.8-litre V8 is twin-turboed with a capital T. It needs revs, it needs to be in a certain window for maximum power delivery. Knowing that, McLaren calibrated the hybrid system to be the perfect partner, with what it called ‘torque fill’ lending the instant power and torque of the electric motors to the cause of acceleration while the turbos got up to speed. It also featured an F1-style EPAS button, allowing a temporary glob of electrical boost for overtaking supremacy. The P1 is many things – a great driver’s supercar, a captivating thing to look at – but its hybridity bestowed what was already an exceptional combustion engine with superpowers.
2. Porsche 918 Spyder
The Porsche’s role in this long-discussed trio was one that leaned harder on its hybrid system, and not just for performance. With the 918 Spyder, we discovered the potential joys of a real usable all-electric driving mode, allowing silent running in cities and residential areas for up to 12 miles. It’s the least ‘supercar’ thing in the world to be able to literally kill the noise at will, but it’s so useful. Thanks to its front electric motor it was also four-wheel-drive – no prop and diff to be seen. That means that in terms of calibration, it was also the most complex of the three. The increased electric power filled in similarly to the P1, except it was augmenting a screaming race-derived 4.6-litre flywheel-less V8 that revved to 9,000rpm. Incidentally, that engine, which started life in the Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 car, went on to power the 918 and now powers the 963 GTP car, albeit in a new twin-turbo guise.
3. Ferrari LaFerrari
The LaFerrari kept its hybridity a little more hidden. With a barrel-chested 6.3-litre V12 out back, there wasn’t much of a torque fill needed like it perhaps was in the McLaren and Porsche, but the presence of the electrical boost allowed the V12 to be peakier, revving higher (how does over 9,250rpm sound?) and letting out more of an aggressive character. In this sense, the LaFerrari is very much a traditional hypercar that a splash of electric power just enhances under the skin. It felt natural, unlike what the SF90 is reported to feel like, which is why it doesn’t feature on this list…
4. Honda NSX
A couple of years go by after the big three do battle and the world wonders, is this the future of supercars? Honda reckoned so, with the launch of the hybridised and hotly-anticipated second-generation NSX supercar. Many were not best pleased that the successor to one of the all-time great analogue supercars featured two turbos, electric motors, four-wheel drive and a paddle-shift transmission. Yet those who drove it sung its praises. It was an incredibly complex car that had been expertly calibrated to make it feel far better to drive than it had any right to.
It was a cool-looking thing, but by the time it released, following a long gestation – engineered in Ohio but a Japanese supercar at heart – it was a little anonymous. Perhaps it was the wrong move to reveal a concept in 2012, from which the design would deviate very little, four years ahead of the first production car hitting the road. Still, we reckon the NSX is criminally underrated.
5. McLaren Artura
So divisive was the Honda NSX that we genuinely wonder whether its frosty reception gave pause to a number of other marques in their adoption of high-performance hybridity. Porsche kept the electrons for its practical cars, McLaren left all but the silly stuff firmly ICE and Ferrari effectively brought out another hyper hybrid, in the SF90 Stradale. It wasn’t until 2020, that McLaren revealed the Artura, with its smaller twin-turbo V6 and plug-in hybrid system. As we found out, hybrid or not, it’s a great sportscar and a great supercar. It’s even pretty light, which is quite the feat for any car carrying a lumpen battery pack. It’s not a big one for all-electric range, though, which is a bit of a theme that runs among some rivals. Still, 19 miles is a lot better than the 6 miles the P1 quietly offered back in 2014.
6. Ferrari 296 GTB
Not including the Ferrari SF90 was in part deliberate. By many accounts, Ferrari’s flagship was something of a disappointment, being as heavy, oddly-calibrated and irksomely impractical as it was. That’s why the 296 GTB is here, because it’s a fantastic car in every way its big brother seemingly can’t quite manage. Its new V6 engine has more personality than any non-V12 that’s come since the 458 Speciale bowed out, and as a rear-drive-only supercar, it’s much more traditional in feel than the SF90. The most amazing thing? It manages to make 830PS (610kW) through the rear wheels – with 167PS (123kW) of it being instant electric shove – not feel like too much. That it’s also beautiful is a bonus.
7. Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray
Somehow Chevrolet got there before Porsche and the 911. Yes, there’s now a Corvette hybrid called the E-Ray, pairing a 6.2-litre pushrod V8 with an electric motor on the front axle and it shows an interesting potential direction for future hybrid sportscars. See, it has a tiny 1.9kWh battery offering only enough to boost performance to 655PS (482kW), but not do any significant EV-only driving – it’s said that the three or four miles it offers is enough for typical urban and residential running. On the plus side, the small battery means it doesn’t weigh much more than the Z06 and also allows a competitive $104,295 list price.
8. Lamborghini Revuelto
Finally, we get to the new Lamborghini Revuelto. It’s only the sixth generation of V12 flagship in as many decades, with each almost serving as a poster child for a separate era of supercars. With the arrival of the Revuelto, we are definitively in the era of the hybrid supercar. It’s still a proper Lambo though, with doors that go up and a 6.5-litre V12 engine that revs to 9,500rpm. With that and the three electric motors, it puts out 1,015PS (747kW), will get to 62mph in 2.5 seconds and top out at over 217mph. It looks incredible, will surely sound incredible and will offer new dimensions to the driving experience with its new-found electric power. We can’t wait to experience it.