Within just one year of being unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, the outrageously fast and agile Lamborghini Huracán Performante has taken production car lap-time records on a series of international circuits.
While there’s no denying the Huracán is a beautiful piece of precision engineering, on paper, it just doesn’t seem to be able to compare to some of the other 900bhp+ hypercars that it’s up against. The question is, what’s the secret ingredient that’s given the Lamborghini the edge?
The results
To really appreciate quite how impressive the Huracán Performante is, it’s worth understanding the conditions under which these records were set. This isn’t a series of behind-closed-doors test runs with a Lamborghini employed test-driver. These results have all been achieved when prestigious motor-industry media outlets have carried out press-trials of the car.
The results are:
- Vairano (Quattroruote) – 1’09”.43
- Balocco (Auto) – 2’38”.07
- Contidrom (Auto Zeitung) – 1’29”.6
- Mira (Autocar) – 1’05”,03
- Wroughton (The Grand Tour) – 1’16”.8
- Boxberg (Auto Motor und Sport) – 42”.3
- Le Mans Bugatti (Sport Auto) – 1’42”.49
- Anneau du Rhin (Sport Auto) – 57”.5
Huracán vs Huracán Performante
The Huracán Performante is very clearly a huge bump in performance compared to the Huracán – so, what exactly have Lamborghini done to earn these incredible lap times?
On paper, it’s difficult to see.
Compared to the Huracán, the Huracán Performante adds just 29bhp and an additional 30lbs of torque – both of which contribute to shaving 0.2 seconds off the 3.1-second 0-60mph time. As stand-alone statistics, this simply is not enough to result in such incredible performances across this number of circuits.
To find the real answer, you’re going to need a wind-tunnel and a Lamborghini-sized set of scales…
Weight and aero upgrades
As you would imagine from a technology that’s won the coveted Autocar Innovation Award, Lamborghini’s Active Aerodynamic (ALA) system is an incredible feat of engineering and design.
In essence, the system uses two spoilers to either maximise or minimise drag – depending on what the driver needs from moment-to-moment. At full acceleration, the spoilers make the car as aerodynamically efficient as possible – whereas under braking and cornering, the system reconfigures the airflow to maximise downforce, aiding traction and agility.
As if this weren’t enough, the addition of some very attractive carbon components throughout the Huracán Performante means it’s 40kg more slender than the standard Huracán too. All told, a lighter, more aerodynamically efficient, and more powerful car has resulted in the record-breaking times you see here.
What’s the cost?
Make no mistake, the Huracán Performante’s range of upgrades do not come cheap. The Huracán starts at around £155,000 – where the Huracán Performante adds around £60,000 to that already large price tag – with prices from £215,000. Of course, if you’d like your car with even more carbon fibre, and further cosmetic and performance upgrades, it’s possible to spend upwards of £235,000.
They’re not small figures – but they are significantly less than the price tag you’ll find on some of the hypercars that couldn’t match the Huracán Performante’s times around the tracks listed above.
Cheap? No. Outstanding performance for your money? Definitely.
