Lamborghini Huracan review, test drive

Lamborghini's Gallardo-successor is here. So, does the Huracan live up to the hairy-chested Lambo name?

Published on May 02, 2014 06:10:00 PM

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Lamborghini Huracan.

As on the Gallardo, there are double wishbones at each corner with electronic dampers and anti-roll bars at either end. But this time, these are joined by standard-issue carbon-ceramic brake discs and a new ANIMA button (which means soul in Italian), similar to Ferrari’s manettino dial. This sits on the steering wheel and alters the responses of the dampers, engine mapping, steering, gearbox, four-wheel drive and traction control.

The cabin is deeply Lamborghini in both look and feel, featuring a pair of ultra supportive bucket seats and a new 12.3-inch digital TFT screen that can be tailored to whatever kind of mood you might be in. The gearbox paddles are larger than before, the visibility out better in all directions, and there's a sophistication inside the car that the Gallardo never quite nailed.

The Huracan feels great, albeit in a new wave, old school kind of way. When you thumb the starter button and the V10 engine catches, for example, there is still the same sense of theatre in evidence as there was with the Gallardo.

Like it or not, there's an almighty burst of revs at start-up, and even once the V10 settles to its idle speed of just under 1000rpm there’s still an old fashioned supercar kind of racket to be heard from behind your head. And the Huracán wouldn’t be a Lamborghini were this not so.

On the move, the car instantly feels more refined but also more comfortable than the Gallardo. There's a sense of maturity to the ride, steering response (no kickback whatsoever detectable), throttle weighting and even the exhaust note that elevates it well beyond its predecessor. But beneath the sheen of extra smoothness and civility there is still the raging heart of a conventional V10 supercar, thumping away, itching to let loose.