The 2023 Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica Is a Champion of Absolute Authenticity

Walking the line between the Evo and STO, the Huracán Tecnica offers that sheer lunacy of driving a car no one needs but everyone wants.

byRonan Glon|
Lamborghini Reviews photo
All images by Ronan Glon
Share

0

Lamborghini hasn’t taught its cars to translate traffic signs yet, but my Spanish is just good enough for that. On the outskirts of Valencia, Spain, one sign seemingly reads, “Warning: Speed enforced by aircraft.”

Damn it. I’d need a convertible to spot them above me.

Only offered as a coupe, the 2023 Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica fills the gap separating the Evo and the STO by borrowing several track-bred components from the latter and stuffing them in a more road-friendly package. The list of common parts includes a mighty, naturally aspirated V10 engine that speaks a language everyone understands. It’s the latest but not the last installment in a long line of Huracán off-shoots, a sort of subsect that squeezes into a very specific slot. (The final Huracán variant will be unveiled before the end of 2022.) Carving a niche within a niche is delicate work, and the odds of screwing it up are high, but it’s a task that Lamborghini has gotten surprisingly good at in recent years.

Is the Huracán Tecnica fast? Hell yes, but there is a lot more to it than that.

2023 Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica Review Specs

  • Base price: $239,000
  • Powertrain: 5.2-liter V10 | 7-speed automatic | rear-wheel drive
  • Horsepower: 630 @ 8,000 rpm
  • Torque: 417 lb-ft @ 6,500 rpm 
  • Curb weight: 3,040 pounds (dry)
  • 0-62: 3.2 seconds
  • Fuel economy: TBD
  • Quick take: The latest Huracán evolution offers the STO’s fury in a more road-friendly package.
  • Score: 9/10

‘Nothing Is Fake’

While the Tecnica still looks like a Huracán, meaning it’s the archetypal Lamborghini, several visual changes set it apart from the other members of the lineup. Up front, the bumper gains a pair of air curtains that are very similar (both in terms of design and function) to the ones fitted on the Huracán that competes in Super Trofeo races. They’re part of a complex network of channels that help keep the parts of the braking system cool. Out back, designers added a fixed spoiler, two hexagonal exhaust tips, and a bigger diffuser. I find the look cohesive: It’s suitably muscular without shouting, “Hey, look at me, I’m fast!” at the top of its lungs. Lamborghini stresses that these changes are all functional.

“Nothing is only design. Nothing is fake. Everything that you see works and has a function,” Victor Underberg, Lamborghini’s director of vehicle development, told me. These updates give the Tecnica 35 percent more downforce than the rear-wheel-drive Huracán Evo, while also reducing drag by 20 percent.

Inside, it’s mostly the list of available options that’s specific to the Tecnica. Comfort seats and normal seatbelts come standard, but buyers who want to feel like they’re racing down the main straight at Paul Ricard as they’re merging onto I-15 can configure their car with sport seats, four-point harnesses, a titanium rear arch, and bare carbon fiber door panels (a first on a street-legal Huracán) at an extra cost.

Technology is a must in 2022, even in a car whose main selling point is the driving experience, and the Tecnica holds its own in this department. One of its standard features is Amazon Alexa connectivity, so you can chat with your oven and whatever other connected things live in your home from behind the wheel. This isn’t new; the standard Huracán inaugurated it in 2020. What is new, however, is a feature that records a number of trip-related parameters (including GPS coordinates, the average speed, and the pedal input) and pegs them onto a map that’s then presented on the firm’s UNICA smartphone app. Lamborghini told me that driving one of its cars should be a memorable experience, and this feature gives owners a digital souvenir of each trip that they take. On a track, two cameras (one between the rear-view mirror and the windshield and one behind the seats) can even record you while you drive.

Power comes from a 5.2-liter, naturally aspirated V10 engine plucked directly out of the Huracán STO. This configuration has become a precious treat as supercar manufacturers find themselves increasingly confined in a regulatory straightjacket. Mid-mounted, the 10-cylinder develops 630 horsepower at a screaming 8,000 rpm and 417 pound-feet of torque at 6,500 rpm. Underberg told me that the Tecnica’s V10 is the same as the STO’s; it’s not detuned or watered down. “Our aim, from a performance point of view, was to stay as close as possible to the STO with a higher daily use capability,” he explained.

The cavalry zips through a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission before reaching the rear wheels. Some of the other Huracán variants are all-wheel drive, but Lamborghini chose to make the Tecnica rear-wheel drive in the name of pure, undiluted driving fun. The company quotes a zero-to-62-mph time of 3.2 seconds (two-tenths of a second slower than the STO) and a top speed of 202 mph.

One Part Evo, One Part STO

Underberg’s claim that nothing is fake reverberates through my head as the deep growl of the V10 mounted a few inches behind my eardrums, on the other side of a small glass panel, echoes through the cabin. It, too, is real: Underberg assured me that every decibel you hear comes directly from the engine. It’s not piped in through the speakers or is synthesized. The exhaust note is pleasant, but it fades into the backdrop as the pace gradually picks up on the twisty, olive grove-lined roads outside of Valencia, Spain.

With 315 horsepower per passenger, the Tecnica is ferociously quick—power delivery is instantaneous all the way up to the 8,500-rpm redline. Even with an armada of electronic driving aids lurking in the background, it’s engaging to drive in the best possible way. There is so much power under your right foot that you don’t have much of a choice but to focus on the road ahead rather than sit back and let the V10 serenade you. The Tecnica is generally easy and predictable to drive; accessibility has been one of Huracán’s hallmarks since its inception in 2014 and one of the reasons for its success, but I’m nonetheless talking about a 3,040-pound coupe that has twice the power of a Volkswagen Golf R.

Much to the chagrin of the planes patrolling the Spanish roads, the Tecnica is not the kind of supercar that’s only enjoyable when it’s unwound at triple-digit speeds. Its steering is quick and well-weighted, and its front end is noticeably lighter than the standard Huracán’s because there is no axle weighing it down. The rear-wheel steering system helps handling as well by making this 76-inch-wide wedge feel almost nimble. Body roll is nearly non-existent, especially in Sport mode. 

All told, the Tecnica is much less hardcore than the STO and far more engaging than the rear-wheel-drive Evo; it does exactly what it’s supposed to. Pull on the big, steering wheel-mounted shift paddle to instantly summon the next gear down and you feel like you’re in a race car that you can take to dinner. That’s on the road, though.

Grip for Days

On the track, it’s a different story. It’s where the other side of the Tecnica’s personality comes through, and where the tricks that it learned from the STO are best experienced. I drove it on the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, a 14-turn track that notably hosts MotoGP’s Valencian Community Grand Prix, and holy hell does it leave a good first impression. 

It’s not the speed; it’s the grip. The amount of grip provided by the Bridgestone tires defies commonly accepted notions of how fast you can go around a corner. It takes a while before you trust that they’ll stick through a sweeping left-hand turn at 90 mph. After the first lap, I thought, “Whoa, maybe I just got lucky.” Nope. Next lap, same turn, same speed, and same amount of grip. There’s more to it than the tires, though, as Lamborghini’s chassis setup plays a big role in keeping the emblem on the front end pointed in the right direction, but they do deserve a great deal of credit. 

This level of grip becomes even more impressive when you consider that the Tecnica’s 630-hp output gets channeled exclusively to the rear wheels. The rear axle carries 59 percent of this Huracán’s weight and it feels the part. This is the type of car that cajoles you into thinking you’re a superhero. Exit the last corner, lead-foot it onto the half-mile straight, and you’ll see 160 mph on the digital instrument cluster faster than you can take a Zippo out of your pocket and light a cigarette. 

Massive carbon-ceramic brakes are with you to keep it all in check, and the improvements that Lamborghini made to the braking system work as advertised: the pedal stays firm lap after lap. I’m told that the ducts tasked with channeling cooling air reduce the temperature of the brake fluid and the brake rotors by 9 and 7 percent, respectively.

Civility

No one has ever dropped their butt into a Lamborghini without expecting to experience near-supersonic acceleration. What’s perhaps more surprising, then, is how tame the Huracán Tecnica can be when the occasion calls for it. In town, it drives, well… kind of like a normal car. One that’s low and firm, sure, but flicking the steering-wheel-mounted switch into Strada mode tames the bull. Fit and finish are both excellent and the cabin layout is reasonably well-thought-out with the exception of the infotainment system’s touchscreen, which is far out of the driver’s line of sight. It’s too bad, because the system is great. It’s intuitive to use, it’s packed with a lot of cool features, and it offers high-resolution graphics.

It's in these conditions that some of the more track-ready bits in the cabin can become annoying. While the sport seats are nicely bolstered, the harness feels like overkill on public roads and it’s not terribly comfortable. And the optional carbon fiber door panels that the tester was equipped with look cool but they’re not padded, so after a while, it feels like you’re resting your left arm on your dining room table.

Great panache has historically defined Lamborghini’s best models, and the Huracán Tecnica keeps this tradition going. It’s not for those looking to keep a low profile. Folks regularly stop and stare, film you, ask you to rev the engine, and give you two enthusiastic thumbs up. Not every reaction is positive: a woman on a bike tempestuously yelled something at me that wasn’t taught in my high-school Spanish class. And some people were just plain weird. One driver in a tattered, French-registered Peugeot 407 tried to race me on the freeway. But beyond the speed and the sound, the fascinating part of driving a Lamborghini—and this almost veers into sociology—is that you’re adding something unexpected to the landscape.

In a Crowded Segment—And in a Class of One 

Priced at $239,000 before any and all customization options—and there are a lot!—elbow their way into the equation, the Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica finds itself in lofty company. It costs about as much as the McLaren Artura and around $20,000 more than the Maserati MC20, among others. The comparison isn’t quite that simple: the Tecnica is a unique proposition in its segment due largely to its drivetrain. While the new Artura uses hybrid technology and the MC20 is powered by a twin-turbo V6, the Huracán Tecnica stands proud as a big ol’ vaffanculo to downsizing and electrification. The big, naturally aspirated V10 makes it almost old-school and it's better for it. It’s lighter and arguably more dramatic. 

Substance, not dumb luck, made the Huracán the all-time best-selling Lamborghini in early 2022. It’s a stellar car that keeps getting better, even as it approaches its 10th birthday, and the Tecnica proves that engineers and designers aren’t out of ideas. It’s more entertaining than the rear-wheel-drive Evo, both on and off the track, and it’s more comfortable to log miles in than the STO. Yet, the truest yardstick in the supercar segment isn’t a model’s zero-to-60-mph time or its top speed. It’s the overall experience, the sheer lunacy of driving a car that no one needs but everyone wants, and the Tecnica sets a high bar.

Let’s hope that it becomes available as a convertible so that you can better spot the planes patiently waiting for you to go un poquito over the speed limit—and to better hear the V10 that’s egging you on.

An American automotive journalist and historian, Ronan Glon is based in France. His work has appeared in Autoblog and Digital Trends.

Got a tip? Email tips@thedrive.com.

stripe
Lamborghini Reviews