Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4: Review
PH drives the all-new Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 - full review here (updated with added greenness)
Huracan - a poster boy for a new generation?
Thankfully 'usable' for the Huracan's presentation doesn't involve demonstrating its prowess as a four-wheeled posing pouch on London's posher streets. Nope, we actually get to drive it on a track, the same one in fact we visited just a few weeks ago with the McLaren 650S.
As sharp looking inside as it is on outside
Like the Lamborghini, the McLaren makes a great play on its ability to be a viable everyday runabout doing normal car stuff. As well as a face bending mentalist where conditions allow.
The build-up to actually driving the thing has involved a lot of talk but when the moment comes it's a case of piling into the first available Huracan, following a bright green Aventador pace car onto the track and, with a cheery "let's go boys!" from its driver over the radio, letting rip.
Having established all the cars on the launch event have the Lamborghini Dynamic Steering and MagneRide adjustable dampers I leave the ANIMA switch on the wheel in Strada for the first lap to establish a baseline for further exploration.
Speed? Check. Noise? Check. Steering? Um...
On a charge
The words of Lamborghini's chief test driver Giorgio Sanna from the tech launchecho in my head. He tactfully described the (thankfully optional) Dynamic Steering as a nice gimmick. Well, he's got the second bit right. Suitably wary I try and feel for some load in the front tyres for the fast left-right that follows. Above 50km/h the rack, which can vary anything between 9:1 for low-speed arm-twirling to a more relaxed 17:1 at higher speeds, tightens up but it's still a game of second guessing how much lock you want and how much the adaptive rack is going to give you. Worse, when it senses understeer it actually throws in a 'correction' that feels for the world like opening the steering a tad. Erk. The last time I felt steering this synthetic was in an Audi RS5 on the same circuit. Join those two dots...
Madness is contained in new Lambo world
Cycling through to Sport increases the weight at the wheel and narrows the extremes of the rack variance but it's not the same as feel. Still, the V10 sounds and feels usefully angrier and unleashes outrageous fusillades of bangs and pops with every lift and downshift. It's theatrical but a damned sight more convincing than the piped in induction noise of McLaren's Intake Sound Generator.
'Is this enough lock to get around the corner?'
And here Lamborghini's persistence with big capacity and atmospheric induction really pays off. Every application of throttle triggers a momentary sneeze of fuel and air through the black crackle finish intake plenums behind your head before this is drowned out by gnashing valve gear and then the bellow of the exhausts. Happiest beyond 5,000rpm, the 5.2 V10 thrives on revs and though graphs promise faster pick-up and flexibility than the Gallardo peak torque still doesn't arrive until 6,500rpm. By 8,000rpm you're 250 away from getting your full 610hp but even in Sport and manual mode the upshift comes in automatically just as your fingers tense on the large, blade-like shift paddle.
Only in Corsa mode will the new dual-clutch Lamborghini Doppia Frizione gearbox run out to the limiter, which always seems to happen a nanosecond earlier than you'd want. You need to flick the shifter as soon as the needle reaches '8' or the limiter will arrive before the shift. It's also fairly cautious on the way down the 'box, a conscious count of 'one and two and' necessary before attempting a downshift. It is smooth though and you can shift mid-corner in a way you'd have never attempted in an e.gear Gallardo.
V10 has proper old-school supercar character
Corsa work
Chatting with aforementioned test driver after a couple of sessions on track he makes the fair point we're running on Pirelli P Zero street tyres, not the impending optional Corsas we drove the McLaren on. And after three laps they're starting to go off, just as we're gaining confidence. He's driven the Corsas and says they give a much more positive turn-in and sense of connection. But as the pace rises and the tyres struggle to keep up finally a more playful side to the Huracan's character emerges. Chucking it about and getting aggressive with the weight transfers wakes the chassis up and though it doesn't feel as intuitive as its closest rivals a sense of fun appears. Just as the brakes start to feel a little past their best.
Multi-configurable screen works brilliantly
On the rolling Spanish A-roads the Huracan feels much more comfortable in its skin. Pegged back from those final tenths of the performance envelope it's more at ease with itself and frustrations like missed shifts and unpredictable steering fade away. Replaced with 'oh cripes' when the speed readout is located on the TFT screen. The thing is relentless in its appetite for speed, addictive in its need for it.
Much more in its comfort zone on the road
Overtakes that would be in-gear in the explosively rapid 650S require a couple of downshifts in the Huracan but that's no chore given the speed with which they go through and the noise that results. And 610hp is, let's say, adequate.
The damping is brilliant too; quick, composed and never upset even when the roads get suddenly more lumpy and bumpy. Sport and manual shift (auto impressively rattles through up- and downshifts but is a bit busy) is the preferred choice but Corsa is perfectly acceptable for road use and about the overlap with an Aventador's base setting. Meaning those graduating through the range will be both familiar and aware there are further steps to be taken in the Lamborghini world.
Miura style louvres standard, glass deck optional
Dynamic disappointments remain confined to the very extremes of its performance envelope and merely in comparison to some exceptionally talented rivals. Where it really matters this is still an exceptionally rapid and exciting car with other strengths the 458 and 650S can't match. On the road it holds its own and as a piece of design it's stunning; single minded and every bit as dramatic as you'd ever want. Leave the Dynamic Steering box unticked on the spec sheet, spend the money instead on a lairy shade of paint and let the Huracan play to its strengths.
LAMBORGHINI HURACAN LP610-4
Engine: 5,201cc V10
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto (Lamborghini Doppia Frizione), four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 610@8,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 413@6,500rpm
0-62mph: 3.2sec
Top speed: 203mph
Weight: 1,422kg (dry)
MPG: 22.6mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 290g/km
Price: 186,760
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Steve Sutcliffe seemed to like the steering:
That said, he didn't go into as much detail as you...
Hopefully the normal steering will make the handling work and the gearbox responsiveness can be fixed with an update later - there's little excuse for a DSG being as unresponsive as an old-style auto in a brand new car like this.
ETA and 1:41. Who is that driving????
In Strada and Sport it had been up shifting even in manual. Not in Corsa tho...
Cheers,
Dan
ETA and 1:41. Who is that driving????
I sat in one at the Geneva show as we were fortunate enough to have VIP tickets for the Lambo stand. I liked the interior, although the start switch is a bit, er, gauche.
Rather oddly, though, whilst the Gallardo tended to work in the more outrageous colours, I actually think the Huracan suited the more subtle colours. Never thought I would say that with any Lambo, but in this case the green and yellow ones on the stand didn't do the shape any favours, whereas the white one looked fantastic.
Still f all boot/bonnet space for a weekend away, mind.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff