You don't see a brand-new model from Lamborghini very often. The folks in Sant'Agata work, well, slowly and roll out new cars about once a decade. That makes today special.
Well, sort of.
This is the Huracán LP 610-4. It's the successor to the Gallardo, which is to supercars as the Bentley Contintental GT is to luxury grand tourers — damn-near ubiquitous among the nouveu riche. It's the Everyman Exotic. Lamborghini sold more than 14,000 of them during an epochal 10-year run, unveiling one variation after another (Coupe! Spyder! RWD-only coupe! That awesome version named for the guy who tests every Lambo that leaves the factory! Etc.) to keep milking the sacred cow as long as it possibly could, then just a bit longer still.
This being a Lamborghini, it's best to dispatch with the stats up front. The Huracán is the new "entry-level" Lambo, so rather than stuffing it full of V12 insanity, it gets a slightly less insane V10. It's a riff on the engine in its kissing cousin, the up-spec Audi R8. Lamborghini, being Lamborghini, had to differentiate itself from its German sibling and goosed the 5.2-liter from a measly 550 horsepower to a more appropriate 610, hence the name. The "4" indicates all-wheel-drive, a version of the system Audi calls Quattro. The engine is bolted to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox that's new for Lamborghini but not to Audi, which has been using it awhile.
All that kit adds up to a 0-60 mph run of 3.2 seconds, 0-120 in 9.9 seconds, and a top speed just past the double century mark at 202 mph. Fun, sure, but de rigueur for anything called a supercar these days. The chassis is a mix of carbon fiber and aluminum that weighs in at 3,135 pounds sans fluids and driver. The car comes standard with carbon ceramic brakes and magneto-rheologic dampers that adapt to the road surface in milliseconds. Strada, Sport, and Corsa driving modes up the insanity in that order.
As with everything Lamborghini builds, the name is derived from bullfighting. In this case, the Huracán "fought in Alicante in August 1879, showing his unrelenting character and remaining defiant and invincible."
That's all very inspiring, and it's hard to argue with 610 horsepower rocketing you to 60 in a little more than three ticks. But this is Lamborghini's most obvious punt in years. Aside from those sultry floating buttresses, the design is so generic as to be almost forgettable. Sure, it looks the part, but it's nowhere nearly as awe-inspiring as, say, a Muira, as terrifying as an Aventador, or as bat-shit insane as the Egoist. And by raiding the Audi parts bin to create it, there's nothing magical underneath. It's a big engine, in a light chassis, with all-wheel-drive. Done.
We're sure the Huracán will be an absolutely brain-bending experience behind the wheel, but from Lamborghini, we want more ... everything. More power, more presence, more madness. The Huracán is just another Lamborghini, and such a thing shouldn't exist.
