Lamborghini Huracán Performante (2017 - 2019) review – a great value used Italian supercar

On sale for a decade, the Lamborghini Huracán’s is a story of many chapters, some remembered more than others. We all remember that it arrived with work still to do between the strange steering and lack of chassis adjustability. The LP580-2 rear-drive variant was a step in the right direction but it was the Huracán Performante that was the true watershed moment for Lamborghini’s sophomore V10. It was all the rage in the late 2010s but seemingly, after the arrival of the Huracán Evo, Evo RWD, STO, Tecnica and Sterrato, it's a variant that doesn’t enjoy much of the limelight nowadays.

As a driving experience, the Performante was finally a Huracán with a dynamic cohesion that satisfied and thrilled in concert with that 5.2-litre V10. Then also, the stopwatch offered unlikely vindication of Lamborghini’s efforts to transform the Huracán, with a 6:52.01 Nürburgring lap time. If you take Nordschleife comparisons seriously, that’s 5 seconds better than a Porsche 918 Spyder could manage.

Engine, gearbox and technical highlights

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• V10 bumped to 631bhp via titanium valves and new inlets and exhaust
• ALA an incredibly clever adaptive aero system
• Revised suspension and steering

Star of the regular Huracán is its 5.2-litre, naturally aspirated V10 powertrain. It’s even more engaging in the Performante and had yet to be so effectively exercised by a road-going Lambo’s chassis and aero. 

One of the biggest technical innovations on the Performante was Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva, or ALA. It consists of a forged composite front spoiler with active flaps on the top surface in conjunction with two ducts on the rear engine cover that are connected to the inner channels of the rear wing. 

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When the flaps are closed, the rear wing acts just like a traditional spoiler, providing vertical downforce, but when they’re open air is channelled through ridges underneath the wing to reduce drag and maximise acceleration. 

The ducts also operate independently, allowing what Lamborghini calls ‘aero vectoring’ to make fast cornering even faster by tailoring downforce on either side when and where it’s needed. In maximum downforce mode, through high-speed turns, the Performante has 750 per cent more downforce than a standard Huracán coupe.

Interestingly, ALA also contributes to the Performante’s nominal 40kg weight saving. The front spoiler, rear wing, engine cover and rear diffuser are all made of forged composites – an innovation at the time that almost a decade on, has made its way to Fiesta wing mirror caps on Temu. 

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The Performante predates the Evo's clever central computer that rationalises dynamic controls across the engine and chassis. it does however feature different driving modes, from Strada for comfy road driving, to the more aggressive Sport mode and the track-focused Corsa mode.

Unsurprisingly, the Performante has a stiffer suspension setup than a standard Huracán that’s 10 per cent stiffer vertically and 15 per cent stiffer in roll. Axial and radial arm bushings were also made stiffer by 50 per cent. The controversial variable-rate steering is by comparison re-calibrated for sharper turn-in too. Passive dampers were standard though magnetorheological adaptive items were an option. Carbon ceramic brakes were standard too, with six-piston calipers pinching 380mm discs at the front.

Two different 20-inch wheel options were available, the five-spokes being forged with centre-locks. As standard Performantes wore Pirelli P Zero Corsas but the Nürburgring record was set on Trofeo R tyres which were available as an option.

Performance and 0-62mph time

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Power and torque are 631bhp at 8000rpm and 443lb ft at 6500rpm, though some 70 per cent of that is available from just above idle. The power hike comes from a new intake manifold, a lighter and repositioned exhaust system and new titanium valves with more lift.

Helped by the rear-biased all-wheel drive, the active aero’s drag-reducing adaptation in a straight line and faster full-throttle Corsa-mode reflexes for the 7-speed LDF dual-clutch transmission, 0-62mph is over in just 2.9sec. But if you really want to know how fast this car is, the 0-124mph claim of 8.9sec perhaps paints a more graphic picture.

Driving the Lamborghini Huracán Performante

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• V10 engine still a dominant force
• … but the rest of the car is now just as good
• Perhaps the first genuinely cohesive, engaging Huracán

Seriously fast, focused and exciting meets extraordinarily biddable and forgiving. It’s a notionally perfect broad spectrum of assets for a supercar, and the elements merge so seamlessly, an experience that initially threatens to overwhelm quickly becomes immersive and stubbornly addictive.

It’s what feels like a complete realisation of the Huracán’s at first forever elusive potential. It’s a transformation that combines a shattering race-fit soundtrack only a few decibels shy of the Huracán GT3 racer’s with searing, inexhaustible straight-line push; the replacement of the standard car’s feel-less helm and edge-of-understeer balance with precision, physicality and turn-in acuity that can nail an apex with true aggression or brush it with finely wrought finesse; serious high speed stability and grip that eases down into playful throttle-induced or trail-braked oversteer held within beautifully judged limits by the traction and stability electronics.

You get the impression that Lamborghini didn’t try to reinvent the supercar with the Huracán Performante, just make a better Lamborghini. It succeeded.

Driver’s note

‘Even at four-tenths, a Performante is a wondrous machine. The steering is polished, with a fluid, oily quality and precision the standard Huracán couldn't hope to replicate. Softened off in Strada mode, the ride is spookily smooth, too. 

‘Such is the extraordinary front-end grip on offer, few things turn into a corner like a Performante hooked up with the road’s surface, while the four-wheel drive affords massive traction. You can still feel the chassis digging in, as torque is shuffled around and the attitude adjusts with varying throttle. If only every Huracán drove this well.’ – Adam Towler

Interior

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The Huracán Performante interior is largely as was in the standard Huracán, albeit with plenty of lightened track special glaze. From the ‘forged carbon’ trim, to the Alcantara-clad steering wheel, dash and door cards, to the optional fixed-back bucket seats. Those could be best avoided if you’re not sure your back can handle them.

The cabin of a Huracán has always been a relatively cramped place to find yourself, doubly so in the Spyder and indeed there is an open-top variant of the Performante. If you fit, though, the Performante is just as habitable and comprehensively equipped as the regular LP610-4 on which it’s based.

Values, rivals and check points

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Is the Huracán Performante the forgotten Huracán? If so, more fool everyone else because it was arguably the first truly dynamically talented Huracán that’s now available from £170,000. The ‘Loge’ wheels with centre locks are the most desirable and cars in unique or rare Ad Personam hues will command more money too. Spyders are thought to be rarer and command a higher price too.

Huracáns in general are reliable and that goes for the Performante too. Be sure your chosen example has four good tyres with equal wear, as uneven wear can suggest (and inflict) issues with the differentials.  Be sure the standard ceramic brakes that sit behind them are in good condition too. The discs are long-lasting but even the pads are expensive to swap out. Servicing at a dealer is more often four figures, with specialists tending to offer significant savings. 

Knowing your car’s history is important – in terms of servicing and MOTs yes but it’s also worth knowing what kind of life it’s led. The Huracán Performante was never going to be a car that was driven carefully but was especially popular among those who enjoyed driving hard and being seen and filmed doing so. More than a few Performantes have suffered prangs due to their driver’s talent deficits.

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What could you have instead? Well at the time of its release, the McLaren 720S was making huge waves. They can be had for five figures less than the Lambo, are noticeably faster, are more engaging, comfortable and technically complicated – from the turbocharging to the carbon tub and the hydraulic suspension. They may not be as dependable, however. 

Ferrari’s 488 is another option and well within this price range, though for road racer equivalency to a Huracán Performante, you’ll need the 488 Pista, which are generally at least 50 per cent more expensive than Performantes. The F8 Tributo is all but a 488 Pista with a 'series' Ferrari skin, that can be had for much less – a worthy alternative.

Specs