Lamborghini Huracan Driving Experience Review

On a bright and clear sunny day, with an unbelievably cold wind chill, we were introduced to Xtreme Xperience’s Lamborghini Huracán. The company tours the country, letting newbs experience supercars and professional instruction at an affordable price. At Hallett Motor Racing Circuit, one of the several supercars XX brought was the new entry Lambo.

Released in 2014 as a replacement for the super successful Gallardo, the Huracán continues the same design philosophy of a small, approachable supercar, with out of this world looks and presence.

When the Huracán pulled up, we immediately thought it looked impossibly low, with an advanced Audi-like profile. Honestly, the nose looks too low to function as a street car, but it somehow manages to take bumps and dips in the road even at track speeds. All the vents and crazy sharp angles from the Gallardo are dialed up for the Huracán. Its rear is clean and simple, more a Tron-inspired art piece. The car’s overall look works well and should appeal to most enthusiasts.

The 5.2L V10 is a carryover from the previous car, but it’s newly tuned up and ready for battle. The mid-engine powerplant makes a remarkable 602 horsepower, an impressive number for any naturally aspirated engine. Torque is up as well, to 413 lb/ft. The solid power comes from the interesting mix of technology, with compression ratio at very high 12.7:1, and the combination of direct injection and multi-port EFI. Crazy, but it seems to work. Hilariously, it also has start/stop technology for fuel savings and better emissions, even though the car looks like it wants to club baby seals.

The only transmission choice is a snappy shifting 7-speed dual clutch, instantly sending power to all four wheels. Gear selection is actuated by massive levers behind the steering wheel (although we kept it in automatic for our track drive). The suspension is adjustable between street, sport, and race modes. The 20” wheels come wrapped in Pirelli’s best. The chassis is a lightweight mix of aluminum and composite, as are the body panels, resulting in a car that tips the scales at just 3,135 lbs. That’s a lot of power, with not a lot of weight, and it shows in the stats. Zero to sixty passes in a neck snapping 3.2 seconds, with a top speed of just over 200 mph.

Inside, it’s traditional Lambo. The design looks like a wild concept car, but on closer inspection, it is livable every day. It seems fairly simplistic in the dash area, but then the center console, switchgear, and air vents are extremely detailed and designed. The easy to grip, thick steering wheel frames motorcycle-like gauges with a prominent tachometer. The center console features piano black accents and the coolest engine start button ever made. The seats are comfy, and provide decent support for track day fun. The seating position is a lot like the old fourth generation Camaro; way low and always slightly reclined. The overall ergonomics and design make sense, but it never lets you forget you are driving a genuine supercar.

Rent a Lamborghini Huracan

Starting the Lambo Huracán is perhaps no big deal to an F-22 Raptor pilot, but to the rest of us flipping up a bright red “safety” cover over the Start Button is pretty unique and cool. A very brief cranking and the V10 spits to life, very quickly revving and settling down to idle. Without seeing it, you can tell it’s an Italian machine. There’s pop and crackle in the revs, and that slightly musical tone that comes with smaller displacement engines with many cylinders. And it’s loud.

Accelerating on track, the blast of the engine overwhelms every other noise, including our instructor’s advice. Still, we didn’t mind, and like in the GT3, we imagine that the Huracán stereo system doesn’t get much use. Tread lightly on the accelerator, and this supercar behaves like an everyday commuter with an amazing race-bred aural note out back. Step on it though, and everything changes. The all-wheel drive is all grip, launching you like an aircraft carrier grade catapult. The experience of speed is almost unreal. By the time your brain registers a long straight stretch of track, the Huracán is devouring it with a V10 howl and a severe blur out the side windows, and then the straight is gone.

It’s not a one-trick sports car though. The Huracán corners like a proper supercar, flat, balanced and incredibly confident through the corners. The AWD adds an interesting dynamic for drivers not used to it, as it seems you can give more throttle much earlier than normal, and the tires just take it all in and keep on gripping.

Unlike Lambo’s cars of yesterday, like the Countach, the Huracán can stop too. Massive 6-piston calipers slam on the carbon ceramic rotors instantaneously, like the brakes read your mind.

Overall, with help from Xtreme Xperience’s instruction, the Huracán was a bucket list kind of drive. It’s stunnning looks, combined with huge power and not much weight, plus a confident and capable suspension and braking system make it an enjoyable drive at any speed. Our Huracán driver was the same guy that drove XX’s Z06, and while the cars are similar in performance, he said the edge went to the Huracán. It’s not that the Lamborghini is a better performer, it’s just a very different car, in a very sensory pleasing way, as a true driver’s car.

Handing the Huracán back to Xtreme Xperience crew was unfortunate, but had to be done. Even though we were leaving the legendary bull, the supercar driving experience was one we wouldn’t soon forget. Lamborghini did their homework on this one and built a truly world class supercar.