HIGH ROAD

HIGH ROAD Tangerine DREAM

Lamborghini’s new fast and furious Huracán EVO RWD Spyder is a party for the senses

By Howard Walker

We all know about endorphins, the spunky polypeptides produced by the body to stimulate feelings of immense pleasure. Eating chocolate and drinking wine are great endorphin releasers, but there’s another source of endorphin production that’s far more effective than any Godiva or Pinot Noir. Let me introduce you to the newest offering from Lamborghini, the tangerine dream machine known as the Huracán EVO RWD Spyder.

The endorphins this 602-horsepower, V-10 engined beauty delivers are up there with hearing Pavarotti hit the high notes of “Nessun Dorma” or receiving a basket of kittens to cuddle.

There aren’t enough superlatives in Webster’s to adequately describe the way this hurricane-force machine can slingshot itself off the line, dragster-style. Nothing prepares you for the ensuing mayhem as this rocket ship spins its rear wheels like a Fourth of July pinwheel, lunging at the horizon in a haze of flambéed rubber. I’ve driven plenty of superfast cars; this one scared the snot out of me.

Time, perhaps, for CliffsNotes on the raging bull from Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy. Introduced in 2014, the Huracán replaced the much-loved Gallardo as the first rung on the ladder of Lamborghini ownership. Over the years it evolved first into the Huracán Performante, then the EVO. But it always stuck with all-wheel drive to help wrangle all that power—and keep drivers out of the hedgerows.

For purists, having all-wheel drive has been a bone of contention. They argue that it somehow desensitized the car, taking away the raw, driverfocused, laser-precise responses. Last year, however, the wraps came off the Huracán EVO RWD, with that honking mid-mounted 5.2-liter V-10 spinning just the rear rims. More nimble and tailhappy, it instantly became the most fun-driving old-school Lambo money could buy.

And speaking of lira, the base price of the Florida-orange Spyder convertible is $229,428, around $15,000 more than the $214,366 Coupe version. Must-have add-on options easily take the sticker north of $250,000.

Toggle a switch and that tight-fitting canvas roof powers back, disappearing beneath a hard cover in a mere 17 seconds and at speeds up to 31 mph. Top down, the Huracán makes a terrific convertible, with hardly any wind

buffeting, even at close to triple-digit velocities. Having the top dropped is all the better for inhaling a manic Guns N’ Roses soundtrack.

I n s i d e , y o u s i t i n h i p - h u g g i n g c a r b o n f i b e r – s h e l l e d s e a t s , g r i p p i n g a w h e e l t h a t l o o k s s t r a i g h t o u t o f a r a c e c a r . T h e t h e a t e r t h a t g o e s i n t o o p e r a t i n g t h i s o r a n g e p r o j e c t i l e i s s o v e r y I t a l i a n — f l i c k u p a b i g r e d f l a p t o h i t t h e s t a r t b u t t o n , p u l l b a c k o n a n o v e r s i z e d l e v e r t o e n g a g e r e v e r s e , a n d s h i f t g e a r s w i t h p a d d l e s h i f t e r s t h e s i z e o f e l e p h a n t e a r s ; T o m C r u i s e i n T o p G u n : M a v e r i c k w o u l d f e e l r i g h t a t h o m e .

This newest Huracán is a pure and passionate assault on the senses. In today’s hyper-car world, 0-to-60 in 3.3 seconds is nothing special: There are kid-toting Teslas that get there in 2.4, as will the all-wheel-drive Huracán EVO. But the fury of the RWD’s acceleration, the brutal 8,000-rpm upshifts, and that truly spine-tingling, hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck-raising soundtrack makes it feel like the Starship Enterprise hitting warp speed.

Rear-drive-only boosts those endorphins. The way the car squirms under hard acceleration, the way the back end can be nudged out of line on a tight c o r n e r — e v e r y t h i n g feels alive, animate, alert, and dialed up to 11. Yet for me, the beauty of this beast is that it can all be dialed back for moments of less frenetic driving. Engage Strada streetdriving mode and the exhaust calms, the suspension softens, and the shifts on the 7-speed dual-clutch automatic turn Teflon-smooth.

This is, without doubt, the best all-around Lamborghini I’ve driven; a thrilling, open-top supercar you could actually use as a daily driver. And when it comes to endorphin release, it’s «way better than chocolate. POWER FILE

PRICE: FROM $229,428 ENGINE: 5.2-LITER V-10 TRANSMISSION: 7-SPEED DUAL-CLUTCH AUTO POWER: 602 HP TORQUE: 413 LB-FT 0-60: 3.3 SECONDS TOP SPEED: 201 MPH LENGTH/WIDTH: 178/76 INCHES WEIGHT: 3,327 POUNDS WHY WE LOVE IT: BECAUSE THIS RAGING BULL DELIVERS UNFILTERED, ENDORPHINRICH EXCITEMENT.

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