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Cynicism is not a particularly attractive trait, but in journalism it is part of the job description. So putting my scepticism to one side; according to Lamborghini, the rearwheel drive Huracán LP580-2 has been in the planning stages for years. It’s categorically not a reaction to complaints the four-wheel drive version, the LP610-4, errs a little on the safe side when it comes to the ultimate handling edge. And certainly nothing to do with the fact the Huracan’s been given a starring role in the latest of the Marvel movie franchises, Dr Strange.
Whatever Lamborghini’s reasons are for launching this latest derivative of Huracán matters not a jot now because the LP580-2 is here and boasts a monstrous 5.2-litre V10 naturally aspirated engine, capable of producing 572bhp. It’s got a slightly softer suspension set-up and super grippy tyres, so the rear-end, in theory, should deliberately hang its tail out. At just shy of £160,000, it is £20k cheaper than the LP610-4 and also well below the price of a certain other rearwheel drive rival from just up the road in Maranello
But, and this is a very big but, has Lamborghini turned the Huracán into a wild beast by sending all of the power to the rear wheels, or is this the car the Huracán should have always been? The answer, unfortunately, can’t be found tootling around the M25. No. The LP580-2 needs to be placed upon a racetrack, its 3-mode traction control system turned completely off.
In just 3.4 seconds, and the LP580-2 hits 62mph — that’s quick by any standard. A short dash in a straight line, however, was never the Huracán’s problem. Nor a 199mph top speed or the sonorous roar expelled from its quadtailpipes. The complaint — purely a First World problem — is when the all-wheel drive version gets presented with a fast approaching corner. Then it reacts far too sensibly for its own good, as if an overofficious Health and Safety bod has meddled with its onboard computer and reset it to dull and boring. Now, by shedding the mass
of its all-wheel drivetrain and shifting the weight balance ever so slightly rearwards, means there’s movement up front, so it feels more alive, playful and responsive. There’s plenty of understeer too, so the rear-end twitches and then effortlessly slides out — this is what a Lambo is all about. And because the LP580-2 does this flamboyantly and with such ease — like an old-school supercar — it redefines the subtleties between the Huracán being simply good and really, really good.