2008 Lamborghini Gallardo 2dr Conv Spyder on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lamborghini Huracan Evo Rear-Wheel Drive promises lots of oversteer

The debut of the Lamborghini Huracan EVO Rear-Wheel Drive can be seen as a propitious start to the Gregorian New Year, or a starburst finale for the Chinese Year of the Rat – either take works. Coming 12 months after the reveal of its all-wheel-drive sibling, and true to its label, the Huracan EVO RWD sends all of its firepower to the rear wheels. That means 610 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque, spun from a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10, turning a set of 19-inch Kari wheels on Pirelli P Zeros. Lamborghini says putting the front axle on vacation lets the coupe "deliver the most emotive, fun-to-drive experience in both dry and wet conditions, and even snow." If our last experience with an RWD Huracan holds true, the driving experience – albeit a touch slower at the limit than the four-wheel version – is more fluid in every phase of handling that involves a crook in the road. Jettisoning mechanicals to drive the front wheels saves 73 pounds, the Huracan EVO RWD coming in at 3,062 pounds dry. The dash to 62 miles per hour takes 3.3 seconds, 0.4 seconds adrift of the EVO AWD, but the top speed holds steady at 203 mph. Engineers reprogrammed the Performance Traction Control System (P-TCS) for the new power delivery in all three driving modes; "Strada" minimizes slippage for everyday piloting, "Sport" opens up slip angles and drifting potential, "Corsa" balances slip and traction for ideal, kerb-kissing corner exits. When the driver's right foot demands more performance than the tires can provide, the P-TCS is calibrated for smooth cuts to and restoration of torque delivery  Designers differentiated the rear-driver from the all-wheel driver with a new, more conservative front fascia with three polygonal intakes above a new front splitter. In back, there's a new diffuser design under the high-gloss black bumper.    Deliveries begin in spring this year, the starting price in the U.S. $208,571, compared to $261,274 for the all-wheel drive coupe. Related Video:

Five different Huracans? Lamborghini's thinking about it

Lamborghini will make sure there's a Huracan for every potential (supercar) customer by offering at least five versions over the model's lifetime, including one with even more performance. Company boss Stephan Winkelmann might be on the way out at Lambo, but he opened up to Autocar about the future. Winkelmann confirms that Lamborghini has a more hardcore Huracan under development. "For sure there will be a car that is going in the direction of lighter and faster," he said. Spy shots from earlier this year possibly show the model testing with tweaks to the rear end and camouflage that suggests relocated exhaust pipes. The company also could offer a droptop version of the incredible LP580-2 (pictured above), which we recently drove. The current boss didn't detail other specific versions of the Huracan, but suggested that more variants might be possible. "It could be more than five derivatives over the life cycle. We have a lot of ideas that are already planned, but the more we think, the more things are coming up," he said. Adding more versions of the already popular Huracan could help Lamborghini boost volume further before the release of the Urus around 2018. The company had a sales record in 2014 and was on track for an even better result this year. Related Video:

'World's Most Expensive Car Crash' results in 10 charged [w/video]

Justice is slowly being served to those drivers who were involved in a 10-car pile up in Japan last year that saw eight Ferrari models, one Lamborghini and three Mercedes-Benz vehicles hauled off for scrap. As you may recall, the lead driver lost control of his machine, pin balling into those following behind and doing some $4 million in damage in the process. Now the 61-year-old lead driver and nine others have had their cases sent to prosecutors.
The group are currently being charged with suspicion of violating traffic laws. We'll take a moment to wait for the laughter to die down before continuing.
Prosecutors claim the drivers were exceeding the speed limit and not paying attention to the road when the incident happened. Six people were injured in the dust up, but everyone survived. The group was on their way to a supercar event in Hiroshima. Feel free to watch the original news reports below.