Rear-drive Lambo lands in New Zealand
Thursday, 23 July 2020
While Lamborghini has increasingly embraced AWD as a way to get its car’s prodigious power down cleanly, it hasn’t entirely turned it’s back on its RWD origins, and the new Huracan Evo RWD is definitive proof of that.
Launched into New Zealand last night in an online “virtual” event, the Huracan Evo RWD picks up the refreshed looks of the AWD model launched late last year, so gets new bumpers with improved aero to reduce drag and increase downforce, while inside it gets a new infotainment touchscreen.
Weighing in at 1,389 kg, the Huracan Evo RWD has a top speed of 325kmhand accelerates from 0 to 100kmh in 3.3 seconds, thanks to its mighty 449kW/560Nm V10, but Lamborghini stresses that it isn’t focused on straight-line speeds or lap records, rather that it is developed to be “an instinctive driver’s car.”
The Evo RWD is down slightly on power compared to the 470kW AWD version, but Lamborghini say this is all part of the plan, with the Evo RWD being all about the purity and being able to “dance the car on the throttle.”
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“The Huracan Evo RWD puts the driver at the centre of the product’s performance, thanks to an involving and engaging experience given by a pure and unfiltered driving feedback,” said Andrea Ruggiero, Oceania area manager at Automobili Lamborghini.
“With the new Evo RWD, Lamborghini hasn’t forgotten those people seeking driving fun and still relies on the harmony between human and machine.”
Lamborghini says that the Evo RWD’s new Performance Traction Control System (P-TCS) has been calibrated specifically for rear-wheel-drive and, unlike a conventional traction and stability control system will deliver torque “even during the phase where the car is realigning following drifting or side-slipping.”
The intervention is also calibrated to the Evo RWD’s driving modes - Strada, Sport and Corsa - selected via a steering wheel-mounted button.
In Strada, P-TCS minimises rear wheel slippage to ensure stability and safety in all conditions, while in Sport it maximises the “fun-to-drive experience” allowing the rear wheels to slide and skate during acceleration, for “easy drifting fun without compromising safety.”
In Corsa – or track mode – the P-TCS is calibrated to achieve the rear-wheel slip that “optimises the car’s traction and agility when exiting a corner, allowing the driver to maximise performance.”
Lamborghini says the P-TCS improves smoothness of intervention by 30 per cent and corner-exit traction by 20 per cent compared to the previous Huracan RWD model, while it also “improves and enhances oversteer by 30 per cent.”
'New Zealand is blessed with literally thousands of kilometres of superb driving roads, and the Huracán EVO RWD is the perfect machine to enjoy them,” said Ben Dallas, brand manager Lamborghini Auckland.
“This car offers the purest experience, allowing drivers to savour every camber and curve.”
If supercar skids are your thing, then the Lamborghini Huracan Evo RWD is available in New Zealand now for a starting price of $395,000.
In other Lamborghini news, the company has just revealed that it has built its 10,000th Urus SUV.
The Urus has proven to be extraordinarily successful for the Italian manufacturer, selling 4,962 units in its first full year on sale in 2019.
The 10,000th Urus (complete with chassis number 10,000) is destined for Russia and is finished in the new Nero Noctis Matt (black) colour, combined with a carbon fibre package and a two-tone black and orange interior.