Come on, feel the noise

Lamborghini Huracán Spyder comes out of its shell. Not one for introverts

The huracán has got better and better since its launch in 2013. Chassis revisions last year made it more engaging to drive, then came the infinitely more playful rear-wheel-drive LP 580-2. Now Sant’Agata has gone one further by producing this, the new Spyder, which, says Lamborghini, combines the power and dynamic performance of the coupé with the added emotion of open-air motoring.

The Spyder does look rather suave. It is instantly identifiable as a member of the Huracán family yet different at the same time. I personally think it looks even better than the coupé, and the way the three-part hood glides gracefully into the rear bodywork in just 17 seconds produces a decent hit of street theatre, never more so than in a place such as Miami beach, where the car was launched.

It’s a lot more than just a pretty version of an already pretty car, however. Lamborghini has gone to great lengths to ensure the Spyder’s underpinnings remain razor-sharp. Stiffening has been added front and rear, there are rollover bars that deploy to protect the occupants if the car starts to invert, and there’s a small rear screen that raises automatically on the move to eradicate swirl in the cabin with the hood down.

The Spyder weighs an extra 122kg yet it feels extremely well sorted, with little or no compromises noted in terms of chassis stiffness or general sharpness. And with the exact same 602bhp 5.2-litre V10 engine as the coupé, allied to the same much-improved seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, the Spyder still feels heroically fast. Lamborghini claims 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds and 201mph flat-out, hood up or down, and although you need to rev the V10 beyond 4000rpm to get at the meat of its potential, when you do so the resulting thump in the kidneys is hugely addictive.

Best of all, you get to hear the V10 in all its glory that much better in the Spyder. And believe me, it sounds utterly fantastic, never more so than with the hood up and the little electric rear screen down. At 8000rpm in second gear, it’s enough to make a grown man go weak at the knees.

Price? A snip at £205,000, which is actually not that horrendous beside rivals from Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren, none of which sound anything like as delicious as the Spyder, even if they are a tiny bit quicker where it counts.