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What is it?
It's a big one: Lamborghini's replacement for the best-selling car in its history. In over a decade of production, Lambo shifted 14,022 Gallardos, accounting for more than half of all the cars sold in the brands half-century existence. The all-new Huracan, then, has some pretty big boots to fill.
Is it really all-new?
It would be wrong to dismiss this as a refreshed Gallardo. Very wrong. In a marketplace containing the Ferrari 458 and McLaren’s 650S, anything other than a radical refresh of Lamborghini’s V10 formula would have the Huracan entering an automotive battleground severely outgunned.
So what's new then?
Pretty much everything. The Huracan features an all-new chassis structure, new suspension with new controlling electronics, new steering, a heavily revised engine and – maybe most significantly – a new seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox to replace the Gallardo’s clunking robotised manual. There's a new four-wheel drive system and new cabin, too. Point is, while it might not look radically different from the outside, this is a completely new car.
The Huracan, like the McLaren, uses RTM carbonfibre for its rear bulkhead, central tunnel and the rear part of the sills. From the rear bulkhead backwards, the frame is aluminium, like the 458 and the 650S. It's also aluminium from the base of the windscreen forwards, while body panels are made from aluminium, too. The chassis, then, is 10 per cent lighter than that of the Gallardo, but 50 per cent more rigid.
Tell me about the engine...
The good news is that Lamborghini has stuck to its roots in the engine department. In a supercar world increasingly turning to forced induction for performance, the Huracan is powered by a naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10, which delivers 602bhp to all four wheels through that new double-clutcher.
All of which means the Huracan will smash 0-62mph in 3.2sec, hit 124mph in 9.9sec, and reach a v-max of ‘over 200mph’, while drowning the surrounding countryside beneath one of the most iconic engine noises of the modern age, utterly unadulterated by forced induction. Good news.
Other good news comes in the form of the Huracan’s torque curve, with no less than 75 per cent of the V10's 413lb ft available from just 1000rpm. Proof, if you needed it, that you can have low-end torque without turbos. A dry weight of 1422kg sees the Huracan deliver a power to weight of 423bhp per tonne, well north of the 458’s 378bhp per tonne and just a fraction behind the 12C.
Doesn’t it look a bit… sensible?
Truth is, Lamborghini has been the victim of its own success in the design department. During more than a decade in production, the Gallardo spawned some 40 different iterations, sprouting ever more aggressive wing packs as it aged.
Throw in the motor-show headline acts that are the Veneno, Aventador J and the Sesto Elemento, and the design of the ‘base’ Huracan was always in danger of looking a trifle safe.
Written By:- Charlie Turner
More of this article on the Top gear website