LAMBO HURACÁN STO

We put Lamborghini’s hardcore Huracán STO through its paces on some of the most challenging roads we know. But first the racetrack beckons

Lighter, rear-wheel drive and more focused than ever, the STO has all the ingredients to be the best Huracán yet. Jethro Bovingdon puts it to the test on road and track

IT’S OPPRESSIVELY HOT IN ITALY. THE sort of heat that seeps into your eyes, nose and throat and seems to boil you from the inside out. Even so, the magnificence of Rome on a summer’s day is like an ice-cool Bellini for the soul after months of lockdown misery. Nothing could stop me from wandering around this extraordinary city for hour after hour… Well, almost nothing. Today every proud building and monument, every narrow street teeming with life and errant scooters slips by almost unnoticed. Today we head north to the Autodromo di Vallelunga to drive the Huracán STO. Finally, Lamborghini has fully uncorked its baby. No apologies, no excuses and – hallelujah – no front driveshafts. The STO is truly a mouth-watering prospect.

It feels like we’ve been waiting for this car forever. Ever since the Huracán was launched back in 2014 it’s been nearly fantastic. Blessed with a killer V10 engine and shockingly brilliant dual-clutch gearbox, possessed of a stunning, simple shape and with grip, composure and drama to spare. What’s been missing? That last degree of precision, adjustability and balance. In the early days Lamborghini almost celebrated the Huracán’s slightly blunted edges, and as time went on it introduced confusing technology such as Dynamic Steering, which upped the responsiveness but further removed the driver from exactly what the car was doing down at road level.

The latest Evo models are a big step forward, particularly the RWD version that recently excelled at ecoty, but the STO feels like the inevitable conclusion to this car’s long evolution. Lighter, more focused, aggression cranked-up to maximum and with the look and, perhaps, the feel of the Super Trofeo and GT3 racers. Hence the STO or Super Trofeo Omologato, nametag. The price – £260,012 – says it’s a 765LT rival. The numbers – 631bhp at 8000rpm, 417lb ft at 6500rpm – suggest it’s outgunned. For us, though, the promise is boundless. If the STO can replicate the grip and response of the very latest track-focused cars and build that experience around its scintillating engine, it could become an instant icon. I think it’s fair to say that the pressure on this wild-looking new Lamborghini feels more stifling than the relentless heat of Italy in the height of summer.

It’s all smiles at Vallelunga, however. In fact, I’ve never seen Lamborghini CTO Maurizio Reggiani so relaxed. Even the immaculate president and CEO, Stephan Winkelmann, has a casual looseness that I’ve not witnessed before as he presents the STO in a pit garage to the very small group of journalists. But then, telling the story of the STO is easy. No need to talk about applying Lamborghini values to an SUV to a cynical crowd, no need to justify a retro special edition that fills the coffers but erodes the soul. The STO is a loud, impractical and extreme interpretation of Lamborghini’s most talented driver’s car. Simple.

Of course, the devil is in the detail and the STO has lots of detail. Aero and lightweighting have been two of the most

intensely interrogated areas and the results are pretty impressive. One of the significant changes that benefits both is the adoption of a one-piece clamshell for the front end, dubbed the cofango, which is a fusion of cofano (hood) and parafango (fender). It’s carbonfibre, as are all the panels save the roof and door skins, and the twin bonnet ducts improve cooling flow through the radiators and increase downforce. Vents on the wheelarches also reduce wheel well pressure, the front splitter feeds the underbody and rear venturis, and the rear ‘shark fin’ increases yaw stability and helps shape the airflow onto the manually adjustable rear wing. Overall aero efficiency is improved by 37 per cent, with downforce 53 per cent up on the Performante. The STO can run three aero configurations depending on rear wing setting – low downforce (324kg at 174mph), mid (363kg) and high (420kg).

Aside from the obvious ‘free’ weight saving of removing the fourwheel-drive system, the STO does all the cool things to further suck out unnecessary flab. Thinner glass, carbonfibre for everything, a stripped-back interior and optional magnesium wheels are the headline items. The result is a dry weight of 1339kg, which is 43kg less than the Performante but still a little chubby compared with the svelte 765LT’S dry figure of 1229kg. In fact, the Mclaren’s DIN kerb weight (all fluids, 90 per cent fuel) is an exact match for the Lambo without so much as a drop of coolant.

There are myriad other changes. New CCM-R brakes that should be much more consistent and offer better feel, a brand new and bespoke Bridgestone Potenza tyre in Sport and Race configurations, revised magnetic dampers and an e-differential, a much-modified rear-wheel-steering system and a new 13.4:1 fixed-ratio steering rack. The ANIMA switch adjusts each element between STO, Trofeo and Pioggio (rain) modes. There’s a new Akrapovic exhaust system, too. I’m not sure performance figures mean anything these days but this rather ‘underpowered’ contender does 0-62mph in 3 seconds dead and that big wing calls an end to acceleration at 193mph. I don’t care. Just let me in this thing…

Vallelunga is a hell of a track and my guide for the day in another STO ahead, Jeroen Mul, is on it from lap one. The first corner you meet out of the pits is turn 2, the perfectly christened Curva Grande, and it’s taken in the top of 5th or, later, in 6th gear. Mul is in 6th and gone, so I have little choice but to roll up my sleeves and get stuck in. Time to trust the aero, the new Bridgestone Potenza Race tyres (think Cup 2 R and you’re about right) and the CCM-R brakes.

The first thing to note is the steering. It’s light, fast and very accurate. We’re in Trofeo mode and so body motions are held tightly in check, which combined with the ferocious steering response can make the STO initially a little difficult to read and darty in the extreme. Soon I learn that this is exacerbated by my inexperience at the track and slight apprehension. I just need to take a breath and relax in order for the STO to start relaxing, too. Luckily, settling into the experience is aided by fantastic brake feel and by the massive, instant bite and sublime accuracy afforded by the wonderful V10 that’s serenading me even through the thick sound-deadening of a crash helmet. What an engine!

It seems slightly mad to spend yet more time heaping praise on this 5.2-litre V10 but, well, I’m going to anyway. Not least because the engine’s almost overwhelming fury is underpinned by thrillingly intuitive throttle response. Such bite and intensity rarely go hand-in-hand with nuance and subtlety, but here they are perfectly in tune. Lamborghini has worked hard on the throttle map, so there’s none of the near-binary behaviour of some other

Huracáns in the more aggressive ANIMA settings. The dual-clutch gearbox remains simply magical. And, as it turns out, this delicate balance between outright force and precise, easily manipulated adjustability is mirrored in the chassis, too. I’d feared a sort of locked-down, muscular experience. All grip and heavy-handed ‘drama’ ladled on with artificial weight and exaggerated brutality. This is an oft-repeated habit at Lamborghini. Instead, the STO is sweetness itself and has real fluidity and deft responses. It’s unlike any Huracán I’ve driven before.

The laps just keep coming and the STO is remarkably consistent, tolerant of mistakes and has the most brilliant mixture of highspeed security and bubbling enthusiasm and indulgence in the slower turns. Any fears about the front end are simply gone. You can find understeer if you’re recklessly ambitious, but for the most part the STO just nails the apex. Traction is excellent, too. Lamborghini is not shy about data and so every lap is recorded by the optional on-board telemetry and camera system. I am not a competitive person (ahem) but don’t want to let the side down for evo, so I’m getting on the throttle earlier and earlier each lap and the Bridgestone tyres feel right up for the challenge.

Of course, eventually the STO will slip into oversteer, but the traction control system is very well judged in Trofeo mode, allowing for the tail to smear out a few degrees and then gradually checking the slide. We’re not supposed to disable it completely, but doing so reveals the system is not hiding any nasty traits. Here’s a Huracán that you can really stamp your style onto and feel it’s right there with you. It’s certainly more satisfying than the already excellent Performante and despite upping the sense of interactivity and control there’s no downside in terms of stability and grip. I’m sure a wet track would reveal the advantages of four-wheel drive, but here and now the STO feels much faster in terms of lap time and manages to be more fun, too.

As time starts to run out there’s no let-up in the oppressive heat but no nervousness amongst the Lamborghini staff, either. The STO was made for this. Seems obvious, but Porsche Gt3-levels of durability on track are not a given for all hardcore supercars. The Huracán keeps on pounding around and around and there’s so little lap-time drop-off from the tyres it’s quite remarkable. After a five-lap stint there’s a little more turn-in oversteer and you have to hesitate just a fraction before giving the V10 its head on corner exit, but mostly the STO feels like an endurance racer just settling in for a double stint. Sounds like one, too. Only louder. Looks like one, too. Only more outrageous as it’s wearing numberplates.

I’m smitten. Of course, the real world isn’t full of empty tracks and endless sunshine. It’s time to go home and see how the STO feels on the sorts of roads that have unravelled even the most scintillating of track specials…

‘IT FEELS LIKE AN ENDURANCE RACER JUST SETTLING IN FOR A DOUBLE STINT. SOUNDS LIKE ONE, TOO’