Shaped by the wind
0-100km/h: 2.9 seconds.
Maximum velocity: 325km/h.
470kw. 600Nm.
Welcome, everyone, to the raging, manical Lamborghini Huracán Performante.
Appearing at the very top of Lamborghini’s V10 line-up, the Huracán Performante finally arrived in South Africa, five years after the standard Huracan was launched worldwide.
This means it’s in its final iteration before being replaced by an all-new model in the next two to three years. However, two to three years is a long time and to keep Lamborghini’s cash registers ticking over around the world, the company has decided to turn its littlest raging bull into a car that’s actually, arguably, one of the best cars it has made. First, let’s get all the need-to-knows out the way.
Before we get to its engine and its dynamics, it’s worthwhile to get to grips with the witchcraft that goes into piecing a Huracán Performante together. You see, while the chassis is relatively the same as the standard car’s, the body’s now made out of a mix of lightweight metals and exotic, forged material.
Lamborghini South Africa’s Christo Kruger sums up the car’s composition appropriately: “The Lamborghini Huracán Performante is amazing; first of all for its massive adoption of Forged Composites. This is one of the most innovative materials used by Automobili Lamborghini and it is made by including chopped carbon fibres embedded in a resin matrix, allowing the creation of complex design within a lightweight structure.”
Basically, you get the strength of carbon fibre in the body, but it’s even lighter than the traditional carbon fibre panels you’ll find on “regular” Lambos. The forged body parts also have a distinct look to them, almost mirroring the effect of a granite kitchen top.
By chopping up the carbon fibre and using the resin mulch to build the body, it’s lighter – up to 21% lighter if you compare the rear engine cover on the Performante against the standard Huracán, for example. Lighter means faster, and that’s how the Performante was able to break the lap record for production cars at the Nordschleife. It has trick aero too (more on that later), and a fixed rear wing that screams Diablo GT.
It’s a hyper-looking car, and it’s constructed in a way that’s unheard of in road cars. Inside too, the seats are thinner and the sound deadening has been reduced. And the radio is there, but we prefer it deleted to save weight further. Overall, though, you’re looking at a car that weighs as much as a Volkswagen Golf R.
HYPER ENGINE
If you peer into the back of a Huracán Performante, you’ll see gold cylinder head covers. Yes, these are the same cylinder heads Lamborghini uses on its Super Trofeo racing cars, which means you get a full-fat 470kw of power at 8 000rpm. Torque is high too at 600Nm, reaching this peak at 6500rpm. Basically, the engine comes alive when most cars, especially turbo cars, have given up.
HYPER BOX
Sending the power and torque to all four wheels is a seven-speed double clutch automatic transmission, similar to the unit in the standard car, but tweaked in line with the Huracán’s added engine potential. Shorter gears at the front of the stack ensure sub-three second sprints to 100km/h with Launch Control engaged, while a tall seventh gear enables reasonable cruising ability.
HYPER CAR
Last year, I travelled to Spain to drive the new Audi R8 V10 at the Ascari circuit, where it blew my mind in terms dynamics and driver engagement. Sharp on turn in, responsive to throttle inputs, and eager, oh so eager, to rev. I thought this is it, there’s no way this V10 could get any better, but Lamborghini have managed to squeeze even more potential and drama from the powerplant than the boys over at Ingolstadt.
We picked up the test car at Lamborghini’s new dealership in Century City, heading immediately for the highway and some quiet roads on the outskirts of Franschhoek.