Lamborghini Huracan STO review: The devil is in the detail and the STO has lots of detail

IT feels like we’ve been waiting for this car for ever.

Ever since the Huracan was launched back in 2014, it’s been nearly fantastic.

ALP

It feels like we’ve been waiting for the Lamborghini Huracan STO forever but now it’s here it was worth the wait[/caption]

Blessed with a killer V10 engine and shockingly brilliant dual-clutch gearbox, possessed of a stunning, simple shape and with grip, composure and drama to spare.

What’s been missing? That last degree of precision, adjustability and balance.

In the early days, Lamborghini almost celebrated the Huracan’s slightly blunted edges, and as time went on it introduced confusing technology such as Dynamic Steering, which upped the responsiveness but further removed the driver from exactly what the car was doing down at road level.

The latest Evo models are a big step forward, particularly the RWD version, but the STO feels like the inevitable conclusion to this car’s long evolution.

Lighter, more focused, aggression cranked up to maximum and with the look and, perhaps, the feel of the Super Trofeo and GT3 racers.

Hence the STO or Super Trofeo Omologato, nametag.

The price – £260,012 – says it’s a McLaren 765LT rival. The numbers – 631bhp at 8,000rpm, 417lb ft at 6,500rpm – suggest it’s outgunned.

For us, though, the promise is boundless. If the STO can replicate the grip and response of the very latest track-focused cars and build that experience around its scintillating engine, it could become an instant icon.

Of course, the devil is in the detail and the STO has lots of detail. Aero and lightweighting have been two of the most intensely interrogated areas and the results are pretty impressive.

Overall aero efficiency is improved by 37 per cent, with downforce 53 per cent up on the Performante.

Aside from the obvious “free” weight saving of removing the four-wheel-drive system, the STO does all the cool things to further suck out unnecessary flab.

Thinner glass, carbon fibre for everything, a stripped-back interior and optional magnesium wheels are the headline items. The result is a dry weight of 1,339kg, which is 43kg less than the Performante but still a little chubby compared with the 765LT’s dry figure of 1,229kg.

I’m not sure performance figures mean anything these days but this rather “underpowered” contender does 0-62mph in three seconds dead and that big wing calls an end to acceleration at 193mph.

FUN OF DRIVING

The V10 really is something else and, although it gives away power and lots of torque to rivals from McLaren and Ferrari, you have to ask yourself: How much performance do you need?

The Huracan’s engine can test the chassis whenever you want; you can touch three-figure speeds on any B-road you care to mention without a healthy dose of restraint (please don’t, by the way), plus you get response, noise and pure mechanical fury thrown in free.

It’s simply enthralling at any speed and endows the STO with a living, breathing, baying, screaming personality.

The STO really does feel like Lamborghini fully unleashing the potential of the Huracan. Not just in terms of outright performance and aerodynamics, but in terms of feel and adjustability and the pure fun of driving.

Lamborghini remains focused on lap times with the STO and has suggested we look out for some spectacular results in that field soon, yet that mission hasn’t come at the expense of involvement and there’s an abundant sense of fun, of indulgence in everything the car does.

It generates smiles and giggles and all manner of other noises signifying approval, excitement and disbelief like very few other driving experiences.

Let’s not worry about tomorrow. Today is a good day. The Lamborghini Huracan STO is here. And it was so worth the wait.