While mainstream vehicles usually get comprehensive updates every few years, low-volume exotics tend evolve more gradually. Supercar platforms often remain unchanged for a decade or more, with manufacturers instead focusing on what can be tuned, massaged, added, or subtracted to keep their lineups fresh. Every once in a while, though, a performance car debuts that truly earns the label “all-new,” and the Lamborghini Temerario is one of them.

As the replacement for the Huracán, Lamborghini’s bestselling sports car to date, the Temerario has big shoes to fill. At first glance, it might seem like a more subdued affair than its predecessor, but the Huracán debuted in a similar fashion before wilder iterations like the STO and Sterrato were introduced to the lineup.

During a technical briefing late last year, Lamborghini sales chief Frederick Foschini noted that the Temerario’s streamlined look is intentional. The team sought to increase downforce by more than 100 percent compared with the Huracán Evo through the car’s core design, rather than relying on big wings, splitters, and other racy aerodynamic bits. Designers were also tasked with creating an all-new car that was distinctive yet instantly recognizable as a Lamborghini. Judging by the number of heads this car turned during my time with it, I’d say the company was successful.

It’s not obvious from a cursory look at the exterior, but the Temerario is longer, wider, and taller than the car it replaces. Underpinned by a new all-aluminum spaceframe that’s more than 20 percent stiffer than the Huracán’s, the Temerari’s dimensional changes become immediately evident when you settle in behind the wheel, as head and legroom are noticeably improved over the outgoing car. I’m 6 feet, 3 inches (1.9 m), and at a rained-out track session at Sonoma Raceway back in November, I was able to position my seat however I wanted with headroom to spare, even with a helmet on.