Lamborghini may have just won ultimate bragging rights.
Germany’s Nürburgring race track is the yardstick for performance cars. It’s where manufacturers go to develop new models, and set lap times that are scrutinized by legions of car fans worldwide. On October 5, 2016, Lamborghini claims its new Huracán Performante not only set a new Nürburgring lap record, but obliterated the old one.
Lamb’s claimed 6:52.01 lap time is about five seconds quicker than the 6:57 set by a Porsche 918 Spyder in 2013. That’s almost an eternity as far as these things are concerned, and the difference is even more impressive given that the car Lamborghini beat is an 887-horsepower hybrid that cost $845,000 when new. The Huracán Performante is definitely a supercar, but it’s not nearly as exotic, and won’t cost nearly as much as the Porsche.
The Performante is a hardcore version of the Lamborghini Huracán that will debut at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show later this month. Because Lambo is waiting to reveal it to the public, the Performante made its Nürburgring run in development camouflage. Lamborghini test driver Marco Mapelli was behind the wheel. For his record attempt, officials closed the track to other manufacturers, but only long enough to make one run.
Full details will be revealed at the Geneva show, but the secret behind the Performante’s speed is a combination of sophisticated aerodynamics and weight reduction. Lamborghini officials have mentioned aerodynamic features they claim will raise the bar for road cars, and the Performante is expected to be 220 pounds lighter than a standard Huracán coupe. It will use a tuned version of the standard Huracán’s 5.2-liter V10, with all-wheel drive.
Following the launch of the Huracán Performante coupe used in the Nürburgring record run, Lamborghini may launch a Performante Spyder convertible. After all, Lambo made coupe and convertible performance versions of the Huracán’s predecessor, the Gallardo. Either way, Lamborghini’s Urus SUV will finally enter production soon. Maybe we’ll see that beast barreling around the Nürburgring too.
