- Doors and Seats
2 doors, 2 seats
- Engine
5.2i, 10 cyl.
- Engine Power
470kW, 600Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (98) 13.7L/100KM
- Manufacturer
4WD
- Transmission
Auto (DCT)
- Warranty
3 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante new car review
- Awesome performance.
- Clever aerodynamics.
- V10 sounds amazing.
- Too fast for the road.
- Missing some basic standard equipment.
- Hard to live with, even by supercar standards.
What is it?
Lamborghini’s track car for the road. The Performante takes the Huracan and turns everything up to 11 as it has a more powerful V10 engine, stronger brakes and a highly-advanced active aerodynamic system that turned it into a Nurburgring lap record holder (albeit briefly).
How much does it cost and what do you get?
A lot and not much is the short answer to those questions. Well at least in terms of creature comforts.
The Performante starts at $483,866 plus on-road costs which is pretty good bang-for-your-bucks in supercar-land, but when you start reading the options list it starts to feel a bit steep.
Bluetooth? That’s an extra $1410. Cruise control? It’s $1400. Navigation with Apple CarPlay adds $5,800 and a reverse camera is $5700. And the front lifting kit, which you’ll need if you don’t want to scrap the front carbon bumper, is $5090.
That’s the cheap options too. The beautiful red paint on our test car will set you back a whopping $27,500. And the lightweight forged bronze wheels are a further $11,100.
All up our test car ended up costing $626,014 once you included on-road costs. And while that’s expensive for what it is, compared against its rivals such as the Ferrari 488 and Porsche GT2 RS, the Performante is ultimately competitively priced.
What’s under the bonnet?
The brilliant, screaming 5.2-litre V10 from the Huracan (and Audi R8) has been given a tweak, adding titanium values and a free flowing exhaust system to increase power to 470kW and torque to 600Nm. That’s a 21kW and 20Nm bump from the standard car.
The Huracan didn’t really need any extra grunt because it was already a fast car but the extra kilowatts, along with the louder exhaust, do give the Performante a greater sense of urgency and aggression on the road. It revs freely all the way to its 9000rpm redline with a mechanical symphony equal to anything in the automotive world.
What’s it like to drive?
Intimidating at times. Lamborghini has kept things relatively simple for the Performante, making it as light as possible, adding carbon ceramic brakes and stickier Pirelli P Zero tyres for better grip.
However, the aerodynamics are anything but simple. On the surface it may just look like a big rear wing but the way the air flows across and through the Performante is incredibly high-tech.
Lamborghini calls the system ALA - Aerodynamica Lamborghini Atta - which roughly translates as active aerodynamics. In simple terms there’s a flap in the front wing that can open or close depending on the conditions to either provide maximum downforce or minimal drag (wind resistance).
When you hit the brakes the front flap closes which forces more air over the front wing. Accelerate out of the corner and the flap opens to reduce the drag to cut through the air easier.
It’s a similar story at the rear, where there are two channels sculpted into the rear deck near the wing supports. These close under braking which forces air to flow over the wing for more downforce and then open at speed, which stalls the air underneath the wing to reduce drag and increase top speed.
It’s a highly advanced system that you can feel at work even on the road as the Performante feels incredibly planted and stable at speed. It allows you to carry tremendous speed through corners and thanks to the all-wheel drive and big V10 it launches out of them like a rocket.
The steering is incredibly communicative and direct which adds to the connection between the car and driver.
The compromise is ride comfort. The Performante is unforgiving on the road thanks to its stiffer suspension set-up, even with the $4860 optional magnetic suspension system on our test car. Driving the Lamborghini through the city streets is a rough and painful ride at times. Smooth racetracks are definitely its natural habitat.
What’s it like inside?
Just as spectacular as the outside. Arguably Lamborghini’s greatest strength as a car company, even above how fast its cars go, is design. No one creates cars quite as dramatic as the rampaging bull brand.
The regular Huracan already had a dramatic looking cabin. From the fully-digital instrument cluster (borrowed from Audi) to the steeply angled control panel dividing the driver and passenger and the angular air vents, everything in the Huracan looks fast and purposeful.
The Performante, especially our test car with its optional extras, looks even better than the standard car. The exposed forged composite air vents and central panel give it a racey look, as do the bucket seats. The seats offer good support without being too tight, but they are light on padding so after a few hours they do begin to feel a bit firm.
The Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel looks great, with its flat bottom and all the key switches attached to it, including the drive mode selector and the indicator/wiper controls.
Is it safe?
Not surprisingly no crash testing authority has purchased three new $480k supercars to crash test so there is no official rating. The two-star rating of the Ford Mustang raised questions across the industry about how safe the low-volume sports cars are potentially. However, unlike the mass-produced Mustang, the Huracan is built around a forged composite Formula One-style tub so it’s safe to say it should hold up well in any real world crash - if you’re unlucky enough to have one.
Would I buy it?
If I had half a million dollars lying around I definitely would. Despite all the state-of-the-art aerodynamics there’s something delightfully old-school about the Performante. The big V10 engine, unsullied by turbos or hybrid interference, sounds great and pulls hard.
The grip provided by the wings and huge tyres makes it an incredibly fast and engaging car to drive. As we move towards a world of ever-efficient performance cars the Huracan Performante is likely to become a future collectible.
What else should I consider?
As special as the Performante is there are actually a lot of seriously quick cars to choose from at present.
Ferrari has the 488 GTB (from $469,988) and McLaren the 720S (from $489,900) - both twin-turbo V8 supercars. Porsche has not one, but two, road-going racers, the 911 GT3 RS (from $416,900) and the 911 GT2 RS (from $645,400).
You could also consider the very different, hybrid V6 Honda NSX (from $420,000), which boasts serious performance.
2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante pricing and specifications
Price: From $483,866 plus on-road costs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10 petrol
Power: 470Kw at 8000rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 6400rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, all-wheel drive
Fuel use: 13.7L/100km