Coming of age with the Lamborghini Huracan

When we speak of the beginning of supercars or sports cars in India, I often associate it with Porsche. Lamborghini came in 2006 with the Gallardo & the mighty Murcielago.

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Hi everyone,

First off, a huge thank you to all fellow Team-BHP members, my family and friends, and peers who read my post about the GLA35 AMG. The support was overwhelming, and it has inspired me to write this post and many more in the future.

When we speak of the beginning of supercars or sports cars in India, I often associate it with Porsche. Their old dealership at Kemps Corner and the 997s parked inside is still fresh in my mind; especially the white paint, 5-spoke wheels and the immortal silhouette of a 911. The 997s were brilliant and I am a sucker for them, but they are rather reticent in nature. You would see one on the road, but they would only stay with you in your memory if you were a Porsche fan.

Then came Lamborghini in 2006 with the Gallardo, and the mighty Murcielago. Spotting one of these on the road was like spotting a unicorn, as there were very few takers for them back then. I had seen more Ferraris and Bentleys, which made my fascination for them grow. But this was about to change with the launch of the Huracan. This car truly changed the supercar culture in India, and the numbers it would be seen in when compared to its predecessors and competition.

It is the evening of 29th April 2016. I somehow managed to strong-arm my Dad into taking me along with him for his meeting with the dealership. I remember meekly walking into the dealership. I was trying to suppress my excitement, but couldn’t control it by the time I had walked up to the Blu Caelum LP610-4 that was parked inside.

The Blu Caelum demo car

This car was in my dream spec, and here it was sitting as a demo car. Back then the LP610-4 felt like a Thespian, emitting the same aura the Murcielago had. The shape and design inspiration felt very close, but somehow the car looked meaner. My tryst with the Huracan had begun and every encounter with the car was special.

Dad with a Giallo Orion LP610-4 at the dealership launch

Soon Dad would do the Huracan Spyder and dealership launch, and the RWD LP580-2 was here on Indian soil. When I had visited the dealership next, there was a tandem of specifications in front of me. Gone was the Blu car, and in was the aero kitted Giallo Inti LP610 and a Verde Mantis RWD Spyder. You could see how different the two cars were. While the LP610 was a castellan of the brand’s wedge-shaped past, the LP580 was the pensive performer. The car was more engaging and ensured to keep you on your toes. What it lacked in power, it made up with its tail-happy nature. The aero kit for the Huracan, to be honest, is one’s personal choice. I personally found it to be silly, as Lamborghini themselves never quoted any real numbers, even after tunnel testing the kit.

Verde Mantis LP580-2 Spyder

Giallo Inti LP610-4 and its key fob

The next Huracan to make it to India was the LP640-4 Performante, my favourite Huracan before its RWD successor came along (more on that below). It is one of those cars, where you see it and somehow music starts playing in the background (for me it is “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” by Daft Punk). The first car to use the ALA (Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva) system, where the two spoiler systems (front and back) can decide the aerodynamic mapping while taking a corner. The rear wing flap mechanism was designed adroitly. While most spoiler mounts serve a singular purpose, the ALA mounts have a hollow interior, allowing air to flow from the flaps to the rear wing, while independently determining the downforce of each rear wheel. In combination with steering and braking input, the car can alter the grip for the inner and outer sides, controlled by the driver’s accelerator input. The car can produce 770 pounds (350 kg) of downforce in low drag mode at 202 mph.

Verde Mantis LP640-4 Performante; Picture Courtesy: Lamborghini Mumbai

The pre-facelift models (along with the Aventador LP700-4 and LP750-4 SV) in my humble opinion, were the last of the pompous coloured mean machines, with the bombast of the simple mean design. The driver was still in command on the road, despite an intelligent AWD (Haldex Gen. V) system. The intelligence of the machine would adapt and nudge for you; not do the whole task by itself. It possessed the charm of any old-world car; with a gauge pod on its centre console. I had observed the attraction to the Huracan once when I was convoying with the Giallo Inti car from the passenger seat of a 718 Boxster. The pre-facelifts titillate the senses visually with their huge intakes and iconic wedge shape and will remain a poster hero for many born a little after me.

Evolution is a never-ending process. The Huracan had to undergo the same. With a new dealership and new energies, the Evo was finally here in 2019. Dad saw it in the showroom, I saw it on the streets. The new car now had the engine from the Performante, and a couple of goodies from its family in the north. The Huracan now had 4 wheel steering and torque vectoring. In the interior, the gauge pod was gone and the infotainment system from the Sian was present. The car had become… a computer. Aerodynamics had improved, with the car producing more than 6 times the downforce of an LP610.

Huracan Evo at the T97 Independence Day Drive, 2019

Not everything about the Evo is a diatribe, to be fair. The RWD was back with a funky tagline. It now had a respectable 600 hp and looked sharper than a Japanese craft knife. Where the Evo felt like a Rolex, the Evo RWD was a Doxa Diver. Suddenly, all the funky colours were found on these models such as the Viola 30 and Viola Mel. The Aesir wheels are beautiful, just like the Giano wheels released before them.

Evo Spyder at its launch

Viola Mel Evo RWD at its launch

Viola 30 Evo

And soon, the STO was here. The car is barely road legal. The windscreen is 30% lighter. The interior doesn’t have a shred of leather. The carbon bucket seats are too upright and will get uncomfortable. But none of this mattered. This was a Super Trofeo for the road. Lamborghini had made a rare RWD cocktail. When I spoke with Team Lamborghini Mumbai, they thoroughly explained the details of the car to me. Except for the doors, every panel was replaced with carbon fibre ones. The car would be 80% close to its Super Trofeo Evo and GT3 brethren when on the track. Magnesium alloys kept the car aloft and titanium exhausts sprouted from the back. Some people found the car to be too tame in design when compared to the race cars, I found it to be maniacal; especially the shark fin at the back. And don’t get me started on the aerodynamics. The car will no way molly-cuddle you in any manner. It may be 43 kgs lighter than the Performante, it produces 992 pounds (450kg) of downforce at 192 mph (low downforce setting). The Huracan was back to basics once again, and the Blu Notte had brought back the same nostalgia I had felt back in 2015! I couldn't stop smiling that evening right until the moment I went to bed.

Me standing beside the STO

Blu Notte STO

The flaw of the Huracan is rather obvious when compared to the competition. Since 2014, the car has never crossed the 640 hp mark while Ferrari progressed from the 661 hp V8TT 488 to the 830 hp hybrid V6 296 GTB. I am all for the old school natural aspiration, but just this cannot suffice when the competition goes from the Ferrari 488, Mclaren 650S and briefly the SLS AMG; to the Mclaren Artura, 570S and the Aston Martin DB11. One more problem that the Huracan faces is that it is the choice weapon of literally every YouTuber or influencer. You buy a Lamborghini to be different, not to create a hive mind of similar performance and modifications. While thankfully this hasn’t been the case in India, this will forever stain the image of the Huracan for years to come.

Overall, the entire Huracan line will forever be cemented as one of the last soldiers of the naturally aspirated era. It filled the lacuna of raw engine power and raw styling. Whether you wanted a top-down sports car, a mountain pass explorer, or a highway annihilator; the Huracan did it all with ease. With each passing day, my love for the older car grows. The Huracan has been a huge part of my teenage epoch, and I can solemnly say that there will no longer be a car like this anymore. It showed me change, grace and peace in money when life would get hectic or repetitive. Each and every detail of the car is engraved in my memory, and every time I pass the dealership, I stop just to gaze at it once more. The shades, the styling and the explosion the Huracan brought with it, cannot be replicated again. The passion for supercars it brought to our peninsula, will be forever enshrined in gold. A Ferrari may be suave, but a Lambo will always intimidate.

My keychain marking the dealership launch

Here's what BHPian ChiragM had to say about the matter:

I must first admit that I was never a fan of the Huracan, and I still am not a fan of the 610-4, but I do love the exhaust note. However, things changed when I glanced up a red RWD with black wheels at a showroom somewhere in California.

This very car made me fall in love with the 580-2.

Regardless, when the Huracan was launched, I had just started writing about cars. Back in 2015, I wrote an article on the Huracan from whatever bits I could find from their media site.

I had the opportunity to attend the launch of the Huracan Performante in 2017 while covering the Geneva Motor show, and like you, this is my favourite model to date, followed by the 580-2. Got up close and personal with the launch-spec Performante that day.

Here's my 1:18 model by Maisto.

I had not followed the launch of the Evo, so I am surprised to read that the supercar had so many changes over the first Huracan. Thanks for this info.

Would love to experience a ride in this car someday.

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