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Lamborghini Huracan LP580-2 Spyder: Take It By The Horns!
LAMBORGHINI HURACAN LP580-2 SPYDER
TAKE IT BY THE HORNS !
Words: Alessandro Marrone
Photography: Giorgia Rossi
When as a young boy I was going at the Luna Park, that of the bull was the game I was watching from afar, almost intimidated – it was the game of the big boys, for the ones who spent the evening at the punchball, while we could only dare to jump on the bumper cars, and come back home with the belief we had an intense evening out. It was years when children of my age had no smartphones or virtual reality to play with, and the perception of the world around us was extremely rational. Rational like the fact that the bull’s game was an unreachable thing – it took strength to tighten the horns and win, and I think I’ve never seen anyone winning over it (probably one of the classic Luna Park’s trick). Growing up, the only bull I ever wanted to take by the horns was certainly not made of cheap plastic, but powerful and noisy engines and, to say the least, exciting lines. When I first saw a Diablo I was petrified in contemplation and for years it has been the car of my dreams, an unavoidable goal probably, but that made me put myself into pursuit of the job of my life – this same one that day after day puts me at the wheel of supercars that I never imagined I could even approach.
Lamborghini, Ferrari’s nemesis, madness coupled with the genius of a man that for driving a car as he really wanted, built it from scratch. An angry bull, a bunch of devilish names that mark indefinitely the age in which they see light, to consecrate themselves in the dreams of young and old. With the passage of ownership a few years ago, Lamborghini’s madness did not go away and finally the lovers of the bull of Sant’Agata Bolognese could have embraced a much-desired reliability, that before the Aventador, was struggling to get along with the crazy performance. The Huracan, a fundamental model (like the Gallardo, replaced by the latter), aims to bring that little madness into a less elitist world of the most powerful and expensive new Aventador S. This new breed of bull is equipped with all-wheel-drive and electronic aids that are able to avoid crashing against a tree the savings of a lifetime. But if you thought that the shiver that makes you sweat cold even in summer was gone, you’re wrong, and after the well-deserved success of the Gallardo Balboni, Lambo proposes another jewel, in the form of a Huracan with the only traction to the rear wheel. The angry bull is back and we really have to take it by the horns, as we did at the event organized by the guys of The Lakes GT, in that of Varano de ‘Melegari.
Here he is, the bull. Relaxing in the middle of the paddock and waiting for someone to be brave enough for entering the arena. The Tenerife Yellow just emphasizes its sharp lines and make the supercar even more dazzling – a real magnet for the pupils, but especially for the heart of a passionate who just wanted to find that spark on a Lambo, which many had given for fainting. I would point out that in Sant’Agata they have no intensions to downsize and in fact they keep celebrating huge 10 and 12 cylinders, in this case with a handful of horses less than the all-wheel-drive version, almost as wanting to assure us that the departure of 30 stallions can make the task simpler. The comfort zone is a distant memory, a place where you cannot stay if you really want to feel alive and so I start by pressing the ignition key hidden under the jet fighter style switch and I give life to an animal eager to make me understand what is capable of and testing me at the same time. The V10 remains of 5.2cc but the horses drop to 580, while torque stops at 540Nm (instead of 560) – what matters is that when you hold the steering wheel and take advantage of the straight around Varano, the force with which you’re pressed on the seat scans away the various numbers and figures and transform everything into facts. Also put on the table that I’ve opened the canvas roof – since I’m driving a Spyder – and even if the wind tries in every way to cover the roar of the engine, guess what? No way, not one bit.
Straight lines are beautiful, but holding down through corner is another story and so, starting with cautiously tasting the potentials of this cuddled bovine, with the constant crackling coming from the exhaust and the ANIMA [soul] (the magical selector that Lamborghini uses to go from Strada, Sport up to Corsa) using the intermediate step, making the steering and the throttle more responsive and communicating to the suspension that I need more stiffness. The seats are containable like perfection, the gearbox is fast and shoot one after another the seven gears I have available, but I’m often busy downshifting looking for more revs and then jumping back on the gas, with the nose of the car that seems to be pointing to the sky (in fact it remains incredibly sloping to the ground) and the rear wheels that cling to the asphalt, flogging towards the car in front of me. It’s a game, just like at Luna Park – only that it’s more expensive and so much fun. At 8,000 revs I shift to third, then while I’m at about 5,000, I have to brake, so I don’t crash those who are ahead of me. No problem, I slow down further, and as I enter the following corner, I open the gas and the rear starts to widen a bit: here is the famous shiver along the back, which makes you feel alive just because you’ve just seen your life passing by in front of your eyes. The same shiver that makes you feel the body light and flickering and meanwhile, almost as if it were a reaction of a body that does not know spirit of conservation, you are smiling, shaking your head and giving a pomp of approval on the steering wheel. Hand on the paddle and down a gear, the engine screams like a werewolf to which you have just crouched a paw, and away to some of the best miles of your life. It is less assassin than the Gallardo Balboni, but equally reactive and powerful: the main impression that conveys you is to be much more enjoyable and less insidious on wet surfaces, but do not think it is less special.
A supercar weighing just over half a ton (spyder too) with almost 600 horses, a fast gearbox, powerful brakes and traction where it should be, where it allows you – where possible – to widen the rear as its ancestors did, but without striving for differentials or risking a disastrous pendulum effect, how can we call it? The “Hurricane Huracan” takes no prisoners: it passes by, overwhelms and leaves behind that dreamy flavor that ends too soon, as when the alarm stops you right on the most beautiful part of a dream. It leaves that taste of having felt that famous thrill and your body still trembles as if it should implode, but the communication between the chassis and the good fortune did the rest. With about € 200,000 you can then accelerate from 0 to 100 in just 3.6 seconds and reach 320 per hours, maybe even with the wind that devastates your hair. The cockpit is modern, does not disagree with connectivity and is well organized, although some plastics do not yet make justice to the exceptional supercar image we face here – different situation for the unit tested here, equipped with composite details that despite adding some Euro on the price list, they increase the “special-factor” that pleases your sight just as you look from the window, or from the roof in this case. The bull’s game has become again part of my curious looks, and even if I just had a quick drive, I ended by hurting myself – yes, because I have to accept the fact that I cannot put one in the garage. It just wants to be tamed as it should and the satisfaction that comes after this first taste is the confirmation that the least expensive Lambo in the list, but with the configuration that purists expected, is one of the most exciting cars around.
LAMBORGHINI HURACAN LP580-2 SPYDER (2016-)
Layout – mid-rear engine, rear wheel drive
Engine – V10 cylinder 5.204cc
Transmission – 7-speed automatic gearbox
Power – 579 hp @ 8.000 rpm
540 Nm @ 6.500 rpm
Weight – 1.584 kg
Acceleration – 3,6 sec.
Top Speed – 319 kph
Price – from € 203.300
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