THE NEW LAMBORGHINI EVO: A CLOSER LOOK

Should we add a Lamborghini Huracan Evo to the self drive hire fleet?

A few months ago we published a blog on an updated supercar that has really caught our attention – the new Audi R8. It has gone through many iterations in its 12 year lifespan and the latest is the most dynamic yet, both in terms of its power output and it’s new, more angular aesthetic. However, the R8 isn’t the only VW group model that we’re interested in to be going through transformations…

If you take a look at the current EV Hire fleet (and our incoming cars), you won’t struggle to notice that we’re rather fond of Lamborghini, with our menacing LP610-4 Nero Huracan setting the standard at present. We mention the Huracan specifically because this is the latest supercar to undergo a process of transformation. Shortly after our directors’ visit to the home of Lamborghini in Bologna, the Italian supercar manufacturer unveiled the Huracan Evo, with ‘evo’ literally meaning ‘the process of evolution’ here.

The Evo is meant to sit between the current LP610-4 and the more track focused LP640-4 Performante, but we’ll uncover it’s details in an outside-in process, before we rush into performance figures. The front bumper has lost it’s distinctive upward flicks in favour of new Y shape design language, with the middle section reminiscent of the Performante. This car doesn’t come with ALA technology, but there are active flaps here that help to send air under and over the car, resulting in up to 5x more down-force than in the standard Huracan. The Evo also introduces a brand new shade of orange, which it was debuted wearing. This new shade is known as ‘Arancio Xanto’. Moving around to the sides we find new 20 inch Aesir alloy wheel that will come in a variety of finishes. At the rear there’s a new duck-tail spoiler, the raised Performante exhaust tips on either side and a new, more aggressive diffuser.

Now to some more gritty details. The Evo comes with what’s essentially the same engine as the Performante, a 631bhp naturally aspirated V10. This is joined to the same 7-speed dual clutch transmission for the same lighting fast shifts that we (and you) have grown to love. This results in pretty much the same performance figures: 0-62mph in 2.9s and a ‘top speed of over 325kph’ as the Performante.  However, as the Evo produces quite a lot less down-force than the Performante, Lamborghini have added some trick upgrades. The first is taking the 4-wheel steer system from the Aventador S and transplanting it into the Evo, with some size adjustments of course. The second is creating a new system called Lamborghini integrated Vehicle Dynamics or LDVI. This new system integrates the control and deployment of the car’s magnetorheological suspension system, dynamic steering, 4-wheel steering and the torque vectoring system to offer a more predictable, seamless and reassuring dynamic driving experience. Sounds promising, but we’ll have to wait and see how effective and intrusive this system is.

Moving inside we find a very similar interior to before, generally speaking, but now with what Lamborghini call their ‘human-machine interface or HMI. The HMI is a new 8.4 inch portrait touch-screen display that replaces the multitude of buttons that was previously on the central column. If this is as sharp as that in the Urus, this could make for a very important update for the Huracan.

Now for the only important question...should we add one to our self drive hire fleet? Should EV Hire become the first to offer Lamborghini Huracan Evo hire in London. Two of our social media partners (Supercars of London and Galaxy89cars) recently ran Instagram polls on this question, with the results being a fairly conclusively YES.

Let us know your thoughts!