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Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica review
2 years ago
The Huracán has been around for the better part of decade, but it continues to improve
So, why keep reading? For no other reason than because the Tecnica is an absolute joy to drive. After eight years it feels like the Huracán is finally comfortable in its own chassis. The early cars felt exciting and theatrical, but mostly because of their engine rather than how they handled corners. Then came the Performanté, which was good – better steering, more playful AWD system. The Evo RWD was better still, with a real deftness to its damping and no distracting front driveshafts. Then came the STO, with its direct steering ratio and an alacrity in the corners that matched the way its V10 revved.
And now the Tecnica. Which is just plain fun. It has retained the STO’s direct steering ratio and as a result you feel connected with the front end in a way that the old Dynamic rack never allowed. The Tecnica gives you confidence whether you’re turning into a quick corner without a lift or braking hard and late for a hairpin bend. You know exactly how that sharp, shark-like nose is behaving.
There remain three driving modes, accessed via a bright red switch at 6 o’clock on the steering wheel. In Strada it’s secure in its handling and the ride is pleasingly pliant. In other words it does a good job of making a 631bhp mid-engined supercar feel like a plausible alternative to a hot hatch. Or that’s what I’d tell myself were I were in the position to make the man maths work.
"You can easily keep slides small and satisfyingly contained, but if you turn the ESP all the way off then the Tecnica will also light up its rears and drift with abandon"
But a flick of the switch to Sport is where things get entertaining. There’s an instant audible adjustment as the V10 seems to snort some industrial eucalyptus oil, opening up its pipes and vocalising more of the STO’s volume and aggression. Pull a couple of downshifts and the distinctive 10-cylinder yelps make the hairs on the back of your neck quiver like tuning forks.
Sport also adjusts the programming for the rear-wheel steering (which only ever angles a relatively small +/- 3 degrees) and the torque vectoring to make the Tecnica more playful in corners. On sunny, sinuous, slippery Spanish roads that, oversteer became sublimely easy to provoke and control. You could easily balance the car with throttle and steering, keeping everything neat and tidy between the white lines, but indulging in that most happy of handling traits.
There are just a couple of caveats. The first is that you need to slacken the ESP further than the ESP Sport mode, which still feels far too keen to nip fun in the bud. Easily sorted by one quick click of a stylised toggle switch.
"A flick of the switch to Sport is where things get entertaining. There’s an instant audible adjustment as the V10 seems to snort some industrial eucalyptus oil. Pull a couple of downshifts and the distinctive 10-cylinder yelps make the hairs on the back of your neck quiver like tuning forks"
The second issue is the damper tune in Sport mode. Or rather it might be an issue. On the largely smooth continental roads of the launch event, you could feel the firmness but by and large it wasn’t enough to unsettle or irk.
However, the lumpier asphalt of the UK might prove too much. Where the Evo RWD’s set-up has always felt perfectly judged, the Tecnica’s might be a touch too firm. It’s a question mark that an Ego (Lamborghini speak for individual) mode such as you get on an Aventador would eradicate but, bizarrely, Sant’Agata still refuses to give the Huracán driver the ability to pick and choose.
The final of the trio of drive modes is Corsa, which felt perfectly judged for lapping the Circuit Ricardo Tormo outside Valencia. It is really the most natural mode and you don’t need the extra agility of Sport on a track where you’re inherently putting more energy into the car and being more committed. The steering once again proves its worth with a lovely sense of how hard the front tyres are working, allowing you to really push the front end, leaning on a smidge of nicely reassuring understeer before deciding when you want to neutralise it or not.
Rear-drive only, the Huracán Tecnica will drift all day long
You can easily keep slides small and satisfyingly contained, but if you turn the ESP all the way off then the Tecnica will also light up its rears and drift with abandon. Turn six is a quick, third-gear corner with quite a bit of camber that seems to naturally see the Lamborghini fall into oversteer almost from the moment you turn in. With a big lump of metal behind you, that’s the sort of thing that could cause horribly sweaty palms, but the Tecnica slides with a smoothness that is almost baffling.
Some of this is undoubtedly down to the excellent Bridgestone Potenza Race tyres. First seen on the STO, they’re the Japanese company’s equivalent of Michelin’s Cup 2 and I thought they were ace on both (admittedly dry) road and track, with good grip and great progression.
So, just to reiterate, the Huracán Tecnica is a joy to drive.
On paper it would be easy to view it just as a supercar left dawdling behind by the apparently more sophisticated offerings from others. But what it lacks in really new technology (despite what its name might seemingly imply), it makes up for in having honed the hardware and software that it has. And that drivetrain – wow. Don’t go thinking that 417lb ft is somehow inadequate – with response like that, it’s more than enough. And the engine is simply leagues ahead of any of the newer turbocharged offerings in terms of the smiles it delivers.
A small, V10 supercar with playful handling might not be what the world needs right now, but equally the world seems like a better place with it in it.
Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica review
Engine:
5204cc, V10
Transmission:
7-speed dual-clutch, RWD
Power:
631bhp @ 8000rpm
Torque:
417lb ft @ 6500rpm
Weight:
1379kg (dry)
Power-to-weight:
427bhp/tonne (est.)
0-62mph:
3.2 seconds
Top speed:
202mph
Price:
£203,693
