2016 Lamborghini Huracan LP 580-2
Let?s be very clear about this: I drove the Porsche (see previous post) first because I thought its control layout being similar to my own, and its known track focused mission, would help reduce my overall track learning curve. The Huracan has much more power, so if I was struggling to keep up inputs in the Porsche,
this car should have me fitted for a straight jacket by the end.
Then I found out I wasn?t even driving the standard four-wheel drive car, but the more enthusiast-oriented rear-wheel version.
In an Italian supercar.
With a V10.
And 570 horsepower!
I should be in the bathroom having a, er, ?weight shedding? session, but oddly enough I?m just eager to get in there.
I was right not to be worried. Let?s get right to the metrics: despite now having some degree of familiarity with the course and track driving in general, my fastest lap in the Huracan was some four seconds off the pace of my times in the GT3. That?s no knock on the Huracan or an admission that I cocked it up (I didn?t, well, not utterly), but rather reinforcement of the GT3?s commitment to being a better track car and making you a better track driver. It?s also irrelevant to yours truly, who had a screaming ball of orgasmic joy driving the Lamborghini versus the more po-faced approach to the Porsche.
Upon seeing and touching a Huracan in real life, its exterior is just as flamboyant and gorgeous as it appears in photos. It?s everything a supercar should be: low, wide, wedge shaped, and a bit mental. The car I drove was a non-metallic, non-matte white (
?Bianco Monocerus?), but the entire experience kept fooling me into thinking it was finished in Lamborghini?s wonderfully expressive
Verde Mantis, otherwise known as Kermit the Frog green. If cars can be art, then I?m creating heresy by fondling a Mona Lisa.
The interior is very nice to the touch, and continues the hexagonal theme so well executed on the outside. Interior visibility through the front windshield and side windows is very good, the rear made up mostly of horizontal black slats which, even if absent, would provide the clarity of trying to read
The Complete Works of Shakespeare in size 6 font by flickering candle. The interior was black but with lovely off-colour stitching throughout. I can?t tell you what colour the stitching was, however, because I only saw it in my peripheral vision, my eyes unconsciously zeroing in on the part that only Lamborghini could pull off and not be ridiculed for: that lovely fighter pilot-inspired red starter button with protective flip up cover. This car costs far more than the GT3 I can?t afford, but in that singular moment of eye pornography, I am simultaneously seeing numbers as if I were in The Matrix, desperate to make it work financially. Can this car?s performance cash the cheques its appearance seems to be writing?
Judging from my own experience, if the performance is measured in lap times, then no, it can?t. As I mentioned earlier, my ham-fisted attempts in the GT3 netted me lap times four seconds faster (an eternity on a course where lap times bracket the one-minute-dead mark), yet I was immediately more comfortable behind the wheel of the Huracan. I?m sure that was partly due to the oodles of real-time information I gained driving the track earlier in the GT3, but also due to the Huracan LP 580-2?s mid engined, rear-drive layout being identical to my own Boxster GTS. Low polar moment of interia, and all that jazz. This car wasn?t frightening at all. Behind the wheel, trying to apply the techniques advised by the ride along instructor, I?m all smiles, no grit. Even with helmet, I can both hear and feel that 5.2 litre V10 barking its way to 8500 rpm. My sense of touch is thoroughly enjoying the feedback from the wheel, and the tactile sensation of the luridly oversized paddle shifters. Front wheels freed from the burden assisting in acceleration, left to the duties of cornering as God intended, the LP 580-2 follows my inputs as if by telepathy. I?m no longer concentrating on finding the apex and maintaining smooth inputs, I?m simply doing it subconsciously, even inducing a very brief four wheel slide as I barrel past the previously mentioned tight right hand infield corner in one of my later laps.
It?s not all arias and homemade lasagna noodles, however. I still found the time to over-brake at the aforementioned tight right hander on one lap. And I?m sure I?m still not making my throttle, brake, or steering inputs anywhere as fast or smooth as I should be, but I?m definitely more comfortable, and I?m certainly having more fun. I don?t want to get out. I want to stay in this thing, lapping the tiny course, forever. Contrast that to my last few laps in the GT3 where I felt I was simply a passenger on a roller coaster ride that made me want to throw up, the LP 580-2 is all shits and giggles and
is obeying my every command!
This is the perfect car to choose for a track day excursion. I chose it over an Aventador despite wanting to experience that car?s batshit insane V12 (tied for loudest cars heard from pit lane: said Aventador?s soul-stirring banshee V12 and the gargling-hammers-Norse god-furious C7 Z06), because I felt its size wouldn?t be as forgiving as the smaller Huracan. I also chose this car over a McLaren 570S because despite the rave reviews that car is getting, and as pretty as it is in person, I felt the twin turbo?ed V8 might be a bit too anodyne for my tastes. I made the right choice.
This would be a useless, stupid car to drive on the street. It costs a fortune to buy, insure, and fill with fuel. The reverse camera is the only way to safely back it up because in stereotypical Italian style, the manufacturer believes rear traffic will always be ever shrinking as you continue to cane it, so why waste resources ensuring decent rear visibility? There is nowhere to put even a modest amount of groceries. Trying to rev it out on a windy road will either kill you or land you in jail, midway through second gear.
And yet, it?s perfect. I respect the consummate professional 991 911 GT3, but it feels as if I?m just along for the ride, not really a part of the process, which can only
partly be explained by the PDK paddle shift gearbox. The rock star Huracan LP 580-2, on the other hand, shares a similar transmission philosophy (though different execution), but the entire time I was driving I never felt like I was just a bystander. Instead of responding with the Porsche?s ?that?s the best you can do? You?re boring me, son??, it lovingly shouts
?OMGLOL! I AM HAVING SOOOOO MUCH FUN RIGHT NOW! DO YOU WANT ME TO SHAKE MY ASS ON CORNER EXIT? DO YOU?! DO YOU?! DO YOU?!?
It requires ?
fuck you!? levels of money to own and operate, which I don?t have. But if I did, I?d buy one without a second thought. Make mine
Verde Mantis.