I drove a $365,000 Lamborghini Huracán Evo Spyder to see if the latest Lambo is still good enough to scare its Ferrari and McLaren rivals
Matthew DeBord
- I tested a $364,979 Lamborghini Huracán Evo Spyder, a monumentally powerful supercar with a nifty drop-top that's set to define the "little" Lambo for the future.
- The Huracán Evo has a 5.2-liter V10, making 631 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque.
- The Huracán is a flamboyant set of wheels, intended to match up against similarly mind-warping Ferraris and McLarens.
- I've driven the Huracán many times and have developed a happy relationship with the car's split personality: easy to handle — until you flip a switch and unleash the beast.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Here's the dope: For 2020, Lamborghini has elected to phase out the top-dog Performante trim of the Huracán supercar, but at the same time retaining the Performante's beefier V10 engine and identifying new "little" Lambo's as Evos.
OK, that out of the way, know that Lamborghini was kind enough to let me borrow a 2020 Huracán Evo Spyder in all its drop-top, aluminum-and-carbon-fiber, acid-green glory to tear up the asphalt of the New Jersey's suburbs for a weekend.
I've been to the Lambo rodeo quite a few times over the past five years, and the Huracán has been a familiar partner in sonic mayhem. The 2020 Huracán Evo Spyder has all-wheel-drive (the rear-wheel version was only recently announced), and in this configuration, the supercar is an adaptable beast, calm and collected one minute, but a fury from beyond if you flip a single switch on the steering wheel.
Ah, Lambos! This is their thing. Here's how it went down for me:
Read the original article on Business InsiderSo what's the verdict on the Lamborghini Huracán EVO Spyder?
I don't and have never considered myself a Lambo guy — Too wild! Too crazy! — but every time I drive one, I'm reminded of how the more recent products from Sant'Agata Bolognese have managed to make the Huracán in particular both accessible and moderately terrifying.
Apart from the Huracán's stablemate, the at-times sorta boring Audi R8, I can't really say that any other supercar hits this sweetspot. Then of course you have to consider the longstanding Lambo virtue of that rude, noisy stonker of a motor — all blaps and belches and GRRRs!!! and whomps — which in Sport and Corsa modes is present at, like, 30 mph, and you get to be fast pals with the Huracán.
Meanwhile, despite the aural horrorshow that the V10 can unleash, the Huracán's all-wheel-drive setup is so doggone stable that it's practically impossible to fluster the machine in civilian driving.
The Evo designation is what we're going to see with all Huracáns for while, and my intro to it here with with 2020 model suggests that Lambo-istas should be exceptionally happy. The Huracán is arguably the best "little" Lambo ever, with a pleasure band that's incredibly wide. The V10 is so torque-y and unexpurgated that it's a thrill to throttle at velocities well under the posted speed limit, but it's also provides quintessential supercar insanity when the hammer is dropped.
The Huracán also looks good in the nuttier Lambo colors. Early on, I was a fan of Huracáns in subdued gray with stately tan leather interiors, but I've more than warmed up the traditional palate of mad neon-isms, and there's no doubt that the very expensive new paint job on my tester was a showstopper.
As much as I might ultimately favor numerous other supercars, muscle cars, and high-end sports cars, the 2020 Huracán Evo Spyder reminds me that this Lambo has become sort of like an old friend. I've driven it more times than another snarling bull, and it's never failed to live up to, and usually exceed, expectations.
Yeah, yeah — at $365,000, you're gonna need a pretty big bag of Bitcoin to secure an example. But there are few vehicles at this level that are such a sure thing.
But the rest of my provisions had to ride shotgun.
Almost! The frunk handled two bags.
I came up with a frunk challenge for the the Huracán. Could it take on a few days worth of groceries?
And what of cargo capacity? Well, there's precious little. The Lambo's front truck is about it.
It checks the necessary boxes, from Bluetooth-pairing to GPS navigation to USB device connectivity.
Infortainment runs on a new, single touchscreen with an interface that is frankly kind of difficult to manage and nothing you want to be fiddling with while the Huracán is in motion.
Corsa mode changes the digital instrument cluster and unleashes hell. Although it also brings the AWD system fully up to speed, keeping you from getting into trouble if you overdo it with the throttle. The shifts in manual mode are spine-jarring.
Sport mode is what most spirited drivers will want to explore. The exhaust notes intensifies — the barks and burbles are unleashed — and everything gets stiffer and tighter.
As far as drive modes are concerned, Strada dials back the exhaust note from Motorhead to Metallica levels. It also softens the suspension, chills the gearshifts, and loosens the steering, as well as engaging an auto-stop protocol.
The aviation aspect is echoed with rest of the Huracán's switchgear. A useful feature: you can raise and lower the nose, to negotiate steep driveways.
The start-stop button is concealed beneath a red cover, to provide a fighter-place vibe. The gutsy roar when you press down is worth at least $100,000 every time.
The gear-selection is a sort of space-age setup that's remarkably easy to get the hang of.
The Huracán splits the difference between, say, the technocratic perfection of shifting with a dual-clutch in a McLaren and the more lusty experience in a Ferrari.
The feel is incredible: precise and purposeful.
The long, column-mounted paddle shifters are superlative. The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission defaults to automatic model, but it craves manual.
The Lambo's anima switch accesses three drive modes: Strada (road), Sport, and Corsa (track).
The steering wheel and instrument cluster focus your attention. The well-bolstered seats are heated ($3,200 extra), so it's actually an option to drop the top on downright chilly days.
I've driven the Huracán so many times now that I find it to be a familiar, oddly calming roadway companion. For an extremely power and fast car, it's remarkable easy to handle in the AWD variants.
The bull makes an appearance on the hood ornament as well as the headrests.
The hexagonal motif is present all over the place in the Huracán.
The cockpit is snug. It's rendered in "Nero Ade," with flamboyant green highlights and topstitching.
Let's check out the interior!
Sadly, you can't see that much of the engine due to the spyder design, but it's certainly in there! Fuel economy is scary: 13mpg city/18 highway/15 combined.
The engine is a magnificent monster: a 5.2-liter V10 — no turbo- or superchargers — making 631 horsepower and (Gulp!) 442 pound-feet of torque. The 0-60 mph dash is a blur, concluding in less than three seconds, in my testing. Top speed a hair above 200 mph.
This is essentially the V10 tuning from the Performante, with the 600-horsepower option not relegated to Huracán history.
"Huracán" is a name taken from a Spanish fighting bull. The car is a mid-engine design, meaning that the powerplant is located between the rear wheels the driver — the ideal position for performance and handling.
The namesake was Ferruccio Lamborghini, who, believe it or not, started out in the tractor business.
Take a look at those high-mounted exhaust ports — they enhance the cruel sonic symphony that Lambo owners adore.
There's also a modest, integrated rear wing.
The rear diffuser is tucked beneath the rear overhang.
... with optional black calipers front and rear are $1,400 extra. The 20-inch forged black wheels are a mere $6,600 additional. The Huracán also has rear-wheel-steering.
The carbon-ceramic brakes ...
But add them all up and you have a machine with a defiantly split personality: one minute it can been tooling along like a boulevard cruiser, but the next it can be ready to incinerate some asphalt.
The aero elements are tucked away on the Huracán's sleek skin.
The zig-zag motif in the LD headlights has become a Huracán signature. The front aerodynamic effects create a sculptured airflow that assists with handling and speed.
The sharklike fascia is so good that I think it gives every other supercar on the road a run for its money — including Ferrari.
The Huracán's design is holding up magnificently well. It's absolutely ferocious.
Lambo used to do supercars and hypercars and nothing else, but the Huracán and the Aventador have been joined by the Urus SUV.
The Aventador should not be forgotten. I haven't. Not since I sampled the mind-warping SVJ last year.
Of course, once a Lambo, always and Lambo. In my testing, I've found the all-wheel-drive Huracáns to be pretty low-key, but the rear-wheel-drive variants are bonkers. Then there's the Performante trim, which is AWD but insane — and being replaced by the Evo lineup.
The Huracán replaced the Gallardo in the Lambo lineup in 2014, becoming the "Little Lambo" to the beastlier Aventador. It was seen by many as a domesticated Lambo — an effort by parent VW to shave some fierceness off the brand. The Huracán shares bits and pieces with the Audi R8.
Top-up, the Huracán is as cramped as you'd expect a supercar to be. On the plus side, the top doesn't block out the gorgeous riot of noise that the engine produces.
The Lamborghini is made for a sunny spring day.
Now that's more like it!
The top folds into a compartment between the engine and the cockpit. A small windscreen cuts down on buffeting for driver and passenger.
It didn't take me long to get the Lambo out on the road and shed the roof — a quick maneuver, accomplished at the push of a button.
Technically, the Lamborghini Huracán EVO Spyder is a roadster with an electro-hydraulic, folding soft top. I prefer the Huracán in drop-top form, but with the top up, it doesn't present its best look.
Zowie! It's a 2020 Lamborghini Huracán EVO Spyder, in a jaw-dropping "Verde Selvans" paint job (it's four layers of acid green, Lambo says). The base price is $287,400, but my tester car was optioned up to $364,979.
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