Lamborghini’s supercar celebration could be its finest V10 model ever.
We’ve already had the pleasure of driving the new Huracan Tecnica in continental Europe, but any supercar’s litmus test is always challenging, real-world roads with bumps and off-camber bends which we’ve hit here. Before we get to its behaviour on tarmac, let’s have a quick refresh of the Tecnica’s technical updates.
There’s a reshaped front bumper and bonnet, which channel the aggressive look found on Lamborghini’s new Revuelto. The rear-quarter panels and rear deck are totally fresh, the latter having a flat surface and a window to show off the V10 engine.
Mechanically, the Tecnica is something of a ‘greatest hits’ of the Huracan’s previous generations. While there are no new-age hybrid powertrain elements (ones that will inevitably find their way into its eventual replacement), the chassis features cutting- edge hardware that’s been constantly refined over the years. This includes the integrated vehicle dynamics management system, or LDVI, that centralises all the active driver aids, traction, stability, anti-lock braking and active-suspension systems into one digital brain. There’s also an impressive amount of high-end chassis hardware fitted, such as rear-wheel steering and magnetic dampers.
The naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 engine shares its outputs with the current track-focused Huracan STO, and the Performante that came before that. Peak power is 470kW at 8000rpm, trading torque (a relatively subdued 565Nm) for the sake of a throttle response that’s only achievable when there are no turbochargers bolted onto the end of the exhaust manifold.
Power is sent to the rear wheels via a mechanical limited-slip differential through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and despite only having two driven wheels, it’s still able to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.2 seconds when conditions allow. Top speed? That’ll be 323km/h. You could be forgiven for thinking you’ve heard all this before, but on broken, challenging and narrow British roads there are few cars of any type that are this much fun to drive. The Tecnica takes the excitement and control that the brilliant STO introduced to the Huracan’s chassis and dials it one or two clicks towards on-road compliance.
The 30-section profile tyres look thin and vulnerable, but even on rough roads – the sort you’d find running around Australian hills – the Tecnica flows beautifully, displaying poise and composure without losing any sense of agility or excitement.
In the Lamborghini’s road-biased Strada mode, everything from the gearshift to the ride on those magnetic dampers has a new level of polish, but only to a point that allows you to really engage with the chassis rather than compromising on body control. The chassis is so good you could be forgiven for thinking it might overshadow the engine, but in reality nothing can – so intoxicating is the V10. Its rate of response is incredible, and the way it crescendos is something all Huracans deliver, but here in the Tecnica it’s balanced by its ability to make real progress without creating too much noise (an underrated capability).
You can’t create your own specific mix of engine, gearbox, exhaust and suspension calibrations like you can in rival cars, but so well versed are the Strada, Sport and Corsa driver modes that you rarely find yourself asking for the ability to mix and match settings. That’s because this Huracan feels honed to its absolute best, a result of its near 10-year lifespan and the continuous development it’s undergone in that time.
The Tecnica really is one of the most rapturous, charismatic and multi-layered supercars you can buy today. Don’t be thrown off by Lamborghini’s unhinged and extroverted reputation, because the Tecnica displays a level of high-quality engineering that’s just as impressive as any of its modern hybridised rivals’. If you want a supercar that celebrates mechanical engineering, the Tecnica is it. Buy one while you can, and enjoy every moment in it.
Forget all about electric motors, turbocharging or battery packs; the Huracan Tecnica is a supercar celebration of the old school. On paper this late update of an ageing model doesn’t hit the numbers its rivals can, but it doesn’t matter one bit, because the stars have aligned with the Huracan Tecnica – which might well be the best V10 supercar Lamborghini ever builds.