Lamborghini Huracan Performante: less weight, more power

More track-focused Huracan shows Lamborghini getting serious

A Lamborghini might make you smile, with its outrageous presence, noise and sheer physicality. But while they have lots of chutzpah they’re not actual track champions. That’s what the Performante is meant to address, to wipe those smiles off, to set the lap times, to prove it’s a winner.

To achieve this the car has some of the qualities you’d expect. Weight is down by 40kg to 1382kg, and power is up nearly 30bhp to 602bhp, plus there’s a useful surge in torque. And, boy, is it ever loud. But that isn’t going to be nearly enough. Which brings us to the ALA.

Aerodynamica Lamborghini Attiva offers massive downforce on the corners and minimal drag along the straights. Downforce over those huge rear Pirellis is up by 750%. The downforce can vary over different parts of the car and the rear wing, while vents open in the front valence to divert air under and through the bodywork on the straights, minimising drag and raising speed. It can switch modes in just 0.2sec and is a transformative technology.

Lamborghini is looking for fast lap times, so it needs to have a compliant chassis and it has one. The Performante has only about 10% stiffer suspension, while power from that 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V10 still goes to all four wheels. Which means that when you’re mooching around, garnering attention wherever you go, the car is compliant and perfectly sensible in Strada mode. And very loud. Did we mention that?

Then you cycle up through Sport to Corsa, the latter being the track mode. Good thing we’re now on a track then. The ALA system is backed up by trick bodywork, variable-rack dynamic steering and magnetorheological dampers, which is very complicated even to say let alone describe, but the effect all together is astonishing.

It’s the steering that feels so much better than in a standard car now, meaning you can really play with the throttle with more confidence. That non-turbo V10 is such a gorgeous thing that you can’t help rolling up that linear band to the 8000rpm redline. At which point it’s so loud you’re struggling to keep your brain going round rather than just your eyeballs. It’s loud, you need to understand that.

The four-wheel drive means you can be in track attack mode and still feel relatively certain it’s not going to suddenly bite you in the posterior if your courage overtakes your ability.

Lamborghini really has made something different with the Huracan Performante. It’s almost two cars. You really can drive it safely if extravagantly on the road, secure in the four-wheel drive and the technological excellence. But take it to the track and it can now set some searing times. All that technology combines quite brilliantly, leaving you at the centre of a maelstrom of revs, noise and excitement.

It’s like the standard Huracan but now with a whole new level attainable at the top, where skilled track drivers can start to explore new horizons. It can now be mentioned in the same breath as the McLaren 675LT or the Ferrari 458 Speciale, and that’s a big jump forward. Only it’s noisier. We’re not sure we’ve made that point clearly enough.

Lamborghini Huracan Performante

Price £215,000
Engine V10, 5,204cc
Power 631bhp at 8000rpm
Torque 442lb ft at 6500rpm
Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic
​Kerb weight 1,382kg 0-62mph 2.9sec
Top speed 202mph
Economy 20.6mpg CO2/tax band 314g/km

Graham Scott is a writer for AutoCar.