Lamborghini Huracán Evo pinches second place at MOTOR’s Performance Car of the Year 2022

X-factor hero gets golden buzzer to the finals, as the Lamborghini Huracán Evo snatches second place at Performance Car of the Year 2022

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Getting to grips with the Lamborghini Huracán Evo is a journey of peaks and troughs. Its reputation precedes it, and you approach it with what seems a healthy cynicism. You expect it to be all drama, with little substance. All sizzle, but no taste.

Then you hop in and, while the rest of the road loop party begins to drive off, you’re still there trying to figure out how to work the damn thing.

Nothing subscribes to convention in this car. You engage first not with a central ‘Drive’ button, but instead by clicking the exquisitely made forged carbon paddle with your right hand. Reverse? That’s in the centre and, as I would later find out inching it on and off a transporter after the event, there is no clear Neutral mode.

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Everywhere you look from the driver’s seat, you get the sense that everything is a deeply considered decision, deliberately made to deviate from the mainstream. There are no indicator or wiper stalks, controls for those are on the steering wheel. Even the flip-up starter button cap has a hole big enough to poke a finger straight through.

When you’ve finally worked out how, you begin to drive off and you’re shocked at how civil this lairy Italian’s low-speed manners are. It’s firm, but there’s sophistication there. “It doesn’t have the harsh aggressive ride you might expect from a car like this” agreed Luffy. The big V10 is hugely tractable at road speeds and the steering, though quick, is light and precise.

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Then you get to a road (or race track) where you can unwind that Performante-matching 470kW 5.2-litre V10, and the whole package simply comes alive. Suddenly, all of those prior ergonomic idiosyncrasies become charms, and any remaining cynicism simply washes away against the backdrop of a 10-piece choir singing at 8000rpm. It all makes sense alarmingly quickly.

From there it’s complete sensory overload. It’s “quite literally spine-tingling” exclaims Kirby. Quinn agrees, calling it “an almost surreal experience”.

Driving the Huracán Evo fast on the road feels like everything is happening on two-times speed. A light 1422kg kerb weight combined with a best-in-field 331kW/tonne sees corners rush up to meet you. The steering, weighting up a notch in Sport Mode, loads up progressively with input and pace and the carbon ceramic brakes bite early and hard with shocking ferocity.

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And yet, beneath the noise and the drama lie the underpinnings of an extravagantly capable performance car – drama doesn’t lap Phillip Island in 1:43.09, after all. But where the GT3 makes its time with its imposing aero package and Cup 2 tyres, contributing to its 3.35-second lap time advantage, the Huracán Evo does it with brute force and top-end speed.

The Lamborghini’s V-max tells part of the story, topping 266km/h down Phillip Island’s main straight – 9km/h more than the heroic GT3. The AWD Huracán Evo demolished the 0-100km/h sprint in a ballistic 2.93sec, bested only by the Taycan (2.82sec) with the GT3 following in third (3.11sec).

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It blitzed the quarter-mile testing, too, pegging a 10.57sec pass with only the Taycan holding a candle at 10.73sec. The GT3 trailed almost a full second behind. Its 219km/h quarter-mile V-max comfortably headed the field with only the GT3 and Alpina cracking the double-ton at 203.8km/h and 202.9km/h, respectively.

The Lamborghini does have a few dynamic foibles though. It seemed under-tyred at times, rolling on standard Pirelli P Zeros, and often struggled to contain the front end with its comparatively modest 245-section tyres saddled with another 43kgs in added front driveshafts.

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There’s a particular ‘point-pause-and-shoot’ cadence to getting the most out of the Huracán Evo, with our pro-driver stressing the need for patience upon corner entry. Tempering the nose and clearing the brakes before apex is crucial, as attempting to load the front by trail-braking to quell understeer can have the opposite effect, with the front P Zeros waving the white flag. After a while, this mid-corner regroup offers welcome moments of respite, giving you a pause for preparation as you finesse your line, wait a beat, nail the throttle and then rocket out of the corner exit like you’ve been flung out of a slingshot.

The Huracán’s brakes offer decent pedal feel when brought up to temperature but can feel abrupt when the Kelvin count’s a little lower on road. Full-bore upshifts never shock the driveline like Corsa mode does in an Aventador and, unlike its senior sibling, taller drivers can comfortably recline the seat enough in the Evo to fit while wearing a lid.

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While modest mechanical grip hampers outright lap time, the willingness of the chassis to move around underneath you is an intoxicating and thrilling experience. Who knew a 470kW supercar could be so malleable?

That’s the gambit. The Huracán is all about the experience, but there’s polish and sophistication there too. This Raging Bull, ageing as it may be, is by no means a one-trick pony. Enright surmises that “it feels like a car that’s towards the end of its development cycle and is all the better for it”.

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The Huracán emerges as something resolutely unique with an unmatchable charisma. It’s an unashamed extrovert, and delivers everything you think a highlighter-hued Lamborghini would – and then some.

It commands a high price of entry, however, and is the most expensive car of the field by a margin of some $129,000.

It left an indelible mark on the judges but, over a week of testing, just one car had its measure. And the winner is...

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The judges' comments

Alex Affat

“Surprising on the road loop. The steering is precise and immediate. You can brake quite astonishingly late”

Ranking: 2nd

Andy Enright:

“Brakes almost made my face fall off at MG. Rotating the Huracán into Honda is just <chef’s kiss>”

Ranking: 4th

Trent Giunco

“I’d have loved to have driven this on Trofeos. As an event, it’s hard to top but there’s real substance here”

Ranking: 2nd

Cameron Kirby

“It’s like having an electric cable plugged into your spine and you control the voltage with the throttle:

Ranking: 4th

Bernie Quinn

“The Lambo’s not planted like the GT3. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but you have to be on your toes”

Ranking: 2nd

Luffy's view

“What a car! Complete engagement in every facet of driving. Outright lap time probably limited by tyre choice”

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Key figures