IN DETAIL
THE INNOVATIONS TRANSFORMING OUR DRIVING WORLD
Sant’Agata’s ingenious alternative to rear-steer will debut on the Huracan replacement – but we’ve tried it already.
The Nardo Handling Track in southern Italy is 3.9 miles of mostly fast or very fast turns nestled at the bottom of the Nardo Ring like a wonky arch in a goldfish bowl. For a pro driver to lap 2.8 seconds faster here in virtually the same car might require upgrades like stickier tyres, stiffer suspension and upgraded brakes.
The Lamborghini Huracan Evo RWD test mule I’m driving has none of this, and even the stability control is off, but it has achieved that same improvement with the flick of a switch. It’s a huge gap.
Now Lamborghini chief technical officer Rouven Mohr wants me to feel the difference before he’ll reveal the genius tech his team’s been working on ahead of a production debut on ‘future super sports cars’ (not very subtle code for the Huracan’s hybrid successor – see the box below).
Ihead out to a slalom and steering pad with ex-racer and Lamborghini tester Nicolo Piancastelli in the passenger seat, knowing only that the new system is meant to help take the existing LDVI (Lamborghini Dynamic Vehicle Integration) technology to the next level. LDVI is the electronic brain that debuted on the Huracan in 2015 and made a recent leap with the new Revuelto; it predictively mediates between various chassis, powertrain and steering systems.
Weaving down the slalom, the standard car’s front end is incredibly reactive to steering inputs, partly because the rear is relatively unstable – you lean on what feels like a hard, bladed edge behind you, almost like ice skating. It’s agile but edgy. Building to a steady 70mph on the steering pad, I turn in, lift the throttle abruptly and the Huracan arcs first into a slide, then a tankslapper requiring multiple corrections. Yep, definitely edgy.
