2023 Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica at Lightning Lap 2023

From the February/March 2023 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 2:47.5

Class: LL4 | Base: $249,495 | As-Tested: $342,595
Power and Weight: 631 hp • 3439 lb • 5.5 lb/hp
Tires: Bridgestone Potenza Race; F: 245/30ZR-20 (90Y) L,R: 305/30ZR-20 (103Y) L

The Lamborghini badge is synonymous with speed, and to no one’s surprise, the Huracán Tecnica is the fastest of this year’s crop. Unencumbered by massive aerodynamic appendages, the Italian wedge sliced through the air, blitzing down the Front Straight at 165.0 mph.

However, before you commit to applying metatarsal-rearranging force to the brake pedal, the Tecnica needs time to prepare. The optional Bridgestone Potenza Race rubber requires heat to come to life. Helpfully, onboard telemetry monitors tire temperatures and the thermal state of the brake rotors and fluid. We can report that the tires would like more heat than the system says before going full send. Brake lockup (despite ABS) at triple-digit speeds is a new one for us.

With the relatively narrow-for-a-supercar tires up to temp, the Tecnica hooks up, averaging 1.12 g’s through Turn 1. Thanks to a fixed-ratio steering rack and rear-axle steering, inputs sent through the tiller have immediate responses. The 5.2-liter V-10’s 631 horses kindly ask for a moment of patience before you stomp the accelerator out of corners. But when properly executed, the Tecnica exits Turn 1 at 80.9 mph, topping this year’s chart. While the other heavy hitters shift gears for themselves, the Tecnica’s Corsa drive mode requires interaction with the big shift paddles. It’s part of the experience. Sleep on the shift indicator lights, and the manic-revving V-10 slams into its 8500-rpm redline.

The demise of Lambo’s V-10 looms, and we’ll be sad to see it go. The engine is a ferocious beast chock full of character. Its acceleration is so enraged, you swear there’s another dimension on the other side of each upshift. And the noise—there’s so much. It’s race-car loud. Residents of neighboring North Carolina may have plugged their ears.

Over three days of strenuous use, the Tecnica never faltered. The Bridgestone Potenza Race tires easily withstood a day of abuse with only a negligible drop-off in performance. Lamborghini says a set of Pirelli Trofeo Rs might shave two seconds, but unlike the Bridgestones, they wouldn’t last a day or more.

Ultimately, our best time was a 2:43.9. The Tecnica is the quickest Huracán of the four we’ve lapped and possibly the last of its kind.

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