Lamborghini Huracan STO | Test Drive

7 November 2024 Redazione News, Stories, Tested

It comes to life in STO mode. No frills, it is not a car that cares about on-board comfort. It is designed for pure speed. As soon as you understand how far you can push the limits of common sense, you become one with its madness and you’ll get how beautiful this thing really is.

Words Alessandro Marrone / Photos Alessio Becker

Super Trofeo Omologata: a name that suggests in no uncertain terms how this specific model takes a Huracan and transforms it by turning everything inside out, shaking it up thus giving shape to a track monster that is perfectly usable on everyday roads. The question that arises spontaneously would be whether it is really so important that a high, indeed very high performance car, that does not care to put the driver’s comfort at the bottom of the list of priorities, can actually make sense. Reality is that if you ask yourself that question, it does not even deserve an answer.

The STO is a monster of arrogance, a sharp weapon based on the Huracan and transformed into everything a driver could desire once away from the curbs. The bonus factor is granted by the fact that anyone – at least those lucky enough to be able to put it in their garage – will have access to the maximum know-how gained in the Super Trofeo championship and transferred to a model perfectly at ease with license plates and insurance. A more special Huracan than usual? Not at all, this is an entity on its own, an object that rewrites the perception of drivability and involvement like it hasn’t happened in a long time, to the point of making it without half measures what I personally consider the best Lambo since the mighty Diablo SV. And this, if we take into account the historical importance, because otherwise we are facing with what could be the best model ever to leave the gates of Sant’Agata Bolognese.

Yep, I know. These are big words that could seem emphasized by the ecstasy of the moment, but I assure you that they have been pondered and filtered for a long time, especially after having made the necessary comparisons with the more or less similar models proposed by other brands, all turbocharged. Yes, because the STO is obviously powered by a naturally aspirated V10, a 5.2-liter brought here to output 640 horsepower and this is precisely the core of a project that, appearing almost counter-trend, has instead managed to make this mechanical characteristic its ultimate strong point. The last frantic cry of a dinosaur that has written a beautiful page in the automotive manual.

When you get close to it, it’s as if the world around you slowly disappears, almost blurry and muffled in an alien dimension. Let your gaze run along those clean square lines interrupted by edges that are much more extreme than on any other Huracan. Everything is then accentuated by the bouncing of special colors like the matte Blue Aegeus surrounded by the blackness of the exposed carbon and by that white lip that marks the front splitter, almost to outline a mouth ready to devour the road ahead. The engine cover that allows a glimpse of the V10 block is dominated by the fin that channels air towards the gigantic rear spoiler. This can be manually adjusted to three different loading positions, just to allow the pilot – well, the driver – to choose the preferred configuration. Oh, there are also gills on the front wheel arches, air intakes on the rear ones and an air scoop at the base of the roof that will extract heat from the engine compartment. It is a car that does not limit itself to go fast, this one is designed to do it more violently than its rivals. In fact, we are not talking about solutions borrowed from the world of racing, because the STO is in all respects a racing car. It has thinner windows, a body in carbon fiber for at least 75% and 20-inch magnesium wheels that hide a Brembo braking system with CCM-R technology with self-ventilated and perforated 390 discs at the front and 360 at the rear. Trust me, these are the most powerful brakes you will ever try. We got a steering rear axle equipped with torque vectoring, because in case you have not already imagined it, traction is on the rear axle only, exactly where it needs to be to ensure a pure behavior between the curves. I almost forgot, don’t think about carrying anything else other than a helmet that will find space in the microscopic load compartment up front, under the “frunk”, a single panel that joins the bonnet and mudguard, which can be opened by unlocking two attachments on the sides via a special 3D printed key.

It comes to life in STO mode, leaving the more extreme Trofeo for when you have gained more confidence and Pioggia (rain) for slippery road surfaces. The great thing is that everything is already set up for the universal purpose of speed. I deactivate Start & Stop, close the fighter-bomber style ignition cover and set the 7-speed dual clutch transmission to manual, because I don’t want to lose even a single rev of a scale capable of making the V10 scream up to 8,750 rpm. Madness, or rather science fiction, given that we are now accustomed to a completely different kind of cubic capacity and compression. It’s pure mechanics, applied to the equation of maximum fun thanks to the roads that take me from Fornovo di Taro towards the curves of the Cisa Pass.

Some might argue that it is certainly not the ideal playground for a supercar like this, but that’s the real world and it has never been friendly to track-ready cars. The fact is that when the elements align and you find asphalt as smooth as a newborn’s cheeks, the STO will do exactly what it was created for. Like pressing a switch, the light suddenly comes on and the cockpit is literally invaded by the roar of the 5.2 that has exceeded 4,000 revs. At 5,000 the sound changes again and is accompanied by darker tones that almost make the interior panels vibrate in a carbon fiber bedlam, vibrate. The volume is out of proportion, which is a panacea for the spirit of any enthusiast. In fact, the system generates over 130 decibels and it is therefore easy to imagine your arrival. I grip the steering wheel and thanks to the generously sized paddles that seem to have been borrowed from some alien spaceship I throw in one gear after another, finally rediscovering what it means to be in tune with an engine that despite being as powerful as that of a shuttle rewards you the moment you throw in the best gear and make the digital rev counter shoot up.

The first thing I realize is not the speed as such, but the progression. The climb with which the engine makes the STO advance in space is absurd, something we are no longer used to. It is as if you were throwing yourself off a cliff, it is a constant movement that increases in speed and intensity without the slightest apparent sensation of interruption. And the same happens in the fateful moment in which you approach the bends. In fact, here it is even better, especially when I realize that I can brake meters and meters later than you would with any other car. The special system by Brembo is colossal and if it requires a bit of getting used to, it soon communicates that with a little more intensity it would stop the Earth’s rotation axis. Another straight and I step on the gas, with the rear that breaks up just for a moment to remember that the power is transmitted where it is really needed, letting the front axle set clean lines or straighten out a hint of countersteer.

You go fast, you brake just as violently, but I still haven’t shown off the real strength of the Huracan STO. With 640 horses of maximum power and a torque of 565 Nm at 6,500 rpm it is in fact easy to imagine how much you can satiate your thirst for speed, but the STO has an aerodynamic package that on paper marks a +53% compared to the Performante, which if you remember was (and still is) one of the most high-performance supercar around. In simple and universally understandable words, we are talking about a car that, as the speed increases, proportionally increases its grip, all thanks to those aerodynamic bits that shape it. Let me explain better with a practical example.

The Cisa road has recently been paved and the early hours of an early July afternoon were surprisingly astonishing for the total lack of traffic. Despite this I had some reservations – I mean – such an extreme car on a winding road that climbs up to a thousand meters would never have been the right tool for the job. And instead I was wrong and I understood it after just a few kilometers. If the climb is less intense than that of a traditional mountain pass, the width of the road and the perfect visibility allow greater freedom to the right pedal. After a few kilometers you start to place the left foot on the brake, saving a few fractions of a second and putting yourself even more in the role of someone who would wear helmet and gloves. You increase the pace and the direction changes are devastating, with an almost surreal precision also offered thanks to the specific Bridgestone tires. Without even realizing it you no longer care about the apparently conspicuous size of the dashboard, going to point your pupils where a few moments later the front wheels will be. The downshifts are like gunshots – BAM, BAM, BAM – you step on the gas and it screams like a maniac, until you’ve gained so much speed that you feel something new. You feel like the car is being sucked towards the ground and after a few seconds of amazement you realize that this is the work of its crazy aerodynamics.

Nothing here has been put in for simple beauty, but everything is aimed at increasing performance, improving the cooling of the mechanical parts and the otherworldly capacity offered by an object that was first born to race and then offered to the road. And then, the cockpit is not even uncomfortable and apart from the fact that there is just enough room to store a couple of small backpacks behind the seats, you can take a trip without breaking your back, which is a really nice surprise because if I owned a STO I think I would use it every day. Yes, because with it there is no danger of losing the so-called magic of the special moment. There is no need to ration its use to ensure that every time would be something magical, because it is the essence of something that is out of the ordinary. It is an object that makes anyone stop and turn, communicating that you did not choose it because it is a Lamborghini, but because it is the ultimate weapon to rewrite the definition of driving pleasure in the dictionary.

I hate getting out and I would like to merge with the driver’s seat because every second, every hour, every day that I spent with it I had the opportunity to understand something more about the incredible work done by the engineers of Sant’Agata. And the fact that it is not the fastest or most powerful of them all does not matter, because this is precisely the crucial point of this model, that is, it has not compromised to chase the best 0-100 in the category, but has pursued the ultimate goal of making the driving experience perfect thanks to an on road behavior totally analogous to the one you could get on track, where there are the conditions to push much more and at that point open up a whole other world of valid arguments for selling a house and buying one tomorrow. The price of the ticket? It starts at around €316,000, while for the test model you need to shell out €365,000. Lamborghini’s Ad Personam program also grants total freedom in order to tailor-make your dream Huracan.

That’s why it’s not important that the rearview mirror in the passenger compartment has two different positions: useless and completely useless, since it will only show you the engine cover. Luckily there is an excellent multimedia system that integrates a rear video camera, essential when maneuvering. The most important gadget, however, remains only one and on the STO comes as standard: driving fun, that essential factor that speaks the language of enthusiasts and brought in this case to a level of competence that allows even the most expert drivers to experience strong emotions in any circumstance.

I have not tested it on track and I believe that the road context – especially that of the Cisa – was actually the ideal one, because after all we are still talking about a road car, therefore those who buy it are looking for something that is capable of giving a new meaning to their trips. You won’t go on holiday, you won’t bring your family, much less your dog, but think of any condition that implies an unprecedented driving experience and I’ll be right there imagining the satisfaction, setting curves as if you were painting an image defined by the colors of your emotions. The STO is a crazy, insane and obsessive car for the attention to those details that make it aesthetically beautiful and violent in performance. It allows you to live with it with due respect, but it can drive you crazy with joy when you pull it by the neck. It asks for nothing more, start that V10, find the right road, just enough courage, a pinch of madness and it opens your heart and mind to a way of understanding sports cars that we thought were lost forever. And this could really be the last one capable of giving you proper goosebumps. Noisy, raw and very fast. All this without ever giving you the impression that it wants to kill you at every corner, an aspect that is not at all obvious and which confirms how the Super Trofeo Omologata is capable of making sense, everywhere and in any case.