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2016 Lamborghini Huracan LP 580-2 First Drive [w/video]

The most enjoyable – not necessarily the "best" or "fastest" – driving machines permit latitude with their exactitude, using ruthless precision to support a driver's personal style instead of smother it. Very few cars get it right. The Porsche 911 GT3 is one that does. Add the Lamborghini Huracan LP 580-2 – the new rear-wheel drive variant of the all-wheel drive Huracan LP 610-4 – to the short list. To get a sense of how the rear-drive car stacks up, let's revisit our impressions of the all-wheel version. We drove the LP 610-4 at Laguna Seca back in May for the brand's Intensivo driving school, and two idiosyncracies stood out. The first is that it ticked around corners like the second hand on a watch. That's great for an autocross, pivoting through cones like a Tron lightcycle. But on a circuit, you want the freedom to find your own best way to move the machine around the track, and the all-wheel-drive Huracan won't relent on its commitment to ultimate precision. You aim at grace but you get mechanics – a robot trying to follow your instructions for dancing the Tarantella. The second peculiarity was that it squirmed under heavy braking, coming down from triple-digit speeds into a hairpin like a bull shaking off a swarm of flies. The timed run from 0-62 miles per hour is just 0.2 seconds slower than the 610-4. The LP 580-2 is the prescription to cure both symptoms. As the name attests, output drops from 602 horsepower to 572 hp and torque is reduced from 413 pound-feet to 398 lb-ft, all of it sent to the rear wheels. The timed run from 0-62 miles per hour is just 0.2 seconds slower than the 610-4. No mere devaluation of potency, engineers remapped the 5.2-liter V10's power and torque delivery so it's different from the AWD version. Power delivery is further differentiated between the 580-2's manual and automatic shifting, and it feels more linear when you're working the paddles. You need a fetish for grilles to spot the variance between this car and the all-wheel drive version. Designers reworked the strakes on the lower front intake and removed the hexagonal mesh ornamentation, so you peer straight at radiators. The corners of a larger rear grille cut deeper into the bumper. The badge ahead of the rear wheels says, "LP 580-2." The standard 19-inch wheels are of a new design called "Kari." Those are the visual differences. The cabin is identical.

Lamborghini Huracan LP580-2 is a purist's RWD, 571-hp dream

Purists rejoice: Lamborghini has revealed the new Huracan LP580-2, ditching the all-wheel drive system for a rear-drive setup and a slight decrease in power. Like the previous Gallardo LP550-2 (and Balboni edition) before it, the Huracan LP580-2 is based on the same technologies as the LP610-4 coupe and Spyder. Instead of 602 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque, it produces 571 hp and 398 lb-ft to the rear wheels through the same seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Some might balk at the lack of availability of a manual transmission, but Lamborghini figures few (if any) would have ordered one that way at any rate. What the new setup means is more tail-happy handling, which the engineers in Sant'Agata have only encouraged that through specific tuning of the electronic systems. Equally as important is a lower dry weight of 3,062 pounds – 73 fewer than the all-wheel-drive coupe. To set the rear-drive version apart from its AWD counterpart, Lamborghini has restyled the front and rear ends and anchored it to the road on staggered 19-inch wheels coated in Pirelli PZero rubber. Aluminum calipers grip steel (instead of carbon-ceramic) rotors to keep it all in check. In measurable terms, that all comes down to a 0-62 time quoted at 3.4 seconds and a top speed at 199 miles per hour - respectively 0.2 seconds and 3 mph slower than the LP610-4. But the LP580-2 isn't about outright pace or bragging rights. Those are best left to the more potent and grippy model, and to the yet more powerful versions that are sure to follow. In the meantime, we can look forward to the getting a closer look at the latest version of the Huracan in the flesh at the LA Auto Show. Related Video: The rear-wheel drive Lamborghini Huracan LP 580-2: the essence of driving fun - New dynamic design of front and rear - Designed and engineered to provide perfect rear-wheel driving fun - Weight reduction with recalibrated power management for highly-involving driver experience - 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds, top speed of 320 km/h Sant'Agata Bolognese/LA, 17 November 2015 – Automobili Lamborghini presents the Lamborghini Huracan LP 580-2: a two-wheel drive version of the Huracan coupe. Specifically designed and engineered for its rear-wheel drive set-up, the Huracan LP 580-2's combines dynamic new looks with a package for an enhanced Lamborghini driving emotion.

One-off Lamborghini supercar coming to Geneva

At a reception in Monterey, CA, last night, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann confirmed something we've kinda-sorta known for a while. The Italian automaker will debut a one-off supercar – sort of like the Veneno – at the Geneva Motor Show next year. We don't know anything about the bespoke machine, but Road & Track suggests it'll be a hybrid. Even though Lamborghini is iffy on this powertrain technology, electrification is a good way to make sure this supercar is on the same level as things like the Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder. Makes sense to us. Even though Lamborghini won't publicly show the car until March, a few folks are getting a preview this weekend in Monterey. Lamborghini invited a very small, very special group of owners and prospective customers to check out the supercar. Of course, we aren't sure if they're seeing the actual car or just some drawings or renderings. Not that it matters. We're sure this will be another case of the car already being spoken for as soon as it makes its debut. Related Video: