Lambo Huracán STO
Road-legal Super Trofeo racer
Last month, we discovered that the circuit-sired, stripped-out new Huracán STO is pretty good on track. Shorn of weight and loaded with extra downforce, the low-slung 631bhp Lamborghini delivered a dynamic display to rival such paragons of motorsportinfused performance as the Porsche 911 GT3 and Mclaren 765LT.
Yet while track time was the ultimate development target, the reality is that STOS are more likely to be sashaying down the road (or tucked up in a garage gathering value) than shaving tenths from lap times. Even Lamborghini admits that only a third of owners will end up going around in circles. So what’s it like when you hit the highway?
If anything, the STO looks even more outlandish here – its huge rear wing, vestigial rooftop snorkel and gravel-grazing front splitter giving it true race-refugee visual appeal.
Inside, the louvred engine cover cuts rear visibility to zero, while the circuit vibe is enhanced by the Alcantara-clad steering wheel and dashboard, the liberal use of carbonfibre and the fabric door pulls. Yet the recumbent driving position is spot on and you even get Apple Carplay: this Huracán is habitable.
Flick back the red guard, prod the button beneath and you’re granted entry to the STO’S star attraction: its mid-mounted 5.2-litre V10. This 631bhp last-of-the-line celebration of naturally aspirated combustion engines is largely unchanged from the standard Huracán Evo, but a bespoke exhaust means it sounds even more extraordinary, while the STO’S 43kg weight saving over the old Huracán Performante adds a little extra urgency to the performance.
Even so, compared with the rabid turbocharged punch of the 765LT, the STO feels a little lethargic at low revs; but as the digital rev counter swings quickly around its dial, the STO’S true potential is uncorked. From around 4500rpm, it starts to accelerate with vicious intent, and by the time its hits its 8500rpm redline, the howling, bellowing, popping and crackling V10 will have sent you into sensory overload as it gobbles through the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox’s short and closely stacked ratios.
Of course you would expect the engine to be gloriously unhinged; more surprising is the deft way the chassis deals with the UK’S scarred roads. Yes, the ride is firm, but like the Performante that preceded it, the STO uses adaptive dampers to round off all the worst edges.
Up the pace and the body control is exceptional. The STO shrugs off challenging topography with nearperfect poise, with only really ragged surfaces upsetting its equilibrium.
In fact, the STO feels remarkably at home on twisting back roads. It’s a bit darty and nervous to start with – the active rear steering being a little too keen to rotate the car into corners – but calm your inputs and you’re soon revelling in its twinkle-toed agility as it slices through a series of corners with an uncanny lack of inertia and seemingly laser-guided precision.
Turn in and there’s virtually no understeer, while the mid-corner balance is sublime, allowing you to load up the chassis just so. Better still, the combination of beautifully judged throttle response and the engine’s deliciously progressive torque delivery means you can subtly play with the car’s angle on exit.
It’s helped by fixed-ratio steering, which in Trofeo driving mode takes on a welcome meatiness normally absent from the Huracán, allowing you to more accurately judge grip levels, even if it’s not ultimately as chatty as the 911 GT3’S set-up.
The carbon brakes are to Porsche standards, though, losing their initial grabiness to deliver powerful and easily modulated stopping power.
In fact, it’s all so well judged on the road that you will soon forget about meaningless downforce figures and faster lap times. Crucially, you will be mentioning the STO in the same breath as some hugely talented cars.
Even more importantly, it’s a truly fitting last hurrah for the Huracán.