Lamborghini Huracán EVO Spyder (2023 - )

Remember the Gallardo? It doesn’t feel all that long ago, does it? Well, this might make you feel old: its replacement, the Huracán, is about to cease production, writes Tim Barnes-Clay. 

To quell the pain, not only is its successor, the new Temerario, being launched at Pebble Beach in California in just a few days, but today we’re testing the Huracán with its awesome, naturally aspirated V10 lump.

This is the last hurrah for Lamborghinis that are exclusively about the engine, with future models switching to hybrid power.

Like the original Gallardo, the first Huracán launched was slightly underwhelming. It offered more of Lamborghini's Audi-owned German sensibleness and less of the unrestrained Italian charisma Lambo is famed for.

However, like the Gallardo, the Huracán has been revised, tuned, and tweaked - and it has aged well.

The version we’re driving here is the EVO Spyder – it was introduced in 2019, but it’s one of only a handful of remaining models you can still buy today.

On our car we got 20-inch Narvi forged silver alloys, an 8.4-inch infotainment touchscreen with DAB radio and SatNav with real-time traffic information, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, power-folding door mirrors and dual-zone climate control.

We also got carbon ceramic brakes, black callipers, a gloss black styling package, fully electric heated seats, and ambient lighting, among other things. These last few, plus the alloys, are all optional extras on the Lamborghini driven for this review. In fact, it has nearly £47,000 of options on it!

As we said, the Huracán, driven here, gets a naturally aspirated V10 alongside 5.2-litres of might, 640 horses - and all-wheel drive.

The car looks stunning.

Its familiar mean frown, large air intakes and sharp headlights make it look the part.

Huge door indentations result in a side skirt so deep that you almost have to walk on it to get to the door, all while admiring two additional air intakes on each side of the car.

The rear features mesh, centralised exhaust pipes and, of course, the familiar louvres on the engine cover.

Inside, it looks like a modern supercar - akin to a fighter jet, even - you even have to pull up a switch guard to access the engine start/stop button.

The steering wheel’s large airbag box in the middle, thumb indentations, and flat bottom make it look thick and bold like it’s designed to be thrown about a lot.

Its diagonal centre console houses the portrait-oriented infotainment screen; above that, there's a row of switches for various functions that look like they could launch missiles.

The cabin is adorned by bolstered Alcantara sports seats, hexagonal air vents, and a lovely purple décor.

It is a joy to look at, inside and out.

The purple matches our car’s body colour – Viola 30, to give its official name – commemorating 30 years since the same hue was used on the Lamborghini Diablo SE30 – and that special edition, in 1994, was to mark the brand’s 30th anniversary.

Here is the headline figure you’re desperate to know: 0-62mph takes 3.1 seconds and the car tops out at 202mph. This performance gets your heart racing and your adrenaline pumping.

The seven-speed dual-clutch automatic changes up at lightning speed, regardless of whether you leave it in auto mode or take charge yourself via the paddle shifters.

However, once you hear it, you won't care about any of this because you’ll likely immediately jam on the brakes, which are just as powerful, being carbon ceramic on our test car. That is because you’ll want to put the roof down to enjoy that ever-rare and increasingly rarer V10 roar.

It sounds sublime - like a caged lion - especially at higher revs – and will make coupe owners jealous that they’ll have to make do with putting a window down to hear it better.

It is magnificent, as is the instantaneous throttle response.

Even the ride comfort is quite good if you stick to the standard ‘Strada’ driving mode.

The downside of convertible supercars is that handling, nimbleness, and agility are everything - and if you want that, the last thing you want to do is cut the roof off. This robs a car of rigidity, which is compensated for by reinforcing the lower areas and adding weight.

Some droptop supercars have even been known to feel more ‘structurally flexible’ as a result, which sounds worrying, although happily, the EVO Spyder isn't one of them. 

The steering is light and doesn't offer much feedback through the wheel, which makes positioning the car a bit tricky in less-than-ideal weather conditions.

The all-wheel-drive Lamborghini is excellent to drive normally, but if you want to test its limits, those limitations are in what the car’s computer will allow you to do.

While you can adjust the car’s characteristics via the three driving modes (normal ‘Strada’, sportier ‘Sport’, and track-day-racey ‘Corsa’), which adjust various amounts of the car’s ferocity, there are no options to mix these or choose your own settings.

A droptop like the EVO Spyder is aimed at those who want to hear a great driving experience – and the all-wheel drive model is aimed at those who want to do it safely in a slightly more sophisticated manner. There is nothing wrong with that, and when you consider this, the EVO Spyder is a joy to drive and to waft along in.
 

No supercar scores highly in this department, but the Huracán is a bit short on driver legroom if you’re over six feet tall.

It is not much better if you’re a passenger, although there's less need to sit in a particular position, given you don't have a steering wheel to hold and pedals to put your feet on.

Speaking of which, the Lamborghini was designed for left-hand drive, but the transition to right-hand drive doesn’t feel quite as natural due to the slightly offset positioning of the pedals. At least there’s a reasonable amount of shoulder space, though.

Visibility is about what you’d expect: limited. Thankfully, a rear-view camera plus front and rear parking sensors offer some much-needed help while manoeuvring.

You get 150 litres of boot space, which is under the bonnet, and that’s it – although anyone who mocks you can be silenced with the response that “it’s still 15% more than you get in a Mazda MX-5”. That should shut them up.

I mean, let's face it: no matter what you do, you’re not going to get the same amount of room as you’d get in a Land Rover Discovery.

One good thing, though, is that you can put the roof down in 17 seconds up to 31mph to give yourself an intergalactic amount of headroom.

Not even Land Rover can offer you that.

It is, unsurprisingly, not very economical.

You get around 19mpg, while emissions totalling 338g/km will leave you determined to put the road tax bill in the shredder as soon as you’ve paid it. Mind you, if nearly fifty grand’s worth of optional extras isn’t abnormal to you, then you likely won’t care in practice.

Supercar manufacturers don't have a particularly good reputation for reliability; however, a study carried out in the UK identified the Huracán as the most reliable supercar you can buy. That is not necessarily scientific, but it’s good news, all the same.

A three-year, unlimited mileage warranty is standard, while more extended guarantees are available if your car participates in Lamborghini's Selezione programme.

Lamborghini will then service it and carry out 150 tests to determine whether it's willing to renew the warranty for a further year. So, drive it carefully, obviously.

The Lamborghini Huracán EVO Spyder is one of the most authentic examples of a car you buy with your heart rather than your head.

You can only see the displays with the roof down well due to glare from the sun, and you'll need help to fit into the cabin if you’re on the tall side. And yet, it's still brilliant.

The Huracán EVO Spyder still handles better than 99.99% of the cars on the road, it’s still superb fun, it’s still ferociously fast, and it's still deafening - the latter characteristic is even more of a reason to have a chopped-off roof.

And it’s these paradoxes that are the reasons we love supercars and love Lamborghini.

The less sense it makes, the more sense it makes. 

We just hope the Temerario follows suit.