Lamborghini Huracán LP 580-2

Legend has it that, in the early 1960's, tractor manufacturer Ferruccio Lamborghini thought the Ferrari he owned could be improved. His suggestions to Enzo Ferrari didn't exactly result in hugs and a warm friendship. Thus a rivalry was born, a beautiful one at that. The LP 580-2 is the newest version of the Huracán. This is Lamborghini's most affordable model, unfortunately, and you can tell this is coming a mile away it starts at $200,000. This one is $221,000. Look at it this way, investment grade modern art? Way more expensive. The 580-2 is rear-drive. Engineers didn't just chuck the drive axel in front and call it a day. Both fascias are different. There's a retuned suspension, recalibrated stability controls, plus new power management and steering set-up. So the feel is different than all-wheel drive models.

The rear drive of this car is all about getting the back end to break away in a controlled manor. The 580's cornering capabilities are epic. Even when leaving the main highway, inducing oversteer on public roads requires higher speeds, sharper curves, and steeper insurance coverage than I have access to. But no doubt, the rear-drive quality can be felt. It's a joy. This is pretty easy to drive. Ride quality is pretty firm as you'd expect. Lamborghini, the businessman, didn't just compete out of spite with Enzo. Repurposed parts kept costs down. That philosophy remains, Huracán' starts with an aluminum and carbon fiber architecture Audi R8 is based on. Forza comes from a 5.2-liter V10. You've already heard what 580 horsepower and 397 pound-feet of torque sound like when armed but it's hard to get enough of it.  A seven-speed dual clutch automatic is the only choice. Drive modes provide various amounts of safety net, Corsa apparently Italian for "you're on your own".
 

In case you're borrowing your friends Lamborghini, some things you should know. Turn signals are here, not on a stalk. Raise the control to lower the windows. Hopefully they bought the $3,500 hydraulic lift or you WILL scrape the chin. There's no drive selector, pull this paddle shifter to go. And it does go. Lamborghini claims Huracán howls to 60 miles-an-hour in 3.4 seconds. Huracán, not exactly a quiet car. That's pretty good. Great fun for a morning of intense gymnastics, the ride quality is forgiving for a super car, but I wouldn't want to travel vast distances. At cruise, half the cylinder banks shut down and it switches between the two of them. Lamborghini, if nothing else, all about fuel efficiency.

The impeccably crafted cabin gets the same angular geometry as the exterior, as if it were designed by bees that pilot F-18s. Wow, and I thought visibility in the Camaro was bad. At $3,900, the back up camera is NEEDED. The gauge cluster is quite configurable. Lamborghini is owned by Volkswagen so Audi owners will recognize this, all the information is front and center though some can get blocked when the wheel is turned. There's some storage here and there but helping friends move with a Huracán is unwise. And now for a little light comedy. Again, not a great cross-country companion. To drill down on the LP 580-2 a little deeper, it's some 72 pound lighter, there's two percent less weight in the front than the all-wheel drive 610-4 with a 40/60 weight distribution (the back is heavier). The car was developed to be both rear and all-wheel drive, this is not some afterthought. BTW, LP stands for Longitudinal Posterior or "engine mounted behind the driver". Carbon ceramic brakes are available but were not on this particular car.  Huracán sure whips up a crowd. The aluminum body panels are a menacing form of origami. The all-wheel drive Huracán 610-4 might provide better lap times on a track but there's more emotion in the corners with the 580-2.

Lamborghini operates a carbon fiber innovation lab in Seattle, partly due to the fact that Boeing uses a lot of it. I hope to do a story on it some day.

Source: https://cartofuture.com/lamborghini-huracan-lp-580-2/