2016 Lamborghini Huracán LP580-2: The Bull gets its buck back

Beyond insane looks and shrieking engines, Lamborghinis have been hard to hold, always keeping their drivers busy with a wild, tail-wagging experience.

Lamborghini is best known for its history of raucous, wild, and extreme supercars. Beyond insane looks and shrieking engines, Lamborghinis have been hard to hold, always keeping their drivers busy with a wild, tail-wagging experience. The “raging bull” featured on every Lamborghini’s badge was vividly manifest in its driving experience.
Until recently, anyway.

The Huracán LP580 is just as stunning as the LP610.

Particularly in the case of the “entry-level” Huracán model, Lamborghinis have generally become much friendlier beasts, the kinds of bulls you can ride to the store like a well-tamed horse, if not a prancing one (that’s Ferrari’s domain).
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Credit, or blame, all-wheel-drive for the newfound docility. The power of Lamborghini’s spectacular engines is sent to all four wheels in a tractable manner, which helps keep novice drivers from killing themselves on the street. For experts who enjoy pitching a car into a controlled drift, all-wheel-drive raises grip limits so high that exploring them can become downright dangerous, even on the track.
If there’s such a thing as too much grip, the Huracán LP610-4 has it.

The car’s 7-speed, dual-clutch paddle shifted automatic transmission remains in place, but is recalibrated to match the car’s new layout.

What would the Huracán be like if Lamborghini was to revert to its old, rear-wheel-drive ways? Would it be more fun? Or would it give the bull too much buck? Would it become too uncouth to drive every day, as some 40 percent of current Huracán owners do?
Enter the new Huracán LP580-2, with the “580” corresponding to the metric horsepower number (versus 610 for the four-wheel-drive model), and the “2” referring to – you guessed it – two-wheel-drive. The car’s 7-speed, dual-clutch paddle shifted automatic transmission remains in place, but is recalibrated to match the car’s new layout. To let us experience exactly how the car’s character changes with the rear wheels getting all the juice, Lamborghini brought us to Doha, Qatar, and led us on 16 thrilling and challenging laps around the Losail Circuit.

Audi-sourced switchgear on the center console and steering wheel remain, and we particularly love the chrome toggle switches.

Turns out, less traction translates directly into more charisma. Lamborghini claims that the grippier and more powerful 610-4 model is still faster around the track, but it nonetheless is calling the 580-2 the “fun” one.
Having driven both, we would have to agree. The thing is fantastic. The bull has gotten its buck back!

Lamborghini is best known for its history of raucous, wild, and extreme supercars.

Less traction does not mean no traction, however. In fact, an astonishing amount of grip remains despite the amount of power that rushes toward the back under full throttle. The Huracán’s V-10 is down slightly in horsepower, but 580 horsepower is still a lot. It’s applied progressively along three normal, sport and corsa (i.e. track) settings, which also affect the level of slip allowed by the traction control system and the stiffness of the suspension.
Thrust increases in a predictable, linear crescendo, pressing one back into the seat harder and harder as the tachometer raced toward its stratospheric 8,500-rpm fuel cutoff. We expect a zero-to-60 mph time in the three-second range. Lambo says that, given enough road, it can hit 199 mph, though the most we saw on Losail’s front straight was a still-brisk 174 mph before we had to jump on the brakes to make the first corner.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to drive the car on the street which, given the patchy conditions of Doha roads (to say nothing of their constant congestion) appears to be no great loss.

More to the point of the LP580, however, is the way that its rear end can, without too much provocation, break loose under power for gradual (and catchable) drifts in corners, making this the most fun Lambo in the corral. If the go-pedal helps initiate a slide, the chassis helps catch it, with lively chatter coming through the seat and steering wheel leaving no question about what’s happening at each wheel. Confidence builds in turns as you realize the car won’t spin-toss you like a figure skater into the wall, at least not without a lot of warning.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to drive the car on the street which, given the patchy conditions of Doha roads (to say nothing of their constant congestion) appears to be no great loss. We can report on its street demeanor when we eventually take a spin in the car back at home.
The Huracán LP580 is just as stunning as the LP610. Lamborghini gave it a few unique touches in the form of revised sculpting of the front and rear fasciae, black (versus chrome) tailpipes, and beautiful 19-inch wheels. It looks no better or worse than the original, but the changes are said to optimize air flow, for the purposes of downforce at both axles.

The Huracán’s V-10 is down slightly in horsepower, but 580 horsepower is still a lot.

As the beneficiaries of Audi’s well-documented prowess in craftsmanship and material quality, all Lamborghinis are assembled with fastidious attention to detail, with the world’s best interior materials. The design itself is racy first, luxurious second, and the thinly padded seats are firm enough to make it impossible to forget this is a super sports car.
One thing that makes all Huracáns unique in their class is the 12.3-inch TFT instrument cluster screen, which combines nearly all primary and secondary functions, including navigation and audio tuning. Audi-sourced switchgear on the center console and steering wheel remain, and we particularly love the chrome toggle switches. Still, the absence of a center screen takes some getting used to.

Lamborghini gave it a few unique touches in the form of revised sculpting of the front and rear fasciae, black (versus chrome) tailpipes, and beautiful 19-inch wheels.

Not so insignificantly, Lamborghini set the LP580-2’s MSRP at a tick under $200K (or about $205K with tax and destination charges). That is some $39,100 lower than the LP610-4. This makes the baby Lambo price-competitive with the similarly beguiling McLaren 570S, as well as the rather commonplace (in this company) Bentley Continental GT and Porsche 911 Turbo.
Enthusiasts may remember that the Huracán’s predecessor, the Gallardo, was also offered in this form toward the end of its life cycle. That rear-wheel-drive version eventually comprised fully half of the model’s sales. We predict the same outcome for the Huracán LP580-2, not only because one can save nearly forty large, but because as Lamborghini itself says, this is the fun one.

Tags:: auto reviews ,; 2016 ,; lamborghini ,; huracan lp580-2 ,; lamborghini huracan lp580-2 ,; sports cars ,; luxury cars

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