2015 Lamborghini Huracan Road Test and Review

by Benjamin Hunting

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August 19, 2015

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7 min. Reading Time

2015 Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 front 3/4 ・ Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Exotic cars like the 2015 Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 inhabit an alternate universe where concepts such as practicality, day-to-day comfort, and value-for-the-dollar simply don't resonate with the vast majority of buyers. Let's face it: if you're a billionaire industrialist, or an NFL draft pick looking to blow your signing bonus, you're probably more interested in how quickly your new ride will nail 200-mph than in how easy it is to haul home the groceries you certainly aren't buying.

Except somehow, the Lamborghini Huracán transcends the supercar stereotype and proves to the world that yes, you can own the Batmobile and still drive it to work every morning. For a car that will blur your view of the outside world with the hammer down like it's the Millennium Falcon jumping into hyperspace, the Huracán has all the road manners needed to make Emily Post nod approvingly from the driver's seat, shortly before leaving you in the dust at the stop light.

610 HP* and 412 lb-ft of torque

The 2015 Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 advertises the might of its mid-mounted 5.2-liter V-10 engine right there on the badge affixed just ahead of the rear wheel (the asterisk after the '610' in the heading refers to the fact that the motor's output is listed in metric horsepower, which translates into 602 Americanized ponies). The '4' is universal - standard all-wheel drive - and while the ten-cylinder unit's 412 lb-ft of torque might not receive equal fender billing, it certainly makes its presence known each time you dip into the throttle.

Proving that mathematics is equal parts poetry and reason, the sound of the Huracán's unfettered exhaust system impresses on the ear the urgency that sits just under your right foot every time you fire up the hulking 5.2-liter mill. It's not easy to make a ten-cylinder engine sound so thoroughly excellent, especially at idle, but Lamborghini has defied its odd-numbered cylinder banks and pulled off a heart-stopping soundtrack. The V-10 also offers an endearing quirk aimed at automotive eggheads: the motor's firing order is listed, engraved in metal, on plaque in the open-air engine bay.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Strada, Sport, Corsa: Pick Your Anima Adrenaline Rush

As with all modern sports cars, super and otherwise, the 2015 Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 features a host of computerized driving aides designed to keep you from dying while squeezing out every last possible ounce of performance. Surprisingly, the Huracán makes choosing how you'd prefer to experience its overwhelming potency remarkably easy, with a single button on the steering wheel - the ANIMA switch - controlling the car's three driving modes.

For everyday driving the automaker recommends Strada (street), which ensures the smoothest suspension dampening, the quietest engine note (keeping the active valves in the pipes closed until you exceed 4,200 rpm), and the safest electronic stability control envelope. I drove the car in Strada for maybe 10 minutes before switching to Sport, the Huracán's middle child mode and my recommendation for getting the most enjoyment out of the car without tempting fate. Sport gives you access to the Lamborghini's glorious exhaust tone at all engine speeds, stiffens up the magnetically-adaptive suspension system, and also firms the steering and the shift points for the car's seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual gearbox.

Yes, that's right: although the Huracán replaces the Gallardo as Lamborghini's most affordable model, it doesn't carry over the older car's available six-speed manual transmission. I'm as much a fan of the third pedal as any enthusiast - in fact, there's not an automatic to be found in my personal fleet - but I sincerely didn't miss the a foot clutch in the Huracán. Not for a second. The auto-blipping throttle on downshifts, the over-sized metal paddles sticking out from the steering column like bat-wings, the giant air-brake of a reverse selector on the center console, and the ultra-rapid gear changes perfectly suited the 'everything is happening immediately' character of the coupe.

The final drive setting for the Huracán is called Corsa (race), and while the other two modes allow you to keep the car in manual shift mode by pushing a button beside the Park selector, Corsa makes the choice for you. It also tightens up the Lamborghini's chassis to the point of being uncomfortable on rough roads and turns down the car's electronic safety net to its lowest level, which made it more difficult to take advantage of the car's phenomenal mechanical grip unless I was traveling over very smooth asphalt.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Faster Than You Could Possibly Imagine, All The Time

Corsa also gives you access to the 2015 Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4's standard launch control system (called Thrust Mode), which takes full advantage of the car's all-wheel drive system to stampede as many of the 602 horses through the paddock gate and onto the pavement as possible. Just how scary-fast is the Huracán at full bore? Try 2.9 seconds with Thrust Mode activated (which is as simple as selecting Corsa, turning off traction control, stepping down hard on the brake, and then flooring the gas), a number I verified as accurate…several times during the weekend I drove the vehicle.

Far more frightening is the ability of the Huracán to punch a hole through the atmosphere even without the judicious application of seven-speed clutch-slipping. Hit it off the line in Sport and you're at 60-mph in a scant 3.1 seconds, and keep your foot buried and you'll quickly run out of guts far before the Lamborghini's ten-cylinder catapult does. Even better is the naturally-aspirated drivetrain's instant response and the endless push of the V-10's all-motor fury egging you on - the sensation of speed imparted by the Huracán, especially on the highway, was incredible, and I had a hard time believing just how rapidly the car would burst forward into triple-digits. The Italians claim that the Huracán will break the 200-mph mark at the top end, and I have absolutely no trouble believing that to be true.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Easiest Supercar To Live With?

Normally the aerodynamic and styling requirements associated with ultra-expensive supercars form them into awkward sheet metal origami better appreciated as objects of art rather than interacted with on a daily basis. Vehicles like the BMW i8 and even the much more affordable Alfa Romeo 4C ask you to hike your tukus over wide door sills that conceal chassis tubs made of exotic materials to expensive to even pronounce before you can fold yourself into your seat and then somehow reach up or out to grab at the door and try to pull it closed.

The 2015 Lamborghini Huracán asks you to make no such sacrifices. In fact, getting in and out of the standard-hinged car is as easy as say, entering or exiting a comparably-sized Audi, which is no surprise given that the Germans who now hold Lambo's corporate reigns gave the automaker a big assist by loaning out the R8 platform as the basis for the Huracán. This explains the surprisingly daily driver-friendly ergonomics of the car, along with its softened Strada suspension tuning, remarkably quiet cabin, and the inclusion of a system that raises the vehicles suspension to a more curb-friendly level, suitable for entering off-street parking or dealing with speed bumps. If you had never seen the outside of the Lamborghini, you'd be hard-pressed to tell you were pushing top-end sports car out on the road until you nudged the accelerator past a quarter-push.

The only real complaint I had about the time I spent inside the Huracán's cockpit had to do with something I've labeled 'Lambo Leg.' You see, the pedal box for the coupe is angled ever so slightly to the right, which I found forced my left leg to sit unnaturally on longer stints, cramping up and imparting me with a limp that I wore proudly, hoping someone would ask me where it came from so I could tell them all about my newly-diagnosed condition. No one ever did.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Audi's Interior Acumen Pays Off Big-Time

I used the word 'cockpit' above to describe the 2015 Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4's interior arrangement, and never before has the term been more appropriate. Rather than have an LCD touchscreen mar the marvelously flat dashboard of the Huracán, Lamborghini has instead enlarged the driver's gauge cluster and tapped it to display not just engine and vehicle speed but also navigation, entertainment, and communications information. The system for scrolling through the various data pages isn't exactly intuitive, but it's functional, and when paired with the row of toggle switches at the top of the car's center stack, it's an impressive-looking piece of kit.

I also loved the orange-hued leather trim that adorned the cabin of my Huracán tester. Some of my passengers found it a little over the top, but to my mind it was entirely appropriate, and surprisingly tasteful given the brightness of the color. It was almost like being inside a baseball - or is that bocce? - glove, albeit one you'd have to mortgage your house to afford.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Everybody Stares At You, Or Drives Into You, Or Both

There is one major drawback to driving the 2015 Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 on your daily errands, and that's having to deal with an enormous influx of attention. Be prepared for the crowd that forms around your car to be disappointed when the door opens and it's you, not the pop flavor du jour, who steps out blinking at all the camera flashes. You meet a lot of people driving the Huracán, and I know for a fact that a significant number of Lamborghini buyers adore being clocked by every single person on the street, but the vehicle's impossible-to-ignore styling does make for more than a few scary encounters out on the road when random individuals get so excited about photographing your car that they momentarily forget that they, too, are driving.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

But You Might Not Notice, Because You Can't Really See Them

Doubling back to my love-fest for the 2015 Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4's ergo-design, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the one area where it falls down, and that's visibility. Through the wide windshield the Huracán presents no serious challenges, but the side windows are abbreviated by the low roofline to the point where those sitting in the lane beside me often had difficult getting my attention when asking questions about the car because I simply couldn't see them. The worst sightline is out the back, however, as the reflection of the engine in the hatch cover, combined with the tiny, slit-like opening, makes it a challenge to park the car. There is a rearview camera to assist you, of course - displayed in the gauge cluster - but reversing the Lamborghini was the most harrowing aspect of driving it.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Bargain Priced For The Double-Comma Set

The 2015 Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 starts at an MSRP of $237,000, which means if your net worth includes a pair of commas you'll have no trouble affording this 'entry-level' Italian exotic. I had many people ask me the same question after hearing about my experience with the car: is it worth the price premium over the Porsche 911 Turbo S, which retails for $182,700. I found it interesting that few mentioned Ferrari or McLaren as potential rivals on the Huracán desirability index, and while the 911 Turbo S certainly has the performance credentials required to go toe-to-toe with the Lamborghini, in my opinion they are entirely different animals. There's no way the Huracán would ever blend into a corporate parking lot with the same talent for camouflage enjoyed by the Porsche. It's a car for extroverts, not a co-conspirator on the climb up the corporate ladder.