Lamborghini Huracan 2015 view
Lamborghini never fail to attract attention, and Huracan attracts the most attention. Owners of a certain type of Lamborghini seem to prefer the Kermit orange and green, but this ominous black car has got to be the best of them all.
Value
As with any purebred breed, value is all relative. The Huracan LP4-610 starts at $428,000 plus on the road.
Standard equipment includes leather trim, carbon fiber and aluminum trim, a fully digital instrument cluster, quad-speaker stereo system, DVD, Bluetooth and USB, climate control, selectable driving modes, heated power seats, sports pedals, carbon ceramic brakes and on-board computer. .
Our test car also had a menacing matte black Nero Nemesis ($20,300) and, ahem, a reversing camera and a $5700 parking sensor.
Design
The honeycomb motif is everywhere - in various external lattices, inside and where there are no hexagons, there are sharp lines and geometric shapes.
Since the Gallardo design reboot, Lambo has started loosening the fetters a bit - it's still not a Countach, and it does without scissor doors in the Sant Agata bedroom. Unlike rival Ferrari, Lambo has done an amazing job with the door handles - they slide out flush with the body when you need them. Deadly cool.
Double Y daytime running lights to mark it up front, as well as a nicely flared pair of air intakes; the rear is dominated by huge twin tailpipes close to the ground and a pair of sleek LED taillights. Get close and you can look into the engine bay through the louvered cover (or point to the transparent one).
The inside is full of lovely aluminum shifters and levers, as well as a huge array of alloy shifters that are much nicer than the carbon fiber paddles. The interior is cozy, but not cozy - jump out of the Aventador into the smaller Huracan and you'll notice that the smaller car has a much better interior in terms of space and comfort.
It's very strange to hear the V10 cut out when you stop.
The switches are arranged like in an airplane and are made of beautiful materials. This is a special cabin, but in our case it did not differ in color. However, a visit to your Lamborghini dealer will confirm that you can choose any color you like.
Engine / Transmission
Behind the cabin is a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 engine producing 449 kW and 560 Nm. The powertrain is from parent company Volkswagen Group, but has undergone - perhaps an understatement - significant power, torque and 8250 rpm redline changes. Power hits the pavement through all four wheels.
The engine has a stop-start function in Strada mode. It's very strange to hear the V10 cut out when you stop. Not bad, just weird in a supercar.
Just 1474 kg per gear change, 0-100 km/h accelerates in 3.2 seconds, and Lamborghini's fuel consumption is 12.5 l/100 km. You may laugh (and we did), but it seems almost achievable considering our average mileage of over 400km with fairly hard driving was almost a respectable 17.0L/100km.
safety
The heavy-duty carbon fiber and aluminum Huracan chassis is equipped with four airbags, ABS, traction and stability control systems and emergency brake assist.
No wonder the Huracan does not have an ANCAP safety rating.
Features
A very familiar interface (okay, it's Audi's MMI) controls the four-speaker stereo system. While it doesn't sound like many speakers, there are two mitigating factors: the cabin isn't very big, and ten cylinders is a lot to compete with.
There's no center screen, it all goes through the dashboard, which itself is customizable and also serves as a screen for the optional (and not so good) rear view camera.
Again, sat nav is based on Audi and is very easy to use.
Driving
Close the door and you don't have much room to adjust the car. Another Italian manufacturer's steering wheel is adorned with switches to change the car's behavior, but Lamborghini has limited itself to three modes - Strada, Sport and Corsa - and an ESC-off button on the dash. The latter, of course, remained untouched, partly for reasons of prudence and insurance, but also because it was absolutely cut.
Lift the red cover, press the starter button, and the V10 engine comes to life with a whirring sound followed by extravagant revs. Pull the right stalk towards you and pull away.
No theatrics, hesitation or trembling, it does what you ask. The engine is quiet, collected and flexible, and it does not need to gain momentum to get the car moving.
Press the ANIMA button once and you are in sport mode. This dampens the sound of the engine and makes shifting more abrupt. In this mode, you will get the most pleasure after going a long, long way. The rumble from these exhausts is breathtaking - part Gatling gun, part baritone roar, Lamborghini's penchant for drama and fun has not diminished at all.
A lot of things that didn't work in these super-masculine cars before now work.
It's an incredible sound, and even when it's raining, you have to open the windows while running on the back roads overgrown with forests. It sounds like an anti-lag WRC car as it pops, spits and crackles when downshifting into corners. Except even more insanity.
The massive carbon-ceramic brakes are a joy to behold and are able to not only handle tough trail conditions without too much drama, but handle the road in a sensational way. They have a lot of feel without the woodiness that used to be associated with this brake material. They are almost as fun to stomp as the gas pedal.
The turns are epic too. Piattaforma inerziale (inertial platform) is a powerful set of computers that can "see" what the car is doing in 3D and adjust the power distribution and differential settings accordingly. It's fluid - you don't feel like anything is being done for you - and makes you a hero when you find yourself covering the ground at obscene speeds.
Another flip of the ANIMA switch and you're in Corsa mode. This forces more attention to the chassis - less lateral movement, less wobble, more straightness. As we have said, you will get more enjoyment from the sport.
Old-timers moan that Lamborghini has become boring and safe in old age, as if that's a bad thing. Sure, they're not as wild, but it's pretty easy to tell that they look a lot better. The raid on the Audi parts basket also means that many things that didn't work before in these super-masculine cars now work.
The Huracan is colossally fast, but quite usable. You don't have to use all its power to enjoy it (you couldn't be here anyway), just step on the gas and listen to the noise.
As a complete sports car, it's a lot of fun to compete against Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren in an increasingly tight field. It's also unique - ten cylinders, naturally aspirated, all-wheel drive, clean noise.
Most importantly, he is superbly capable and not even a little intimidating. People who say Lamborghini should be scary to drive are idiots. The people who created the Huracan are geniuses.
Photography by Jan Glovac
