Lamborghini Huracan sells up a storm

LAMBORGHINI’S all-new Huracan supercar is a global success even as it starts to roll down the Italian production line, with about a year’s worth of orders already in the can.

The Gallardo replacement – launched at the Geneva motor show last week – has an order bank of more than 1000 cars from would-be owners around the world eager to get into the 325km/h super coupe that is due to begin deliveries in the northern spring.

Lamborghini’s new model is expected to help drive increased sales for the fourth year in succession, building on 2013’s 2121 units which included a record 1001 V12 Aventadors and – up 9.0 per cent on 2012 – and 1161 V10 Gallardos.

The Gallardo tally was slightly down on 2012’s 1161 units, which is not surprising given the pre-launch hooplah of the new Huracan over the past year or so.

The Gallardo will be put out to pasture as the best-selling Lamborghini of all time, notching up more than 14,000 sales over its life-time.

However, the more powerful, more sophisticated Huracan looks set to give that record a shake, with unprecedented interest from buyers matched with expanded production capacity at Lamborghini’s Sant’Agata plant in Bolognia, Italy.

It might also help drive overall Lamborghini sales back to the pre-GFC record levels of 2007-8, when the company sold 2406 and 2430 vehicles respectively.

The all-wheel-drive Huracan – full name Huracan LP 610-4 – will be rolled out this year around the world at special events for prospective customers in 90 cities, including some in Australia, in Lamborghini’s 50th year.

The new model has an all-new hybrid carbon-fibre and aluminium body and a fresh V10 engine that is expected to be shared with Audi’s next-generation R8 sports coupe.

In Lamborghini form, the normally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 punches out 448kW of power at 8250rpm (up 43kW) and 560Nm of toque at 6500rpm (up 20Nm), pushing the 1422kg Huracan from zero to 100km/h in 3.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 235km/h.

The Huracan employs a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that the Italian company is claiming as it own, but which appears to have its origins in sister company Audi’s parts bin.

Automobili Lamborghini president and CEO Stephan Winkelmann said the company’s 2013 turnover of €508 million marked an 8.0 per cent increase on 2012.

He said that growth was set to continue, with increased turnover and sales volume on the cards for both the short and long term.

Mr Winkelmann said forward orders for the flagship two-and-a-half-year-old Aventador covered the next 12 months of production, in both coupe and roadster forms.

The Huracan – named after a Spanish fighting bull from the 1800s – is shaping up the same way, with Mr Winkemann saying at the Geneva show that the company was holding 1000 pre-show orders.

That was expected to increase substantially in the wake of show publicity and massive media coverage.