Sure, the Lamborghini Huracan Performante’s initial thunder of being the quickest production car to lap the Nurburgring has been stolen by Porsche, who did so mere months after Sant’Agata had its moment in the sun. But none can argue that the V10-powered super-supercar delivered more theatre in the process.
The 911 GT2 RS, the car that currently holds the title, is unquestionably a masterclass in performance engineering, shoehorned into a road going body, but the manner in which the car demolished the 22km Green Hell was more surgical than awe-inspiring. Amazing how much likability a screaming engine can endow a car with.
The original Performante was a hard top, of course, as that’s the optimal structure with which to ensure the highest structural rigidity, lowest weight, and most slippery aero. Taking the roof off effectively takes it out of the running for that lap record. And it’s why the Performante Spyder is better.
It was inevitable that Lamborghini would roll out of a convertible version of their most performant Huracan, and it’s actually more of a targa than cabrio. Either way, the open top configuration allows that positively fabulous engine note to be better enjoyed. Lap times be damned. They tried, and succeeded, and should be applauded - but that heaviness has lets the Performante Spyder be the best version to own, because of the lightness of its responsibilities.
Revealed last week at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show and due to go on sale starting in Europe in the coming weeks, the Performante Spyder weighs around 125kg more than the hard top due to the additional mechanisms for a folding top as well as the structural braces put in to compensate for the lack of a ‘load bearing’ roof.
With all those measures in place, and at the expense of some extra mass, Lamborghini asserts that the Spyder’s structural rigidity is equal to that of the hard top Huracan Performante, and is able to match its top speed of 325km/h. Acceleration, though, suffers a teensy bit, dropping by 0.2 seconds to hit 100km/h from rest in 3.1 seconds.
Despite being hardcore in spirit, interestingly, Lamborghini has opted to give the Huracan Performante Spyder an automatic folding fabric roof. They could have forewent the mechanism altogether to save some weight, but we’re glad they chose convenience. It’s quite similar to the standard Huracan Spyder’s roof in implementation, as we understand it, and takes just 17 seconds to be deployed/retracted at a speeds of up to 48km/h.
It goes without saying the engine is untouched over the hard top, with the 5.2-litre atmospheric V10 producing 470kW and 600Nm. All of the trick active aerodynamic kit that makes the car so potent on track, which Lamborghini calls ALA (Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva), has been retained in its entirety too.
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