Built to be seen — and heard
Newest member of Lambo family aims to make a lifestyle statement
MIAMI BEACH, FLA.— Someone had to come here during the cold weeks of 2016 to drive a new Lamborghini convertible. You know me — always ready to take one for the team.
The car in question was the third member of the rapidly growing Huracan family, the 2016 LP 610-4 Spyder, available for ordering now at your friendly local dealer for $289,242. More on that price later on.
For those of you not keeping score, the Huracan is the Gallardo replacement, launched a year and a bit ago. LP stands for Longitudinale Posteriore, indicating a north-south engine located in the posterior of the car, and 610-4 means 610 horsepower from the 5.2-litre V10 engine and all-wheel drive. Spyder means it’s a droptop. The LP 610-4 Spyder is the “lifestyle” version. If you’re playing in this sandbox, you don’t get much more “lifestyle” than being in South Beach, hence the venue for this program.
But as a driving destination, it’s not the best for a fast car like this. Unless you want to pull a Bieber and earn an extended vacation courtesy of the Miami-Dade County Police Department. A few comments here about the ultimate performance of this car. With those specifications, you can figure that out for yourself.
Maurizio Regianni, Lamborghini’s director of R&D, noted that the objectives for the Spyder were to maintain that performance level as well as could be expected, given that the folding top and twin pop-up rollover bar mechanisms add about 120 kilograms to the car.
They also wanted to maintain the looks of the coupe, top up or down, and to optimize aerodynamics inside the cabin to provide a comfortable top-down experience from both acoustic and hair-mussing perspectives.
The photos allow you to judge the esthetics for yourself; I’d say they nailed it. The hexagon motif of the coupe’s side window graphic has been retained in either roof position.
The biggest exterior body-panel change, apart from the obvious soft top, is the rear engine cover. It now adds buttresses on either side that blend into the headrests, behind which sit those pop-up rollover bars.
Vanes and mesh panels on either side help direct air away from the cabin as part of that aerodynamic regimen.
Top-up/top-down time is given as 17 seconds, but when I timed it, it was more like 13. As with zero-to-100 sprints, everybody’s got their own stopwatch.
It zips up or down at road speeds up to 50 km/h, so if you’re caught in a sudden rain shower — not unheard of here — you and that lovely upholstery are less likely to get soaked.
Top-up, exterior noise is well-contained by the complex three-layer roof, although I confess to looking for underpasses to drive through, rolling down the windows to hear that glorious exhaust note.
There is still some turbulence topdown — Justin’s hair would probably suffer — but nothing to get overly concerned about.
Lamborghini’s sales continue to rise worldwide, and recently they’re doing particularly well in Canada.
Offering models for every taste, like the multi-model Huracan family, is a big part of that, as is an increased emphasis on brand extensions into fashion and accessories, continued care for vintage Lambos and motorsport. The very weekend we were in Miami Beach, two Huracans were doing great at the Daytona 24 hour race until they ran into each other.
Lamborghini will soon be sucked into the SUV vortex when the Urus launches next year. At least they have some history in that field — anybody remember the LM-002?
Now, about that price. In the U.S., it’s $262,350, versus the Canadian sticker of $289,242. You don’t have to be a math Olympian to figure that with the loonie currently trading where it is, we’re getting a massive bargain here.
That may also explain part of Lambo’s recent success back home.
Now, if only my Visa card could take a $289,242 hit, I’m sure I could adjust my “lifestyle” to suit.