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Last night, at a multimillion-dollar mansion packed with one-percenters high above Santa Monica, Lamborghini revealed the latest addition to the company’s supercar portfolio: a rear-wheel-drive version of the Lamborghini Huracan Spyder. This Huracan keeps the industry’s mixed messages coming on the pros and cons of powering two wheels versus four. Count Mercedes-AMG among brands who continue to dither between those approaches, while sometimes talking out of both sides of their mouth.
To hear Stefano Domenicali (pictured in first image below) tell it, as chairman and chief executive officer of Lamborghini, it sure sounds like you’d be a fool to pass on rear-wheel-drive.
“This is a Lamborghini for those with a passion for life and the purest driving experience on the open road,” Domenicali says. And mi scusi, but it even costs less: “It’s also a Huracan for those entering the Lamborghini family, wanting a true Spyder experience without compromising on the performance and handling of a rear-wheel-drive car.”
This pure-blooded Spyder can be identified by its subtly reworked front and rear fascias, including large frontal intakes that direct incoming air to increase downforce on the front axle. Pirelli P Zero tires, exclusive to the rear-drive Huracan, wrap around 19-inch Kari rims. Reworked steel brakes with aluminum discs help reduce weight and boost cooling, while the cockpit gets the latest Lamborghini infotainment system with a 12.3-inch high-resolution TFT screen.
Like the rear-wheel-drive LP 580-2 coupe, the RWD Spyder’s V-10 is detuned to 572 horsepower, as opposed to the 602 ponies of the AWD versions. But that doesn’t slow it down much. The stern-driven Huracan will pummel from 0 to 60 mph in a company-estimated 3.6 seconds, trailing the AWD version by 0.2 seconds. Top speed is a mere 198 mph, with the four-wheel Spyder maintaining bragging rights at 201 mph.
The rear-driver fires back at its grippier brother with superior chassis balance, ditching front half-shafts and other AWD mechanicals to keep 60 percent of its weight over the rear axle.
As for pricing, Lamborghini says the rear-drive Spyder will slot between the roughly $200,000, rear-drive LP-580-2 coupe – the budget bull of the current brand stable — and the $269,000 LP-610-4 Spyder when it goes on sale in January. So an early withdrawal of $235,000 from your 401K should just about do it…assuming you don’t want any options, of course.
