Do you buy a car because it is fast on the Nurburgring? Does the speed of a Hypercar on the ring mean anything? Is it just marketing hype to help them talk about a car, or should we take note?
Well when it comes to the new Lamborghini Huracán Performante, we really should take notice! It has just clocked the ring in Six minutes, 52.01 seconds! Making it the fastest production car around the famous green hell. That is a full 5 seconds faster than the existing champ the Porsche 918.
Now there are a number of conspiracy theories suggesting that Lamborghini have fixed the video and it is not all as it seems. There may have been non-road legal suspension used etc. Boosted Boris for instance has gone into great details comparing the ring video of the Performante with the 918 comparing the top speeds in each corner showing the Huracán slower in many of them. He does not take into consideration acceleration to the speeds, breaking points… Blah, Blah, Blah right?
Who cares, the Huracán Performante is epic, fastest or not around the ring it is bloody fast and beautiful too! Watch the lap, just awesome driving from the big-balled Marco Mapelli following on from his lap in the Aventador Super Veloce.
The Performante, utilises Lamborghini’s most powerful V10 ever, a revised 5.2 litre naturally aspirated beast creating 631bhp and 442lb ft of torque powering the car to 0-62mph time of 2.9s, 0-124mph in 8.9s, and a top speed in excess of 202mph. this is no longer the baby Lamborghini! All this is made possible by an optimised seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and four-wheel-drive system which Lamborghini say can provide you with 309lb ft of torque at just 1000rpm.
This car has been improved all over adding percentage increases throughout:
Springs and bars 10% stiffer
Roll stiffness 15% increase
Radial and axial arm bushings 50% stiffer
It has 3 ANIMA suspension settings enabling you to adjust the setup to your liking: Strada gives you more traction, Sport gives greater rear bias increasing oversteer, Corsa the is the balls-out, track mode.
The real clever bit is ALA this is what takes all that power and pushes the car to the track in order to get the best from it. Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva is the active aero system. With the system off there are two flaps at the front of the car which are closed working in conjunction with the rear wing to provide maximum downforce. With ALA active the flaps are opened and it reduces drag and pressure. So increases vertical load to assist stability and speed through curves, or it reducing aerodynamic resistance to assist acceleration and reaching the top speed.
The front and rear spoilers are made from forged composites, special carbon fibre with the rear spoiler being hollow. Airflows are diverted and changed according to what the car needs. When breaking heavily the airflow is stopped to allow the spoiler to act conventionally. When cornering, the system monitors the cars action and shuts off air to the inside to increase the downforce on that wheel, but opening the valve in the channel on the other. Some specifically tailoring the airflow and downforce for maximum speed throughout the various straights and cornering. There is a digital cockpit, which will keep you informed of everything the computer is doing to help you.
All this done on a car, which weighs 40kg less than the original Huracán. Bronzed forged 20in wheels, carrying Pirelli P Zero Corsas developed especially with Pirelli for this car.
There’s also an all-new exhaust system it exits higher up the rear of the car, which apparently reduces back pressure and boosts “emotional sound”
So how much?
£173,271 + VAT which is £10k more than the Huracán LP610-4 Spyder, but Lamborghini boss Stefano Domenicali. says “The Huracán Performante is the convergence of technological developments to produce a car delivering perfect performance,”
It sounds and looks like it is well worth the extra £10k to us!
