► We drive Lambo’s new Huracan LP580-2
► Power down, lighter – and rear-wheel drive!
► It’s the Huracan we’ve been waiting for…
On one hand the LP580-2 is a Huracan with the propshaft and front diff removed. The net result is, funnily enough, a cheaper (sic), lighter (by 33kg), simpler version of Lamborghini’s V10 supercar. So this is the new ‘entry-level’ Lambo, and as such – and to preserve the LP610-4’s modesty – Sant’Agata has also seen fit to modestly de-tune the V10 here, though 572bhp means 0-62mph is still only the work of 3.4sec (3.2sec for the LP610-4). So far so predictable, except that the LP580-2 is also more oversteer-biased and, in the words of boss Stephan Winkelmann himself, nothing less than ‘the purest expression of a Lamborghini to date, and a serious car for serious drivers’. Still thinking entry level?
It would be fair to describe chief test pilot Mario Fasanetto as a serious driver and, so far at least, he seems pretty enamoured of the LP580-2. I’m in the passenger seat and for now at least Fasanetto is playing things straight.
‘For the moment let’s take it easy. Vehicle DNA in Strada, ESP untouched, auto transmission,’ he mutters as we sail serenely across the Sant’Agata plains to the Vignola foothills. But when we stumble across a meandering Fiat Doblo there isn’t a moment’s hesitation: Fasanetto pushes accelerator to bulkhead. Hell breaks loose. In a heartbeat the double-clutch ’box kicks down no fewer than five gears – five! – and the V10 goes from background hum to almighty yell. Revs soar and, with a subtle but tangible smearing of the rear tyres, we launch past the Doblo like it’s flat-out in reverse. That full-throttle squirm, deftly countered by Fasanetto before it’s even begun, says it all: this is a different animal to your dad’s four-wheel-drive, play-it-safe Huracan LP610-4. Instead I’m looking at the now slightly blurry world through the windscreen of a street-legal Supertrofeo clone, a 572bhp road racer with a live-wire rear end and, it will transpire, a pretty addictive character blend of ability and angst.
Moments later the fit is over and we’re back in sixth then seventh, that rippling muscle pack of a motor relaxing from butt-kicking aggression to pat-on-the-shoulder friendly.
‘It’s a safety thing,’ explains Fasanetto of our arguably slightly over-the-top descent from seventh to second. ‘In auto mode, full throttle signals that the driver demands maximum performance: that is what he gets. In manual mode, gear changes require a pull at either paddle as a rule – the car will not do the job for you.’
In built-up areas the beast happily sorts itself out, accelerating softly, shifting up early and saving a drop or two of Shell’s finest by falling silent at red lights. The latter is a source of enormous disappointment to the kids at the roadside kindergarten, so we fire the V10 back up, wait a few car lengths after red changes to green, then give it stick. This ancient ritual remains as popular as ever here in rural Italy, where Schumacher remains a local hero and every second motorcycle rider wears a yellow-over-blue number 46 Valentino Rossi livery.
So far then, glimpses of the tw0-wheel-drive Huracan’s wild side. But today’s itinerary will offer the scope for a forensic examination. We’re following the shakedown route Fasanetto plotted a couple of years ago for the Aventador. It’s a comprehensive collection of the worst of all topographic worlds: half-finished resurfacing work, deep grooves embossed by generations of passing buses and trucks, soap-like glassy tarmac peppered with random gravel and countless corners of all shapes and radii.
We push from Strada into Sport. In the 580-2, this adds a pinch of peperoncini to proceedings. In our test car (which is fitted with adjustable dampers, the dynamic steering system and wider 20-inch wheels – all optional) switching to Sport also stiffens the ride and sharpens the turn-in response. The effect on the car is marked, with oversteer in any of its myriad forms an ever-present option – in Sport you really do get what you wish for. Most usefully on the road, you can adopt a subtle tail-out stance with ease, either by powering on or lifting off – take your pick. This attitude is particularly easily provoked on cold tyres, suspicious surfaces and on the way in to tricky bends. Want even more drama? Then hit the silver ESP switch, and be ready. Now stability control has gone fishing and your every move has the potential to scare oncoming traffic, lesser passengers and, should the worst come to the worst, yourself. Today is going to be a fun day…
This Huracan does without four-wheel drive, but that’s about the only concession the buyer who has just saved something like £27k over the LP610-4 must make. All the other spine-tingling, grin-inducing, heart-stopping ingredients are still there, and in full force. Like the palm-rubbing steering wheel in furry alcantara, the entirely unambiguous jet fighter controls on the centre console, and the XXL-sized paddleshifters attached to the column, not the helm. The infotainment is relatively up-to-date – not yet virtual cockpit-style, but better than all previous Audi-sourced efforts. Still present is the glaring mix-and-match instrumentation, which can generate more colours than a Missoni sweater configurator, more readouts than an Airbus A320 cockpit and more functions than an Apple watch. Subtle it is not, but the full-sized rev-counter and the prominent gear indicator in particular do get their messages across loud and clear. The digital speedometer on the other hand is so busy counting up and down in doubles and trebles that it struggles to deliver a reading.
As before, the cabin’s a tight fit for bigger drivers, but the pain turns to pleasure the moment you lift the red cage and prod the starter. New Porsche 911? McLaren 570S? Ferrari 488 GTB? Great cars, but in terms of combustion chamber music, nothing – repeat: nothing – beats a naturally-aspirated high-performance engine, particularly one with ten cylinders and an intake system like an octopus. You may catch yourself doing silly things in the LP580-2. Things like revving the V10 from idle to 5000rpm in empty underground car parks, or shifting down three gears – bam-bam-bam – in a 60mph zone, just for the heck of it. Or keeping the V10 charging hard through fourth gear down an avenue of trees, to see their fallen leaves soaring skyward in your sonic wake.
Does it feel any less of a car than the 610? Hardly. Despite that car’s quantifiable take-off advantage, the lighter 580 is barely slower to 62mph and top speed is down just 3mph to 199mph. Fuel consumption is on a par, which means you really don’t want to know. And whenever you find yourself thinking about the missing horsepower, you need only consider the reduced weight, the less nose-heavy 40:60 weight distribution, and the fact that all that torque is no longer wrestling the front wheels.
The Gallardo LP550-2 was a bit of a beast, raucous and uncompromising in every respect, uninterested in maintaining any kind of balance and so sharp it should have carried a warning. While it’s tempting to consider the LP580-2 in the same terms, in truth the new car is nothing like as hard work. Indeed the 580’s ride is more compliant than the LP610-4’s and, when you press on, Lamborghini promises a smoother, more progressive breakaway…
‘We adapted springs and dampers,’ explains Fasanetto. ‘We also recalibrated the anti-roll bars to bring the handling characteristics more in line with those of an entertaining but safe high-performance sports car. Although the 20in wheels provide a more attractive stance, vehicle dynamics are better balanced on the 19s.’ To dial in exactly the right amount of traction, slip angle and sidewall stiffness, Pirelli developed a new P Zero. Certainly there’s admirable grip and real transparency at the contact patches.
So the LP580-2 is a riot on the road: exuberant like a Lamborghini should be, and alive in a way the LP610-4 isn’t always. And on track? The Autodromo di Bologna is a small but challenging circuit hidden away behind age-old screens of vineyard and farmland. Although the longer of the two straights is good for 140mph with plenty of margin for error, the most rewarding section consists of three consecutive third-gear corners. What mode to best attack this complex? ‘Try Sport and switch off the ESP,’ suggests Fasanetto as he climbs out of the hot seat. ‘For full sideways action, select the Corsa drive mode. Good luck!’
In a nutshell, Sport doesn’t quite do the trick. The front end just doesn’t bite as I need it to, especially when the apex is paired to even the mildest of elevation changes. Safe but frustrating understeer prevails just long enough to stop the V10 really overwhelming the rear Pirellis. Even though the handling balance is undoubtedly more playful now through the third-gear esses, too little is happening, and too late. So close and yet so far…
During a cool-down lap, ego overrules good sense. I decide to try to ignore the knee-deep gravel traps, the slippery kerbs and the sceptical face of a watching Fasanetto. Setting DNA to Corsa is all it takes to reduce driver support to a pair of quick arms, an attentive right foot and an alert, almost hyperactive mind. Let’s try again.
Lift-off on turn-in duly upsets the balance, shifts the car’s weight away from the apex and makes the momentarily light rear end step out at the first serious stab of throttle. Do it properly and the reward is a long, smooth slide accompanied by a melodical squeal, a swoosh of black tyre marks and the realisation that this, finally, is the car the Huracan was always meant to be.
The specs: Lamborghini Huracan LP580-2
Price: £160,000 (est)
Engine: 5204cc 40v V10, 572bhp @ 8000rpm, 398lb ft @ 6500rpm Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch auto, rear-wheel drive
Suspension: Double wishbone front and rear, adaptive dampers
Performance: 3.4sec 0-62mph, 199mph, 23.7mpg, 290g/km CO2
Length/width/height: 4459/1924/1165mm
Weight/made from: 1422kg (dry)/aluminium and carbonfibre
Rating: *****
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