Lamborghini. Just the name brings about a memory of seeing one of it’s many beautiful production cars and falling in love. Pushing the boundaries of style and speed since the 1960’s with the 350 GT, Lamborghini hasn’t stopped it’s race to the top ever since.
Most recently Lamborghini has been in the spotlight for it’s release of it’s all new super SUV, the Urus. A SUV that is going to compete on the market with the all luxurious Bentley Bentayga and most likely get the upper hand.
But perhaps one of the greatest modern day production to ever roll out of the Sant’Agata Bolognese factory in Italy, is the Lamborghini Huracan. After Lamborghini’s run with the Gallardo ended in 2013 and they were bored with just making the Aventadors, they decided to build a bull worthy of racing beside it’s exotic cousins like the Ferrari 458, Audi R8, and McLaren MP4-12C.
The Huracan was designed by Filippo Perini and unveiled at the 2014 Geneva Auto Show and began it’s commanding street take over in 2015. Top Gear even named it “Supercar of the Year” in 2014.
But with every new creation there is something to complain about. The Huracan received negative feedback after many noticed it’s exterior lacked the edgy design that Lamborghini usually produces. Others complained about the fact the Audi R8 and the Huracan are basically twins under the paint, so why pay more for the Italian Stallion? But Lamborghini came back to the critics, saying that the Huracan has way less drag and up to double the downforce compared to it’s competitors. And after personally driving both, there is still a world of difference between a bull and an Audi.
The Huracan’s designed was frowned upon by some but relished upon by others. The angular and slanted downward front creates the race-car aerodynamic feel. The Huracan still carries the signature aggressive LED headlights to give persona to the bull. Underneath is a two front slats where air intakes sit to help cool he engine. The Huracan has, what we like to refer to as, a “Frunk”, that is just big enough to fit a duffel bag or two if you’re lucky. The long and wide windshield allows terrific visibility for the driver. Giving you full view of the track or the downtown roads.
Along the sides you really get a feel for how exotic this car looks. Continuing to be slanted and low, the 20 inch wheels give a meatier sense to the car and eliminate excessive ride height. Down on the angular sides we come across the regular opening doors. Keeping with tradition the Huracan did not receive the butterfly doors like it’s brother “The Aventador” because it is not a 12 cylinder. On the bottom of the Huracan along the side skirts there is another air vent on either side to allow for much more engine cooling.
On the rear you have a more simplistic Lamborghini design. The eye catcher is the see-through glass piece opening up the V-10 engine for all to see. Down through the angular rear you find the LED taillights, another bar-like air intake slot, a Lamborghini badge gracing the center panel, and best of all the diffuser with quad exhaust broken up, two on one side and two on the other.
A well done and tastefully simplistic design coming from Lamborghini. The Huracan did it’s designed duty of taking over for the Gallardo with an added element of sexiness.
Lamborghini Huracan Driving Experience
After owning a Huracan of my very own, I can tell you that while the design elements may not have been the best, the performance was. The Huracan drives phenomenally well and does exactly what any fast super car should do.
With a V-10 mid-engine that pushes 610 HP and 560lbs of torque, the Huracan is a beast all in it’s own. pushing itself to do 0-100 in just 5.7 seconds. And not to mention achieving a top speed of 202mph before reaching the limiter. That is a massive amount of power coming out of the Huracan, enough to even impress me.
This is the first car that Lamborghini finally decided to do a dual clutch transmission with and it just works. Before there was such opposition as it took away from the “true shifting” style, but the DCT just works on a car with this much horsepower and all wheel drive..
Built on a hybrid chassis of Aluminum and carbon fiber, the Huracan allows for light weight maneuvering The Huracan has the MagneRide electromagnetic suspension which comes in handy when switching between it’s one of three driving modes.
- Strada – Italian for “Street”. This is the normal driving mode designed for comfort and cruising.
- Sport – This is for elevated and exciting street driving. Exhaust noise is increased and more control is available to the driver.
- Corsa – This is the preferred setting for track driving. The suspension is stiffened, the throttle response is much more responsive, as is the shifting.
Now…as terrific as the driving experience is, the design of the Huracan interior is anything but. I know sometimes I can be picky about certain details or preferences, but when a quarter million dollar machine is made of mostly plastic…I’ve gotta say something.
Baring a striking resemblance to the Ford Focus on the inside, the Huracan interior is 90% plastic, from start to finish, with some fake leather/alcantara in between. The options (which you’ll see below) come little to none with upgradable interior to carbon or some other higher level material than cheap and tacky plastic.
But the sci-fi element of the Huracan comes from the Aventadors heritage. Keeping the fully digital TFT LCD display behind the steering wheel in lieu of traditional gauges that give a view of all the instruments you need to be able to drive the Huracan properly, such as speedometer, odometer, gauges for modes/fuel/temperature, etc.
Unlike the Aventador though, the center console doesn’t have a massive LCD display, rather just a small LCD bar that gives the drive full view over the gauges to view the cars performance: oil pressure, oil temperature, and battery levels. But the center console caries on the multitude of buttons, levers, and toggles like the Aventador, and it kept the style of the jet-style start stop caged button. Which we admit…is pretty cool.
The rest of the car though is nothing to write home about, all plastic, cheap, and easily broken. It’s a disappointment coming from such a prestigious and expensive brand, but now we see the new Huracan Performante with total carbon forged interiors…so Lamborghini did fix their wrong-doings after all.
But luckily in 2016 we can choose our Huracans to be either coupe or spyder, and a spyder exotic is always more “money-looking” than a coupe, so if you want to get past the hatred of the interior, maybe put the soft top down and enjoy the wind in your hair.
Lamborghini Huracan Common Problems
Believe it or not, the Lamborghini Huracan is a relatively problem free car. I didn’t have mine long enough to ever experience an issue with it, and I even upgraded the exhaust with no problems. And after the Aventador and Gallardo horror stories of service, it comes as a pleasant surprise to see a Lamborghini come out clean, even 4 years deep into production.
The only thing you may need to take note on, if you’re looking for a Huracan is if you’re deciding on a 2015. As a first year car, there are a lot of updates needed, but not mechanical…software. Just like Apple updates it’s software every year, so do supercars. But so long as service records are up to date, you have nothing to worry about.
Lamborghini Huracan Cost Of Ownership/Maintenance
Just like every other exotic, aside from the McLaren’s…the Lamborghini Huracan isn’t nearly as expensive as one may think.
And while the Huracan is under Lamborghini’s 3 year/unlimited mile basic and powertrain warranty, services can be done by most exotic friendly shops.
I am not saying you should bring your Huracan to your local Pepboys for a quick oil change, you still need to do your research on local shops near you to ensure they are experienced with this caliber of car. But that is why we have the Preferred Independent Shops article under our Resources page for you all to see. If you want to go the basic route and take it to the dealer for yearly service, it’s gonna run you about a $1,000 for the oil change and possibly more if you have excessive miles on the car. But my friends at Excell Auto Sport and Service were able to do an oil change for just less than $300. So it becomes a matter of you looking into shops around you and doing proper research to ensure that while you’re saving almost $700, you’re not gonna lose your precious transmission cause some monkey messed up during the service.
And seeing as there aren’t any massive problems with the Huracan, not even a recall to speak of, the 2015’s (which will start to fall out of warranty this year), don’t have a bad forecast in the future.
As we know some maintenance such as oil changes/tires are unavoidable, especially if you intend to drive this race car as it was created to be driven or keep it for more than 6 months. Don’t cheap out when it comes to tires, get a nice set of Pirelli’s or Michelin’s to ensure proper support is given to the bull. So bite your tongue for the $1,000-$2,000 tires, and because in retrospect you’re getting to own a quarter million dollar monster.
Lamborghini Huracan Model Year Changes
Being relatively new to the scene as a production car, the Huracan adapted the way any exotic car does in the first few years on the market.
2015
The Huracan is found for the first time out on the roads, capturing the hearts of those who see it and taking their wallets with them…MSRP: $237,250
2016
The Huracan got a little bit of an upgrade and a downgrade. Upgrades came with a tweak in the cylinder system allowing for less emissions between accelerations. The suspension also got a tweak in the all wheel system, giving it a more improved behavior when in Strada mode. Other than those few under the hood tweaks, the 2016 Huracan was really only gifted a larger color wheel for it’s customers to choose from when specing. The 2016 Huracan came in 3 trims. The normal LP610-4 which we have been referring to. The convertible version LP610-4S, the first of the spyder bodies for the huracan. And the aforementioned downgrade…the LP580-2. This is a more toned down version of the LP610-4, only putting out 573HP, and having just a rear wheel drive set up.
Now maybe I shouldn’t refer to it as a downgrade…this car was built to have fun. The RWD allows for a lot more danger and excitement while driving, giving the potential for drifting around turns. The LP580-2 is also lighter with new and less aggressive looking front and rear bumpers. This car was created also to compete in a price range with the McLaren 570S and Porsche 911 Turbo S, making it only slightly more affordable with an MSRP of: $199,800.
2017
The only massive modification made to the Lamborghini Huracan in 2017 was the 580-2 was offered in a spyder version. I suppose Lamborghini decided to save all the big changes for next year.
2018
We are introduced to the Lamborghini Huracan Performante, the car that should have started off the model line in the first place. The Performante is everything that the basic Huracan isn’t. MSPR: $274,390.
The other four trims: 610-4, 580-2, and their spider counter parts are now all but over shadowed by the power and style that is the newest addition to the family.
The Performante comes tuned with 640 horsepower from the same V-10 engine. The power is offset by a more stabilized, quick to jump, seven speed dual clutch transmission. It is also 88 pounds lighter than the base model Huracan thanks to the elimination of all that plastic and replacement of forged carbon fiber, both inside and outside the cabin. A new sound also comes from the Performante thanks to it’s straight pipe exhaust system. A nice snap, crackle, and pop is a great way to draw a crowd.
The body is kept the same for the most part, aside from upgraded and more aggressive front and rear bumpers. The added dimensions along with the downforce wing were created and formatted to better assist with the new aerodynamic system Lamborghini implemented into the Performante called ALA. “ALA” is Italian for “wing”, but it is an acronym here for “Aerodynamic Lamborghini Attiva” or for the english man “Lamborghini Active Aerodynamics. ALA electronically opens and closes the air intake vents at various points on the Performante to reduce drag and increase downforce. This addition has given the Performante an edge over its competitors, making it more precise when taking on super-high speeds.
Lamborghini Huracan Options
Sadly when creating your own Huracan you won’t have much to choose from until you venture into the realm of the Performante which are still being spec’d to order (only 2 used ones currently sit on the market.).
Lamborghini focuses a lot more about what goes into the engine and performance rather than interior specifications. They stick to letting Ferrari make you feel special by choosing every little detail you could possibly imagine.
There is a massive difference in the options though between the Huracan and the Huracan Performante, see for yourself at the links below.
Option/Specs for 2016 Lamborghini Huracan
Build your own Lamborghini Performante
Best Year Lamborghini Huracan To Buy
After owning both the Lamborghini Huracan and the Lamborghini Huracan Performante, I will pick the Performante every single time a million times over. It drives better, handles better, and just looks better overall. BUT it is FAR away from being hackable.
In the ECH sense only the 2015’s make sense to own, and even some higher mileage 2016’s. The spyders will hold their value a little longer as that seems to be the law of exotics (spyders>coupes). And the 580-2’s while cheaper don’t hold the same weight as the 610-4’s as when people are looking for a Lamborghini they are looking for power, not a cop out.
When purchasing your 2015 though, be sure you are looking at one with less than 15,000 miles on it, with all service records kept, and ensure most of all that all technological updates have been attended to.
Conclusion
Frank Sinatra once said, “You buy a Ferrari when you want to be somebody. You buy a Lamborghini when you are somebody.” If only he could’ve lived long enough to see the models of Lamborghini’s that came to be.
The Huracan may not be as big and powerful as it’s older sibling, the Aventador. But it comes with it’s own purpose. It houses a beautifully crafted engine along with an impeccable driving experience that is suited for anyone on the street or on the track.
I just took delivery of my 2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante and I am already blown away by the improvements Lamborghini made in such a short time span of creation. This is a brand that aims to please and it does so with both style and speed.
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