► Month six and it’s goodbye to the Huracan
► Appreciation from everyone: a genuine all-round pleaser
► Can anything fill the gap once this has gone?
Well, after 8188 miles since July, including a day lapping Rockingham and a 190mph run on the autobahn, you can’t say we haven’t used it – and could even argue we abused it, though I promise the roadkill/rear arch-liner interface reported last month most definitely wasn’t avoidable. But our short stint of life with a Lamborghini Huracan has now come to an end, and it leaves a gaping hole that not even Ben Miller’s McLaren 650S can fully absolve.
There’s just something about a Lambo that brings out the schoolboy in everybody – the opposite sex included. It’s like an aura, which goes beyond raw performance and enters the realm of what, for want of a better word, we’ll call theatre. It’s not just the swivelling heads – prompted by the industrial timpani of that 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V10, held by the madcap elegance of those angular, ground-hugging aesthetics – but the positive appreciation it attracts from (almost) everyone who encounters it. People loved seeing this car, to such an extent that many broke that traditionally aloof British resolve and took the trouble to compliment it. Nothing else I have ever driven has so comprehensively enthralled.
As the mileage tally suggests, this was no garage queen. I drove it every day that I didn’t have to be driving something else, to such an extent that curious colleagues practically had to best-of-three me at Rochambeau in order to prise away the keys. It lived out in the open, on my driveway, every night – and although this means at the bottom of a cul-de-sac, largely obscured by a hedge, this didn’t stop the doorbell ringing of an evening, usually at the behest of a group of local kids. There was never any trouble though. Unless you count the occasion it was parked outside my parents’ house in Dorset and somehow prompted every passing genius to pause and rev their engine for a moment. That’s one way to show your enthusiasm.
So, what’s it like to daily-drive a Huracan? Genuinely, an unrelenting pleasure. Sure, the seats caused complaints, refinement isn’t a strong point, and I would rate the visibility as ‘good enough’ rather than perfect (certainly, you can see more out of the back of a new R8), but if you can afford the running costs there really isn’t anything to worry about. I did see a few a warning lights, but these were all related to misbehaving sensors rather serious component failures – it was an early-build car – meaning the biggest technical issues I encountered were a slow puncture (£540 for a new rear) and a malfunctioning washer jet (fixed under warranty). Other motorists were always happy to let it out at junctions, and there was no sense of getting bored with the performance. That I kept my licence clean will go down as one of the wonders of the universe.
With maximum commitment, this 602bhp wedge doesn’t so much accelerate as jump in time and space. I’ll miss its ability to instantly silence passengers, if not the (very) occasional angst it caused by suddenly materialising behind slower traffic; no matter how much space you leave, the sudden presence of a Lamborghini does apparently have the facility to shock. Whether you’d say the same of the fuel bill is between you and your accountant; suffice to say my next car is going to be less profligate…
Count the cost
Cost new: £224,836 (including £38,076 of options)
Dealer sale price: £194,236
Private sale: £187,291
Part exchange: £178,241
Cost per mile: 29p
Cost per mile including depreciation: £5.98
Logbook Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4
Engine: 5204cc V10 dual injection, 602bhp @ 8250rpm, 413lb ft @ 6500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch, all-wheel drive
Stats: 3.2sec 0-62mph, 202mph, 290g/km
Price: £186,760
As tested: £224,836
Miles this month: 1724
Total miles: 16,354
Our mpg: (overall) 19.4
Official mpg: 22.6
Fuel cost overall: £2386.35
Extra costs overall: £540 (one rear tyre)