Lamborghini Huracan Spyder
VERSATILITY isn’t normally a quality one tends to associate with supercars yet it’s precisely this criterion that often defines the best. Single-minded focus is, by comparison, fairly easy. Creating something with a broad range of talents is a far trickier brief. It’s also one that the Lamborghini Huracan has nailed to rack up huge sales. In 2016 alone, the Huracan shifted more units than 16 years’ worth of Countach sales and is breezily outstripping its predecessor, the Gallardo.
A car with the civility and build integrity to be used as a daily driver yet which is feral enough to do justice to Sant’agata’s heritage was something the Gallardo never quite achieved. Given to the odd moment of histrionics, that car needed to up its dose of Ingolstadt, as is evident in its successor. Choosing which Huracan from a gradually broadening range is a nice problem to have, but making a sound case for the LP580-2 Spyder isn’t a thorny assignment.
Three factors instantly weigh in this model’s favour. Obviously it’s rear-wheel drive, the open top gets you front-row seats to the fantastic V10 soundtrack and the price is halfway reasonable in the Lamborghini firmament at $ 429,000.
Things you don’t need to worry about? Body rigidity would be right up there. It takes 27,000 Newton metres to twist the Huracan Spyder’s braced carbonfibre/ aluminium hybrid chassis by one degree. A Countach’s spaceframe is resistant to a torque force of 2600Nm per degree, a Ferrari F430 Scuderia 27,600. In other words, the drop-top Lambo’s no noodle.
One significant caveat is that in order to house the roof, the firewall separating you from the V10 is more upright in the Spyder than the Huracan coupe. This means taller drivers can’t recline the lumbago-inducing seat to any appreciable degree, so will quickly run out of headroom. Drop the roof and the windscreen header rail will obscure your view to a worrying degree, so if you’re anything much over 180cm, buy the tin top.
Both cars share the same V10 engine and it’s a poster child for the curated preservation of natural aspiration. Sure, there’s not the low-end thrust of a forced induction motor, but that delayed gratification as the needle flicks around the TFT dial, the exhaust butterflies opening at 4000rpm and then the manic, howling careen to the 8500rpm redline makes this Huracan as angry a supercar as you’ll ever desire.
The steering of this rear-wheeldrive model is a smidgeon sweeter than the all-wheel-drive cars, but it’s not night and day. The 23kw deficit compared to the LP610- 4 Spyder isn’t something you’re likely to feel. That’s five percent of difference and is partially offset by the 33kg saved by dispensing with a Haldex clutch pack, front prop and driveshafts. The front suspension of this 580-2 version is also slightly softer in comparison to the LP610- 4 and in the dry there’s real neutrality to this Huracan Spyder, with hugely reassuring front-end grip. The standard steel brakes deliver friendlier modulation than the optional, and pricier, carbonceramic discs and are well up to the demands of fast road work.
The LP580-2 looks to be the sweet spot in the Huracan range and this Spyder loses very little to its coupe sibling yet gains quite a lot. You’ll need to be careful when specifying not to blow the value proposition but this is now a supremely well-rounded supercar. ‘ Molto poliedrico’, as they might say in Emilia-romagna. That’s a compliment.
Sant’agata distils the good stuff in its rear-drive roadster