Established since 1976
Established since 1976
By Lee Pang Seng
IT’S not often that we get an invitation to drive a Lamborghini unless we happen to be a potential customer, which we are in no financial situation to be. We had that pleasure earlier in the year to drive the Huracán LP 580-2 rear-wheel drive at a race circuit in Kaohsiung in Taiwan.
We couldn’t believe our luck when we were asked if we would like to have another go at the Huracán, not just the LP 580-2 but the entire range. This includes the LP 610-4 four-wheel drive in both the Coupé and Spyder. We were to be part of the Lamborghini Accademia, which is generally organised to let potential clients have a physical feel of driving these exclusive sports cars.
Need we say more and we soon found ourselves in Buriram, Thailand. Never heard of the place? You would if you are a football fan, that is, of the Thai soccer league. Buriram is perhaps better known for the football team, Buriram United, which topped the league in Thailand in 2015 and was said to be enjoying a good run in 2016.
The team owners have built a dedicated complex in Buriram, similar to that of the Bayern Munich facility that we visited recently on the invitation of Audi Malaysia. However, the Buriram United complex has more than just a football stadium as it includes a hotel (Amari), a food and shopping ‘village’, and a motor sports complex called the Chang International Circuit with a 4.554km Grade A race circuit.
Buriram is an hour’s flight to the northeast of Bangkok, specifically in the Surin province that borders Cambodia. That explains the Khmer influence in the culture and architecture of the Buddhist temples and buildings in this district.
Lamborghini took the opportunity of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Asia Series that was held that weekend at the Chang International Circuit to conduct the Lamborghini Accademia. We were among four from the media to join about a dozen ‘special’ customers from Bangkok for some fast driving at the circuit as well as two dynamic experiences to enjoy the Huracán’s impeccable road manners.
After enjoying the drive in the Huracán LP 580-2 in Taiwan, we were looking to see how it would compare dynamically against the more powerful LP 610-4. We did have an inkling of what to expect as we already had a go at the Audi R8 plus, which is pretty similar to the Huracán LP 610-4. After all, Lamborghini and Audi come under the Volkswagen umbrella and share similar platforms in developing sports cars to suit their respective profiles. The Buriram experience gave us the opportunity to make that comparison there and then, and to determine which drive platform would suit us best.
The rationale for the different models in the Huracán was best summed up by Malcom Hillary, After Sales Area Manager, Automobili Lamborghini SEAP. He said the LP 610-4 appealed to those who liked the stable four-wheel drive feel, while those who enjoyed wind-in-the-hair driving found the Spyder highly likeable. The Huracán LP 580-2 was Lamborghini’s version of a fun-to-drive sports car with its rear-wheel drive platform.
There are subtle differences between the four-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive Huracán models. The two most immediately identifiable differences are in the lower front apron and the badging. The LP 610-4 has a lower apron with angled ‘fangs’ slanted towards the centre to impress on its ferocity while the LP 580-2 has a tamer looking box-section apron. And only the LP 610-4 carries the model badge on the lower flanks of the car near the rear wheel arches. The styling difference at the rear is more subtle.
A third difference lies in the brake discs; the LP 610-4 comes with carbon brake discs as standard and the LP 580-2 has steel brakes, both are ventilated units. This can be clearly discerned through the spokes of the distinctive 20-inch alloy wheels. The steel discs are in a serrated form while the carbon discs toe the conventional round shape.
The model names are based on the power produced by the V10 engine located midship; to recap, the power unit is a normally aspirated 5.2-litre 90-degree V10 with double overhead camshafts per cylinder bank and 40 valves. Its 92.8mm stroke and 84.5mm bore to displace 5204cc gives it an undersquare configuration. The LP 580-2 delivers 427kW (580PS) at 8,000rpm and 540Nm at 6500rpm while the LP 610-4 punches 449kW/610PS at 8250rpm and 560Nm at 6500rpm; it’s all in the engine management system.
The transmission for both models is a new seven-speed LDF dual-clutch automatic transmission with steering wheel paddle shifts. Its shift characteristics are determined via the Drive Selector Mode called ANIMA (Adaptive Network Intelligent Management) on the steering wheel. Lamborghini says ANIMA controls the engine, transmission, LDS (Lamborghini Dynamic Steering), magnetorheological suspension and electronic stability control. There are three modes; Strada (Street), Sport and Corsa (Race).
Dimensionally, the LP 580-2 is largely the same as the LP 610-4 except that the rear-wheel drive Huracán has a narrower front track as it doesn’t have the front-drive ancillaries and components found on the all-wheel drive platform. Its front track is 1168mm against 1668 for the all-wheel drive. The LP 580-2 is also lighter with a kerb weight of 1389kg against 1422kg but the LP 610-4 has better power-to-weight ratio of 2.33kg/PS versus 2.39kg/PS.
In performance, the LP 580-2 accelerates to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds while the LP 610-4 does it in 3.2. Similarly, in the 0-200km/h sprint, the LP 580-2 obliges in 10.1 seconds (9.9 seconds). For the open road, Lamborghini says the LP 580-2 is capable of 320km/h but the LP 610-4 can go above 325km/h. What the rear-wheel drive Huracán gains is better fuel economy with a combined return of 8.4km/l (11.9 l/100km) against 8.0km/l (12.5 l/100km).
In suspension, the Huracán has an aluminium double wishbone set-up that boasts a MagneRide electromagnetic damper control. Called magnetorheological dampers, Lamborghini says they give the suspension system magnetic control that quickly changes how the system works based on the drive mode selected to achieve the desired driving performance and usability.
And we certainly put that to the test in the circuit drive. Our first go was in the LP 610-4 and our driving instructor was Robert Boughey, who gave us a foretaste of how we could enjoy the driving dynamics of Huracán within our limits and through understanding the track’s character and the respective corners. We then followed him in separate cars, averaging three to four laps for the successive drive sessions.
Having driven the Audi R9 plus some months earlier, we had expected more of the same with the LP 610-4. With so much torque developing early, we had the engine revving way too quickly to the 8500rpm red line as we set off, triggering the engine management system to cut the engine off. We soon learnt to upshift at 8000rpm. We were advised to select Corsa (Race) mode and use the steering wheel paddles (right to upshift and left to downshift) to enjoy the best dynamic experience.
Taking the respective corners with engine speed at around 4000rpm or so, there was so much torque coming into play, the LP 610-4 just wanted to go straight in an understeer through the corners. Picking the cornering lines well by following the instructor helped and we could carry a lot of speed through, with the Pirelli P Zero tyres (245/30 ZR 20 in front and 305/30 ZR 20 behind) squealing their protests. The electromechanical power steering also gave us good directional feedback as we moved from corner to corner.
It is stable in that respect as the Huracán LP 610-4 provided the grip through its electronically managed suspension system with high traction limits. Each time we found ourselves veering off to the side of the track, we knew we were taking the corner at a higher speed than the sports Coupé was comfortable with and easing off the accelerator slightly helped to restore stability.
When it came to the LP 580-2, we soon realised what Lamborghini meant by ‘fun driving’. It didn’t dawn on us during the drive in Taiwan as we had no four-wheel drive to compare the sports car with. We were more or less maintaining the same corner speeds, although our instructor said our speed was generally lower than with the LP 610-4.
The difference was that the rear-wheel drive LP 580-2 had the tendency to oversteer and we had to make sure our front wheels were pointing straight before flooring the accelerator. The car’s dynamics were a lot livelier in that respect as we had to ‘catch the rear’ if we are not careful. Our initial exuberance had the rear drifting out in one of the tight corners and we tried to drift but couldn’t catch it, due to lack of experience, when it fishtailed the other way.
Taking our foot off the accelerator led to a loss of forward momentum and we could regain control and floor the accelerator again. Our subsequent approach to that same corner was to be gentler on the accelerator and stay as true to the instructor’s lines as possible. It was still pretty fast though as we could still build up strong speed before slamming the brakes for the next series of turns.
We were told before the drive that we had to expect some brake fade with the LP 580-2 metal brakes, unlike the carbon brakes of the LP 610-4 that did not fade at all despite repeated hard use through the snaky course. We did not notice too much brake pedal movement in the LP 580-2 for the winding sections, either because we were not driving fast enough or not braking hard enough.
We were using third to fifth gears most of the time with the exception of two tight curves when we had to use second. For the straights, we even pushed the Huracán to above 200km/h in sixth gear before slamming on the brakes for the approaching corners. The V10 roar was music to the ears each time we upshift on reaching 8000rpm.
We also liked the fact that the Huracán took the respective corners with hardly any discernible body roll. This was because it rides rather low and this lower ride height with the wide wheel tracks keeps body movements better in check. The body movements were so minimal we hardly noticed them. That gave us the confidence to push these exclusive sports cars at higher speeds than we would normally dare.
The drive in LP 610-4 Spyder was just as enjoyable. The fabric roof could be stored behind the seats electrically but we were not able to drive the Spyder with it down due to track regulations. Nevertheless, it was about as quiet as the hardtop Coupé with the throaty decibels of the V10 being about the same in either car.
There were two additional routines that are usually part of the Lamborghini Accademia and these were the slalom course and wet course control. The first was a timed event and we had our hands full turning the steering wheel quickly in either direction to take the LP 580-2 through the course without hitting any cones. We did hit one though and still came out the quickest for our group. The livelier dynamics of the rear-wheel drive Huracán made it slightly more of a handful than doing it with a four-wheel drive (recalling our experience with the Audi R8 plus doing the same routine in Germany).
The third routine showed us what all that massive torque output could do on wet surfaces. We were again in the LP 580-2 with the ESC (electronic stability control) turned off. That means the car would react on its own without electronic aids coming in to maintain vehicle stability. We were told to drive through a corner (made thoroughly wet) at 40km/h and then floor the accelerator. Funnily, our cautious side kicked in and we hit the brake pedal instead.
As we came to a dead stop, our instructor continued with the instruction ‘hit the pedal’. And we did leading to the Huracán LP 580-2 doing a 360-degree spin on the spot. On repeating the same routine but trying to ‘catch’ the tail this time by lifting off the accelerator pedal and using the steering, we managed to stop the spin after a 180-degree turn. That appeared to please our instructor.
The two-seater Huracán might have all the design and trappings of an all-out super sports car but it can be driven at city traffic speeds easily. The V10’s strong build-up of torque at low engine speed makes crawling in city traffic a breeze and leaving the transmission in automatic makes it all the more enjoyable. It also takes road bumps well; firm but comfortable.
The Buriram experience with the entire range of the Lamborghini Huracán gave us a more complete picture of what these exclusive sports Coupé and Spyder could deliver in driving thrills and dynamic performance. And we couldn’t help being envious of the potential customers who participated in the event and who might own a Huracán soon!
