Spanish civil engineers... they deserve a hearty pat on the back and a round of cervezas. What transpired in a succession of acoustic-chamber-like tunnels in Andalucia was a pair of grown men chuckling like loons.
The catalyst? One Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4, windows down, with musical accompaniment provided by an operatic V10 being given the beans, and then prompted to blurt out a spine-tingling chorus of pops and crackles on the overrun.
It couldn’t get much better than that... but it already had, earlier in the day. The launch agenda for the Huracan – Spanish for ‘Hurricane’, and also the name of a particularly fearsome fighting bull, as per the Lambo tradition – comprised two hours of hot-lappery at the challenging, undulating Ascari Circuit about an hour’s drive from the Andalucian capital of Malaga, followed by an entertainingly bendy road loop from Ronda to Marbella.
The Huracan ticked most of the requisite boxes in both arenas, but the newcomer has big wheel tracks to fill. It arrives as the successor to the long-serving Gallardo, which did a manly job of propping up Lamborghini sales over the past decade.
No less than 14,022 Gallardos rolled out of the factory at Sant’Agata Bolognese during its 10-year tenure, making it by far the best-selling model to date wearing the raging bull emblem on its pointy snout.
Lambo says the objective with the Huracan was to retain the essence of the enduring Gallardo, but build on the latter’s strengths to make it a more complete dual-role supercar, capable of effortlessly making the Jekyll-Hyde transformation from relaxed, refined freeway cruiser to fiery racetrack demon.
The familiar less-weight-more-power formula is a key element of the overall recipe, with the 5.2-litre V10 being massaged to eke out 449kW at 8250rpm and 560Nm at 6500rpm, while the weight of the ‘body in white’ has been pared via a carbon-fibre transmission tunnel, rear bulkhead and B-pillars.
The redesigned chassis also boosts torsional stiffness by 50 per cent, paying dividends in dynamics and refinement, as we discovered.
The big 10-cylinder engine may be getting on in years – it can only be a matter of time before it’s laid to rest and usurped by a clean-burning twin-turbo unit with fewer cylinders and cubic inches – yet there’s still plenty of fizz left in the venerable powerplant.
In the Huracan, a combination of direct and indirect injection is introduced to help meet the conflicting goals of low-down grunt, top-end athleticism and non-enviro-vandalistic exhaust emissions (it’s EU6-compliant).
But the most intoxicating feature is the artificially induced misfiring on the overrun, which is a veritable feast for the ears.
No doubt about it, the V10 can still do the business, as evidenced by a 0-100km/h dash in 3.2 seconds, 0-200km/h in 9.9 seconds and top speed of 325km/h.
Tellingly, these figures are almost exactly on par with its arch-rival, the Ferrari 458 Italia, although the Maranello offering is now almost four years old. Lamborghini also claims the Huracan is two seconds a lap quicker around the Nardo test track than the fastest Gallardo variant ever offered, the race-derived LP570-4 Squadra Corse.
One area where the Gallardo was badly let down was in its clumsy E-gear transmission, which was neither quick, nor smooth.
The Huracan suffers no such affliction as it borrows the VW Group’s seven-speed double-clutch gearbox, but the Bolognese boffins refer to it as “Lamborghini Doppia Frizione” (LDF), which sounds suitably Latin and evocative. The paddleshift transmission is quick and smooth, but perhaps still lacks the whip-crack immediacy of the 458 Italia’s simply magnificent dual-clutch unit.
Out on the road, or on the track, the Huracan gels nicely as an overall package, and it only takes a few minutes behind the wheel to glean that it’s a credible step forward from its Gallardo forerunner.
Having been shuttled en masse with the other media hacks in a bus from Marbella to Ascari, my first taste of the Huracan is at the 5.425km racetrack, which has 26 corners and ascents/descents with gradients of up to 12 per cent.
The format is follow-the-leader, with one of the Lambo factory drivers setting the pace in an Aventador, and a three-car Huracan entourage piloted by journos in tow.
Even though the Huracan has gained only 50 extra horses vis-à-vis the Gallardo LP560-4 (it’s got 40 more than the Squadra Corse) the increment feels greater, no doubt largely due to its fatter and flatter torque curve.
Shifting up through the LDF gearbox, there’s also no let-up in acceleration, which certainly wasn’t the case with the “hang on, I’ll shift up in a minute” E-gear transmission.
Although peak torque of 560 Newtons doesn’t materialise until 6500rpm, there’s plenty of meaty oomph on tap from 3000rpm onwards, enabling you to select a gear higher than you might have thought necessary for a given corner.
Ascari comprises a mix of mainly third and fourth gear bends, with only two corners and the chicane before the mini ‘Eau Rouge’ complex requiring second gear.
Working up through the three different modes – Strada, Sport and Corsa – via the ANIMA (Adaptive Network Intelligent Management) switch on the steering wheel (Lambo’s equivalent to Ferrari’s Manettino knob), the engine, chassis, steering and transmission’s responses become progressively more urgent.
I find Sport the most agreeable set-up for the track, as this mode allows a bit more sideways action before the electronics arc up and say “that’s enough”, whereas in Corsa (Race) mode everything is tailored towards delivering a clean, drama-free lap.
Another notable characteristic of the latter setting is that gearchanges become more violent – although still not to the mule-kick levels of the steroidal Aventador.
The big carbon-ceramic brakes (standard issue) are agreeably potent and progressive, and after a bit of familiarisation you learn to stay off the anchors until much deeper in the braking zones than might initially have seemed feasible.
The stiffened chassis of the Huracan translates to a taut demeanour on the track, but it still doesn’t feel as superbly agile as the 458 Italia. In the Ferrari, you barely have to think and the car has already darted toward the corner’s apex, whereas in the Lambo the front tyres don’t bite with the same urgency.
This was particularly noticeable through a few of the faster sweepers at Ascari, where patience was the key before squeezing on the throttle or the car would tend to understeer.
Once you begin to wind off steering lock though, the Huracan serves up ample traction, with the AWD set-up sending drive to front and rear wheels in a 30:70 ratio under normal conditions (although the electronics can alter the front/rear split from 50:50 to 0:100 as and when appropriate).
Despite carrying all-paw hardware the 1422kg (dry weight) Lambo is only slightly heavier than the 1380kg (dry) Ferrari, but in reality the disparity feels greater than that. Where the 458 Italia seems an extension of the body, the Huracan is akin to a peripheral device, with you, the driver, assuming the role of the CPU.
With the racetrack fangery done and dusted, the shagged Lambo-spec Pirellis are dispensed with, while the brakes get a chance to cool before setting off on the road loop. The drive back to Marbella takes in some mouth-watering mountain passes through Ronda – perfect for attacking at fast touring pace while still being able to assess the Huracan’s cruising prowess and everyday usability.
And did I mention the exhaust note? It’s sublime. More vocal than the Gallardo, the Huracan is equipped with exhaust flaps that stay open in Sport and Corsa modes, and keep mum until 4000rpm before unleashing hell in Strada mode. It’s the reason why we went searching for tunnels at every possible opportunity.
As you’d expect in a mid-engined supercar, rear visibility is hardly great, but the rest of the ergonomic package is very sound. There’s ample head and knee room and the Nappa leather-clad seats are comfortable, although there’s a tad too much bolstering in the lower lumbar region.
The new Audi-sourced TFT instrument cluster is brilliantly easy to read, as well as being configurable in several different ways. Depending on your mood and the situation, you can prioritise the rev counter, navigation maps or infotainment functions.
Lamborghini’s trademark hexagon motif is embodied by the air-vents, steering wheel hub, instrument pod and a few other elements, but it’s all artfully done, and therefore not clichéd.
If I were to nitpick, I’d point to the abundance of VW Group switchgear on the centre console, but this is hardly likely to be a deal-breaker for any potential buyers.
For me, the Huracan’s real USP is its exquisitely proportioned bodywork that would render a 458 Italia or McLaren 650S almost invisible if they were parked side-by-side. The Lambo brims with wow factor, which helps explain the burgeoning order bank for the half-million-dollar debutant.
It may not set any lofty new benchmarks, but there’s no question the Huracan LP610-4 is a well-crafted, comprehensively engineered supercar that’s likely to stand the test of time. A great Lambo, but perhaps just a smidge shy of being an all-time classic.
2014 Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 pricing and specifications:
Price: $428,000 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 5.2-litre V10 petrol
Output: 449kW/560Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 12.5L/100km (combined)
CO2: 290g/km (combined)
Safety rating: Not tested
What we liked: | Not so much: |
>> Sublime exhaust note | >> Not as focussed as 458 Italia |
>> Unique, distinctive styling | >> Plenty of VW Group switchgear |
>> Improved ergonomics and drivability | >> $400,000-plus pricetag |