Huracan vs Gallardo

by Lottie Perry-Evans

I have to admit: I am, indeed, a petrol-head. I haven't had a passion for cars for a particularly long time (since the age of about 12 or 13) but I absolutely love them. My favourite car has to be the Aston Martin DB9; however, recently Aston Martin debuted the DB10, which will be a unique release specifically for the new James Bond film 'Spectre' and it is a stunning car. However, I'm not going to be talking about the superior nature of Aston Martin in this article; in fact, I shall be talking about a motor company which is rather different to Aston Martin - and that is Lamborghini.

Lamborghini are well-known for their extravagance with everything surrounding their cars, especially the one-off concept car which was unveiled for their 50th anniversary, the Egoista, which is a more angular version of the Veneno. However, in the latter part of 2014 Lamborghini released the Huracan which will be replacing the best-selling car in its history, the Gallardo. Lamborghini sold 14, 022 Gallardos, which accounted for more than half of the cars sold in the brand's fifty year existence. So the Huracan has some pretty big boots to fill if it wants to live up to its predecessor. At first sight the Huracan and the Gallardo both look rather similar, yet this couldn't be any further from the truth. It would be very wrong to assume the Huracan is merely a refreshed Gallardo.

Pretty much everything about the Huracan is brand new. Sporting an all-new chassis structure, new suspension with new controlling electronics, new steering, a heavily revised engine and (maybe most significantly) a new seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox which replaces the Gallardo's clunking robotised manual gearbox. There is a brand new four wheel drive system and a new cabin too. The point is: although it may not look particularly different to the Gallardo on the outside, this is a completely new car. Like the McLaren, the Huracan uses RTM carbon fibre and aluminium for the frame and the body plates are also made from aluminium. The combination of these two materials means that the chassis of the Huracan is 10% lighter than that of the Gallardo but 50% more rigid.

Thankfully Lamborghini have stuck to its roots when it comes to the engine of the Huracan. The Huracan is powered by a 5.2 litre, V10 which delivers 610 brake horse power to all four wheels through the new double clutch. All this means that this supercar will smash 0-62 mph in 3.2 seconds, hit 124 mph in 9.9 seconds and reach a maximum speed of over 200 mph, while drowning the surrounding area beneath one of the most iconic engine noises of the modern age.

It could be argued that perhaps (like the Gallardo) the Huracan might seem a bit sensible, and yes, it is nowhere near as extravagant as the Egoista or even the Veneno. Nor does it leave the hairs on the back of your neck as the Aventador does, and it probably wouldn't be found on the wall of a teenager's bedroom. However, in the flesh the Huracan is far finer than these other Lamborghinis: it's subtle yet striking. To see this demonstrated you only need to look at the technical specifications of any other Lamborghinis and compare them to those of the Huracan which will be far superior in nature. The price tag of the Huracan like any other Lamborghini is no small thing at £180, 720. However with all this brand new technology and the incredible specifications, I wouldn't expect anything less from Lamborghini.

I think that the Gallardo laid down some very tough guidelines for the Huracan to follow, however, the Huracan has succeeded in fulfilling these guidelines and has even surpassed them in my opinion.