IT’S ODD, but as I stand in the pit lane at Imola and gaze at the empty track, its curved main straight snaking away into the trees, I feel a little disappointed.

And a fraction underwhelmed.

For a circuit with such a fearsome reputation, I was hoping it’d look gloomier. More menacing. You know, with wisps of fog clinging to barriers shrouded in Senna flags and decaying flowers. That kind of thing.

Until the first Lamborghini Huracan Performante barks into life.

Behind me, a row of growling Performantes wait like jewels in the sun, their jutting noses, swooping rooflines and peacocking rear wings doing their best to enhance Imola’s visual drama.

This is the latest in a long line of track-honed special editions from Lamborghini, and this time Sant’Agata’s engineers have reached deep into a bag of new tricks. There’s more power, of course, and 40kg less weight courtesy of a raft of measures including a material called forged carbonfibre, but the most hyped piece of tech is something Lamborghini lovingly refers to as “Ahhh Laaa”.

Lurking inside that front splitter is an electric motor that operates two flaps. With the flaps shut, ALA is used to maximise downforce at the front axle. When the flaps slide open, the system helps to reduce drag. The same principle applies at the rear, though things are much more complex. That forged carbonfibre rear wing and its thick upright supports are actually hollow. This allows air to be channelled into the wing through two intakes at the base of the uprights, which are controlled by electric motors. With the intakes open, air is expelled through vents in the wing’s underside to reduce drag (like a Formula 1 Drag Reduction System) and to help the Performante reach its 325km/h top speed.

With the intakes closed, the wing maximises downforce at the rear, which has risen by 750 percent compared to the regular Huracan. The ingenious thing, though, is that the two air intakes can operate independently to produce something Lambo calls “aero vectoring”. With Corsa mode engaged, ALA can close one intake during a corner to increase downforce to the inside wheel which helps the car to turn. Brilliant, eh?

Pin sharp, high-revving and meaty throughout the rev-range (70 percent of torque is available from 1000rpm), the tweaked V10 is noticeably more savage than other Huracans. And then there’s the noise. Honing in on the 8500rpm redline isn’t just a musical experience but a physical one too, as the screaming V10 now operates at a frequency that reverberates through your chest.

Lamborghini’s chief test driver Mario Fasanetto isn’t faffing about either. He’s setting the pace in a ‘regular’ Huracan LP610-4 and it’s clear he’s pushing the car to its limit: the nose occasionally washing wide, his tail waggling under hard braking. Things are less dramatic inside the Performante. Suspension tweaks include 10 percent stiffer springs and thicker anti-roll bars for a 15 percent reduction in lateral roll, and the result is rock-solid body control and impressive front-end point.

Drop a cog, dial in plenty of revs and flatten the throttle and you can revel in delicious degrees of oversteer before the all-wheel drive scrabbles to pull the car straight.

Can you sense the active aero working? Hmm, not really. The only indication that there’s aero sorcery afoot is that the Performante is visibly more planted and composed than Fasanetto in the lead Huracan. Traditionally the trade-off to this kind of on-track performance is a bone-crunching ride on the public road. And yet, on the chipped and craggy tarmac around Imola, the Performante does a commendable job of soaking up bumps and deep imperfections.

And unlike the interiors of many track-honed specials, the Performante’s cabin doesn’t compromise on comfort. The usual Lambo ergonomic quirks and complicated switchgear remain, but the seating position is spot on, with excellent steering wheel adjustment. Though we’d steer clear of the optional, rock-hard sports seats.

Yes its active aero tech pushes the supercar envelope, and there’s enough dynamic talent to trouble its competitor set from Porsche, Ferrari and McLaren. But this remains a car that you could use every day. And that, more than anything else, speaks to the achievements of the engineers from Sant’Agata.

In fact, the Performante is so well-rounded Lamborghini admits there’s room to create an even harder, rawer and more uncompromising version to sit above it.

One with more noise, less weight and power sent solely to the rear axle.

Now imagine that.

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