► Month three with our Lambo
► Visiting the Huracan’s racing brother
► Huracan meets Super Trofeo racer
The guys at the hand car wash are so taken with the Huracan they forget to give me my change. It’s five minutes down the road before I realise this – and since five minutes is quite a long way in the white wedge, I decide to pretend I am actually the kind of person who can afford this kind of car, and shrug. Drive one of these, you should tip well. It adds to the flamboyant brand image.
I’ve been thinking about image a lot recently. I do my best to take the time to talk to people who come up and ask about the Lambo – letting kids sit behind the wheel for a few minutes is the sort of small-scale positive action we can all take to make sure car enthusiasm survives into the second quarter of the 21st century – but the thing about the Huracan is that everybody loves it. In a way I’m not sure they would a Ferrari. People seem to get that you drive one of these with a sense of humour, rather than a stick up your arse. Raving bull, not prancing horse.
Anyway. You were probably wondering why I was getting it washed at all. Up until this point I’ve been letting Lamborghini do the cleaning, every time the Huracan’s had to ‘pop back’ to the dealership. Just minor niggles – a puncture, an AWD sensor – most amusing being the passenger side windscreen washer jet, which started spraying inside the luggage compartment instead of onto the screen. But today I’m off to watch the Lamborghini Super Trofeo at Silverstone, so I thought I’d better make it presentable.
Head of motorsport Giorgio Sanna jokes that it’s taken Lambo 50 years to go racing ‘professionally’, as the first proper department – Squadra Corsa – was only established in 2013. Since his final job in his previous role as Lamborghini’s chief test driver was developing the Huracan road car, he’s also the ideal person to explain the difference between this and the racing versions. There are two racers – the GT3, which races in the Blancpain Endurance series among others, and the Super Trofeo, which races in its own championship as a Blancpain support act. Silverstone is teeming with Lambos today.
The first major distinction is that the racers are rear-wheel drive. The GT3 is full-on racing car, deploying a dedicated chassis with ‘massive modification’, new suspension and downforce. The Super Trofeo is closer to the professional equivalent of a Huracan trackday toy. It keeps the road car chassis, engine and suspension kinematics (with upgraded springs and dampers), but gains a dedicated wiring loom, lightweight racing ’box and composite quick-release bodywork. The rollcage is a given, while swapping the two side-mounted radiators for a single, nose-mounted unit helps the racers keep going should they start trading paint. And since Super Trofeo features 30 cars racing across four skills-divergent classes, this does have a tendency to happen.
I can’t help asking whether the GT3 is faster than the Super Trofeo. ‘Yes. In theory,’ is the mischievous answer. Regs cap the GT3’s output, so the front-running Super Trofeos are only a second off the GT3 pole time at Silverstone. ‘What our customers enjoy in Super Trofeo is driving a car similar to the GT3 with a little bit more power and less downforce,’ Sanna explains. ‘It gives a better feeling because it’s less extreme. It’s part of the game.’ And watching from the stands, it looks like a good one.
From the driving seat
+ Huge V10 performance isn’t getting old any time soon
+ Dynamic steering makes for relaxing commute
+ Adaptive suspension balances comfort with control
– Hard seats and sheer road noise wearing on 3 hour+ journeys
– Wish it offered tailored driving modes
Logbook: Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4
Engine: 5204cc dual-injection V10, 602bhp @ 8250rpm, 413lb ft @ 6500rpm
Gearbox: 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: 2122
Total miles: 11,914
Our mpg: 20.9
Official mpg: 22.6
Fuel this month: £589.58
Extra costs: £540 (rear tyre)