Geneva show: Lambo goes Performante with Spyder
BY RON HAMMERTON | 7th Mar 2018
Automobili Lamborghini’s Oceania office in Sydney is still awaiting word from head office in Sant’Ágata, Italy, on whether the new Huracan Performante Spyder – shown at Geneva motor show overnight – will be available in this market for a few happy, cashed up customers.
As it has already been confirmed for the United Kingdom where it will be launched mid-year, we at least know it should be available in right-hand drive.
Powered by the Huracan Performante’s ballistic 470kW/600Nm mid-mounted normally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 and bearing the Performante’s bodykit with bits such as a forged carbon-fibre front spoiler and rear wing, the Huracan Performante Spyder can blast from zero to 100km/h in 3.1 seconds, then to 200km/h in 9.3s and max out at 325km/h.
The top speed matches its coupe sibling, but because the Spyder configuration is 125kg heavier than the Performante coupe at 1507kg (dry weight) due to extra body strengthening and the roof mechanism, the open-top car is 0.2s slower to the 100km/h mark.
It is, however, 35kg lighter than the standard Huracan Spyder due to the lightweight carbon-fibre components that also include the bonnet, rear bumper and diffuser.
Unveiling the new variant in Geneva, Lamborghini chairman and CEO Stefano Domenicali described it as the zenith of Huracan development combined with the enhanced emotion of driving a convertible.
“The Huracan Performante already provides the most heightened feedback and emotion from road and track, and the Huracan Performante Spyder puts the driver even closer to asphalt and air, as well as the unique resonance of a naturally-aspirated Lamborghini engine,” he said.
The new car gets Lamborghini’s patented active aerodynamics package that adjusts downforce according to driving actions, such as high-speed cornering.
Lamborghini insists that the fabric roof does not compromise these tricky aerodynamic aids, as long as the roof is up, of course.
The electro-hydraulic roof opens in 17 seconds while driving at up to 50km/h.
The glass rear window can be operated separately, acting as a wind blocker when the roof is down.
Like the Huracan Performante coupe, the hot Spyder gets a sportier suspension tune, along with recalibrated ESC, more responsive steering, four-wheel drive and three-mode driving system – strada (road), sport and corsa (track).
Early last year, Lamborghini secretly transported a Huracan Performante coupe to Australia to show prospective customers in closed sessions in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Just before the car was officially revealed at Geneva, Lamborghini announced that a Performante coupe had lapped the Nurburgring in 6:52.01 – a production car record that eclipsed the time set by Porsche’s hybrid 918 by almost five seconds.
