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2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante Second Drive | The Lambo of the moment

Down the front straight, past the pits, over the start/finish line, sixth gear at 140 mph. Suddenly, the shrieking wail of the 2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante's mid-mounted V-10 and hits me right between the eyes. It's an easy shot, since I'm wearing an open-face helmet. Speed is not a problem for the Performante. This new lighter and more powerful version of the Huracan is the best-performing Lambo of all time. It just set the new production-car record around the Nurburgring Nordschleife of 6 minutes, 52.1 seconds. That's 35 seconds quicker than the standard Huracan. And Lambo says it can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, which is as quick as the Aventador S. Its 202-mph top speed still lags the top end of the V-12-powered Aventador by 15 mph, but does it really matter? Completely flat, smooth as glass and just 1.8 miles around, Thermal's South Palm Circuit isn't exactly the Nordschleife, but the bathrooms are much fancier. Built in 2014, the luxurious Thermal Motorsports Club outside of Palm Springs, Calif., is an ideal facility for us to taste the 2018 Huracan Performante. If owners of the $274,390 supercar want a safe and controlled environment to wring out their new toy, chances are it will be at private amusement parks such as this. In the age of twin-turbos, the Huracan's naturally aspirated V10 is a (glorious) anachronism. In the Performante, it has been cranked up to 640 hp at 8,000 rpm and 442 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm, a 30-hp and 40-lb-ft increase over the standard all-wheel-drive model, and it's all above 6,000 rpm. Displacement remains 5.2 liters, but Lambo's engineers added lighter titanium intake valves, more aggressive camshafts, a less-restrictive air intake and a lighter freer-flowing exhaust system. The engine's compression ratio remains a stratospheric 12.7:1, and it runs into a very aggressive rev limiter at 8,500 rpm. The Performante is 88 pounds lighter than the standard Huracan Coupe thanks to liberal use of the company's patented Forged Composite, which it calls the lightest, strongest and most innovative material ever used by Lamborghini. Chopped fibers embedded in a matrix of resins, it's sort of like carbon fiber 2.0, although its finish looks like high-tech camo with golden flecks. It's all over the Performante, including its massive rear spoiler, rear bumper and diffuser, front spoiler and its engine cover, which weights 21 percent less than the piece it replaced.

The exotic '80s: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus and the Porsche 959

There's no secret that we are big fans of the MotorWeek Retro Review series around here. In an automotive world that often focuses on the latest tech and what's coming in the future, it's refreshing to take a look into the past to get a new perspective. That said, the show is really outdoing itself this time by posting a full episode from the '80s to YouTube, complete with the original, jazzy opening. The video is an absolute standout, too, with drives of some of the best supercars that Europe could offer at the time. Among the now classic sportscars that MotorWeek got to drive are the Ferrari 328, Lotus Esprit Turbo, Lamborghini Jalpa and Autokraft AC Mark IV. There's even a preview that sings the praises of the tech in the Porsche 959. The episode is basically a showcase of most of the exotics from young enthusiasts' walls and school folders during the '80s and is not to be missed. News Source: MotorWeek via YouTube Ferrari Lamborghini Lotus Porsche Performance Classics Videos lotus esprit ac

Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce strips down, powers up [w/video]

"I hope the sun doesn't shine today." "I'm good-looking enough." "What the Aventador really needs is more power." There are some words that are seldom if ever spoken, but then there are some people who aren't inclined to listen to them. And we're glad that a growing number of 'em work for Lamborghini. Because without them, we wouldn't have beautiful monstrosities like the new Aventador SV, presented for the first time at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. It's actually called the Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce, but that's a mouthful and a half of spaghetti bolognese, so everyone will be calling it SV for short. But whatever you want to call it, it promises to be fast. Like, time-warpingly fast. The tinkerers in Sant'Agata have managed to squeeze 740 horsepower and 509 pound-feet of torque out of the Aventador's already high-strung 6.5-liter V12. Unburdened by 110 pounds of excess weight, with an increase in downforce by 170 percent, a retuned suspension, a variable steering rack and new carbon-ceramic brakes, the Aventador SV is slated to run to 62 in 2.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 217 miles per hour. Which nobody needs, of course, but when was a Lamborghini ever about meeting needs as much as desires?