By Paul Gover.
A quick whip to the shops is not a job for a Lamborghini.
A Kia or Hyundai, preferably a compact SUV like the Venue or Seltos, is much better suited as a grocery-getting in a minefield of tight parking spots.
But there are days and places where the Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder is unbeatable.
That is, of course, if you have something in excess of $500,000 to splash on your very special car friend.
If you do, the EVO Spyder is one of the very, very special cars that sits at the top of the motoring world.
For a start, it’s a convertible, and that means early mornings and later afternoons in Australia are a wonderful time. There is almost no hair ruffling or buffeting in the cabin, you can smell the wattle and cow pats and fresh-cut grass, and luxuriate in a car which is lashed with high-quality leather, carbon fibre and technology including an 8.4-inch infotainment touch screen.
But that’s not the point of the newest Huracan. It’s a fire-and-brimstone speed machine.
The top speed, not that it’s remotely relevant in Australia, is 325km/h. And it will catapult you to 100km/h in 3.5 seconds.
But the headline numbers are just numbers and the good thing about the EVO Spyder is the way it drives, and responds, and makes driving well into an old-school challenge.
It has three performance modes but, even in the down-to-the-shops setting, it is seriously quick. You only have to ease your foot onto the throttle to leave the traffic behind, or have people reaching for their phones to take a picture.
Toggle it up to Track and you are driving a rampaging beast. And that’s a deal that is really only good for a high-speed racetrack, like the Phillip Island course where I have fully unleashed a range of Lamborghini speed machines in the past.
Still, the Huracan is not just about speed. You can also turn the exhaust note up to crazy and it will pop and bang like the V10-powered road racer that it is.
You can take it to the shops, and I did, but it much prefers a winding country road with no traffic on a Sunday morning.
In fact, it’s a lot like those crazily-costly Pinarello and Wilier and Specialized bicycles you see outside trendy coffee shops on Sunday mornings. They do the same as other two-wheelers, and will keep you fit, but they are also about turning heads and making yourself feel better about your business success and place in the world.
Viewed that way, as the car is sitting quickly against the kerb outside my favourite barista bar, the Huracan EVO Spyder makes sense.
It’s a crazy and slightly scary car. It’s definitely not for everyone, but on the right day and on the road it is a very, very special car.
It’s great that we still have it in a world of electrification, COVID and self-driving cars.
THE BASICS
Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder
Price: from $422,606
Power: 449W/560Nm
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto, rear-wheel drive
Position: convertible supercar
Plus: stunning in every way
Minus: stunning price-tag
THE TICK: always
Score: 9/10
