LIFTTHEANODISEDRED‘SAFETY’
flap and hover my finger over the start
button. And pause. I so want to do this and
yet I really, really don’t: it’s five-something
in the morning and I need to get on my way,
next stop Anglesey Circuit, but pressing that
button feels as unneighbourly as setting up a
concert PA system underneath the bedroom
windows of every resident in the street and
pressing ‘play’ on some particularly angry
death metal. Cringing, slowly, I move my digit forward until it’s
touching the black button, and witha final, wistful wince, push firmly.
There’saclick,achurnofstartermoreindustrialandslowerthanthose
from Lamborghini’s neighbours in Maranello, and thenWUMPH!
BRAAAARRR!This may just be the loudest car I’ve driven in years; on
cold start it makes our Fast Fleet Mustang on its equivalent warm-up
cycle seem positively effete, and that’s really saying something.
The Evo is Huracán 2.0. In simple terms it’s the familiar aluminium
and part-carbonfibre structure of Lamborghini’s ‘junior’ mid-
engined supercar, with a Performante-spec V10 dropped in there
- good for 631bhp – and the kind of advanced chassis technology
and corresponding electronics hitherto reserved for the firm’s
most aggressive niche variants. That 5.2-litre naturally aspirated
powerhouse, enshrined in the bay beneath a glass cover, benefits
from titanium intake valves and a (very) free-breathing exhaust to
exceed the 602bhp of the old car, making it 20bhp more powerful
than the similar V10 found in the Audi R8 Performance. Its torque
output of 442lb ft also exceeds that of its Ingolstadt relation (by 14lb
ft), but these figures are still overshadowed by the Ferrari 488 GTB’s
661bhp and 561lb ft. Moreover, with the GTB soon to be replaced
by the F8 Tributo and its 710bhp Pista-spec motor, the Evo is clearly
being left considerably behind in the power race. Given it weighs
1422kg ‘dry’, compared to 1370kg ‘dry’ for the 488 GTB, the raw
numbers would suggest that the bull will be more ‘gasping to keep up’
than ‘raging’ out front.
But really, which intelligentevoreader cares that much about the
numbers? Since when have stats alone made a great driver’s car? We’re
well into an era where many manufacturers believe that the epitome
of a very-high-performance car is to have a power figure beginning
with a 7, and as you’ve probably gathered from recent issues ofevo,
we simply do not agree with that philosophy. A greatevocar – anevo
icon – should be as much about mass reduction, handling fluency and
driver interaction as Top Trumps-winning power and torque figures.
Maybe, just maybe, the Evo’s other attributes will make up for its
power deficit, and then some.
Still, my early impressions of the Evo – anyone’s for miles around,
in fact, I’ll guarantee that – are all about the engine. To be perfectly
honest with you, it could be mounted in the most gruesome glassfibre-
and-space-frame monstrosity of a low-budget kit car and there’d still
be much to commend overall. It really is that stellar.
The early running for our first on-road test of the Evo is done in
Strada mode, one of three modes selectable via
a switch at the base of the steering wheel. We’ll
come to these in more detail later, but for now
thisleavestheexhaustinitsquietersetting,and
the baritone bark fades into the background.
A determined prod of the throttle elicits a
buzz-saw growl from the intakes in the rear
haunches, and with the windows cracked ajar,
there’s the breathy suck of air being ingested
and the hiss of the throttle bodies. It feels more
living entity than internal combustion engine,
and it’s hard to imagine it’s related to the
usually rather demure engine in the R8.
Naturally, with its seven-speed twin-clutch
’box and raft of modern tech, the Evo is
perfectly capable of adapting to being a fine
long-distance companion. It’s a considerable
trek to Anglesey from the Home Counties,
but the Evo does a decent job, and at least it
gives me the chance to try to fathom the fancy
new infotainment set-up, which has dragged
the old car’s dated Audi interfaces right into
the present. TheTron-style graphics on the
touchscreen certainly look seriously cool,
but even after a number of hours I’m still a
bit puzzled about how you adjust the volume.
Modern tech, huh? It’s the future.
Our rendezvous at the track isn’t to put the
Evo through its paces, rather it’s to shoot it
Right:5.2-litreV10’s
631bhpoutputsounds
almostconservative
bythe latestsupercar
standards, butyou never
feelshort-changed
I
LAMBORGHINIHURACÁN EVO
‘IT MAKESOUR
FAST FLEET MUSTANG
ON ITS WARM‑UP
CYCLE SOUND
POSITIVELY EFFETE’