Established since 1976
Established since 1976
By Lee Pang Seng
LAMBORGHINI might have been pretty low key compared to its more flamboyant Italian rival in Ferrari but after coming under Audi in the Volkswagen Group more than 15 years ago, it has re-established itself as an exclusive player to contend with. Since Ferruccio Lamborghini founded the company in 1963, it had been on a roller-coaster ride and went through a few changes of ownership.
Falling into bankruptcy in 1978, it came under American Chrysler before it was Indonesian-owned in 1994. It was subsequently sold to the Volkswagen Group four years later and placed under Audi management. From then on, Lamborghini has picked itself up to forge strongly ahead.
It moved to a two-model status from a single model platform but there was no shortage of glamour and excitement even on the previous standing. Cars like Miura, Countach, Diablo and Murciélago drew its coterie of fans and supporters. Then in 2003, the Gallardo was introduced to complement the Murciélago and Lamborghini sales soared above 1,000 units for the first time.
The Murciélago has since been replaced by the Aventador after a 10-year run in 2011 and likewise, the Gallardo saw its successor in the Huracán in 2013. The name is a Spanish word for hurricane and the inspiration is said to the name of a raging bull in 1879 known for its courage. These new models spurred Lamborghini sales upwards of 1,000 units again, growing progressively each year to 3,245 cars in 2015, the highest annual sales ever.
Lamborghini expects to maintain the momentum by introducing the Urus SUV (sport utility vehicle) once the expansion work on its production facility in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy is completed to create a new line. With the global buying trend swinging to SUVs, Lamborghini obviously sees a ready market to be tapped even at the exclusive level.
In the meantime, Lamborghini continues to introduce new variants to the existing model range in 2015 and one of them was the Huracán LP 580-2, a rear-wheel drive alternative to the LP 610-4 all-wheel drive. The mid-engine layout of the V10 made it easy to go rear drive while discarding the links to the front.
The V10 is generally the same in the Huracán range but the engine for the LP 580-2 is detuned to deliver 427kW (580PS) at 8,000rpm (against 449kW/610PS at 8250rpm for the LP 610-4) and 540Nm at 6500rpm (560Nm at 6500rpm). The engine is a 90-degree V10 with double overhead camshafts per cylinder bank and 40 valves in total. It is undersquare in configuration with a 92.8mm stroke and 84.5mm bore to displace 5204cc.
The V10 is a normally aspirated engine but it comes with both direct fuel injection and multipoint fuel injection. This combines the benefits of both systems and it is said to be the first time that this combination is used in a V10. The transmission is a new seven-speed LDF dual-clutch automatic transmission with steering wheel paddle shifts (apparently there will be no manual transmission option for the Huracán).
The shift characteristics are determined via the Drive Selector Mode called ANIMA (Adaptive Network Intelligent Management) that is located 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) – through which ANIMA would electronically manage all the respective areas to meet the desired function.
Dimensionally, the LP 580-2 is largely the same as the LP 610-4 except that the former has a narrower front track as it doesn’t have front-drive ancillaries and components for an all-wheel drive. The 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 still has better power-to-weight ratio of 2.33kg/PS versus 2.39kg/PS.
This is clearly highlighted in the performance. The LP 580-2 accelerates to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds while the LP 610-4 does the same in 3.2. Likewise, 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.
The rear-wheel drive Huracán is, however, lighter on fuel consumption with a combined return of 8.4km/l (11.9 l/100km) against 8.0km/l (12.5 l/100km) for the all-wheel drive, simply because it drives fewer wheels and less engine output is required. As its development comes under the Volkswagen Group sportscar technology, the Huracán shares various common components with the second generation Audi R8.
In suspension, the Huracán has an aluminium double wishbone set-up that boasts a MagneRide electromagnetic damper control. Called magnetorheological dampers, they give the suspension system magnetic control that quickly changes how the system works based on the drive mode selected to attain the desired driving performance and usability.
In body design, the main difference is in the front, the lower air apron to be exact. The LP 580-2 has a seamless apron that is sectioned into three areas while that for the LP 610-4 has an angled air scoop on each side against a honeycomb grille to provide a more aggressive look. The LP 580-2 is also said to have a larger air vent at the rear.
For body styling, Lamborghini doesn’t go for frills but clean sweeping lines that toe the wedge profile closely. The front is rakish, with the sharp nose flowing straight up to the cabin area before tapering gradually to the rear. The curves are on the sides, mostly designed to direct wind to cool the V10 engine located longitudinally midship and the rear brakes.
By the way, the ventilated and cross-drilled steel brakes come with carbon-ceramic pads activated by eight pistons in front and four at the rear. The tyres on the LP 580-2 are also smaller being 245/35 R19 mounted 8.5Jx19 alloys in front and 305/35 R19 on 11Jx19 at the rear. The tyres are Pirelli P Zero rubbers that are specially made for Lamborghini and this is clearly seen by the embossed stylised ‘L’ on the sidewall.
The body frame is made up of hybrid aluminium and carbon-fibre materials and the outer skin of the body is made from aluminium and composite materials. The colour of the leather upholstered interior is coordinated with that of the body hue, although Lamborghini has started offering customers greater customisation in the choice of interior colours and trims.
Another new customer service is the availability of sporty add-ons for the body such as more aggressive lower aprons front and rear, air scoops above the engine area, wider alloy rims and tyres, rear spoilers and side skirts. However, these new options are not available till June.
We had our drive experience with the Huracán rear-wheel drive in a ‘dynamic launch’ in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. This was held for the regional media at Taiwan’s only international standard motor sport facility, Penbay International Circuit. This is a 3.527km 16-turn FIA Grade 2 circuit in Donggang, Pingtung County that was opened in 2011.
There were six Huracán Coupés in Lamborghini’s bright range of colours although we noted that the LP 580-2s were shod with the same 20-inch tyres as the LP 610-4; these being 245/30 R20 on 8.5Jx20 alloys and 305/30 R20 on 11Jx20 wheels. Lamborghini probably figured that the dynamic performance between the two cars would matter little in the fitment of tyres.
We were one of two Malaysian media invited for the event and we were grouped with 20 motoring writers from China and Taiwan. The drive was conducted convoy style, which is the usual arrangement, with a pace car leading two media cars. Being the last two on the list, we enjoyed the benefit of just one media car to a pace car. And we were not short on driving experience as we had about 13 laps over three sessions of four to five laps each.
As the initial acquaintance, we thought it would be good to select Street mode first to find out what the Huracán rear-wheel drive could do. We had forgotten that we were on a race circuit and that the pace would be a lot quicker than driving on public roads. In Street mode, the Huracán LP 580-2 wasn’t quite what we had expected of an exclusive sports coupé.
The steering wasn’t quite as sharp as we had expected going into a corner at speed and the power uptake, despite us selecting the gears via the steering wheel paddle shifts, wasn’t building up as quickly we would like. We were simply not comfortable pushing this Huracán through the corners fast enough to keep up with the pace car. That prompted the pace car driver Xuxu, a regular drift and rally participant, to urge us to drive faster through the walkie-talkie and keep up with him.
On entering the final corner to the main 600-metre straight, we switched to Sport mode and found the engine coming alive with quicker power flow. The Huracán’s rear felt a bit loose in wanting to step out in oversteer as we pushed it through the corners as hard as we could without rear-ending the pace car. It was obvious that the Huracán was fully in its dynamic element being driven hard on a race circuit in the correct mode.
For some reason, we didn’t attempt Race mode although we learnt from our fellow Malaysian media that it had slightly greater dynamic depth through the corners. We kept mostly to Sport mode but in the third session, we tried Street mode again to verify our experience. Being more familiar with the Huracán’s dynamic manners and character by then, we could still drive fast but it was definitely more confident inspiring to do that in Sport mode.
Lest we forget, we simply loved the raspy roar of the throaty exhausts that gets louder when we upshift to lower gears when approaching corners and sounds milder on downshifts. This additive note is actually louder in Sport mode and a whole lot tamer in Street, which is logical as you wouldn’t want to draw too much attention while moseying along in city traffic.
We had a sampling of its performance limit when Xuxu took us on a ‘taxi’ ride. He might not have been as gung-ho as the other two pace car drivers who are no doubt active in some motor sport discipline (one of whom spun a few times in his exuberance) but he still sent some cones ‘flying’ during a few moments of oversteer through the tight curves.
On the social aspects of the Huracán, we could easily adjust the best driving position through electronic controls. The fully LED (light emitting diode) instrument panel was reasonably well laid out for us to glean the information we want. The aircraft style controls on the central dashboard were cool, likewise the red flip cover for the push start button. The gear selection buttons were simple, being only three; Reverse, Park and Manual.
It may look every bit a car that’s built for gut-wrenching performance but the Huracán should be equally at home driving along in the city and urban areas. Sports cars aren’t what they used to be 40 years ago but then again, the buyers of these cars today are often not the gung-ho types either. Anyone with loads of money can hop into one and drive it away as if he was driving an Audi sedan.
