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Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato off-roader is a heavy-metal swan song

Lamborghini's Huracan has almost reached retirement age, and it's going out with one hell of a bang. The model's last evolution may be the wildest yet: called Sterrato, it's an off-roading supercar with a rugged-looking design, a big V10, and a desert-ready suspension system. If the design looks familiar, it's likely because Lamborghini previewed the Sterrato by unveiling a close-to-production concept in June 2019. Some of the finer design details have evolved over the past three years, but the basic idea hasn't: The Sterrato remains recognizable as a member of the Huracan range, but it's characterized by styling cues you'd expect to find on an off-roader such as flared wheel arches, an additional pair of lights on the front end (they will be covered on American-spec cars because they can't be homologated), and roof rails. The coupe sits higher than the regular Huracan and rides on 19-inch wheels. Check out the roof-mounted scoop; it's not there for show. "In the STO, the scoop is functional but it's there to help with cooling; the air intakes are on the sides [of the car]. In this car, the air scoop is the air intake, and we have completely revised the intake system because during testing we realized that if you drive very fast off-road, with a lot of direction changes, for a long time then dust blocks the air filters too fast. We decided to close the side entries and added the air scoop to catch the cleanest possible air, and we optimized the air filter itself. This is the reason why the Sterrato has "only" 610 horsepower. It's the same engine as the STO, complete with titanium valves, but the reduction of power is due to the fact that the redesigned air intake system has a bigger air pressure drop," Rouven Mohr, the head of Lamborghini's research and development department, told Autoblog. Speaking of the engine, power for the Sterrato comes from a naturally-aspirated, 5.2-liter V10 tuned to develop 610 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and 417 pound-feet of torque at 6,500 rpm. Mid-mounted, it spins the four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and a mechanical locking rear differential. Lamborghini quotes a 0-to-62 mph time of 3.4 seconds and a 162-mph top speed. For context, the aforementioned STO takes 3 seconds flat to reach 62 mph and tops out at 193 mph — it can't go very far off the pavement, though. Building a Huracan capable of sprinting across the desert required making significant changes to the suspension system.

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:

Lamborghini previews new Huracan Super Trofeo

The arrival of the new Huracán is big news for Lamborghini, replacing the company's long-serving Gallardo. Not only had the previous V10 supercar been on the market since 2003 (admittedly with significant updates along the way), it also served as the backbone for the Super Trofeo series. Now it's time, however, for the Huracán to take over on the racetrack, too.
Previewed in the teaser image above wearing military camo, the new Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo has undergone its first shakedown at the Vallelunga circuit near Rome. Giorgio Sanna - who took over as Lamborghini's chief R&D test driver after the retirement of the legendary Valentino Balboni - led the test session, accompanied by factory pilots Adrian Zaugg and Fabio Babini and members of the company's driver development program.
The Huracán Super Trofeo will be phased in across all three of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo series around the world, including Europe, Asia and North America. Drivers not ready to upgrade to the new machinery, however, will still be able to race their Gallardos in a separate class - similar to how arch-rival Ferrari has phased in new models in its similar Challenge series.