Supercar rivals trading on the sell-through of motorsport technology and F1 success have never really been troubled by Lamborghini. Even when the firm has built special editions with big wings, lashings of exposed carbon-fibre and a supposed stripped-out racer vibe, it's still really been more about show than go, writes Dan Trent.
So when you see a Huracan sprouting prominent aero, Italian flags on its flanks and a set of bronze-coloured wheels, you'd assume it was just business as usual.
The Performante isn't business as usual. Lamborghini has looked at the critical success of tweaked exotics such the Ferrari 458 Speciale, McLaren 675LT and even the Porsche 911 GT3 RS and decided it wants a piece of the action. To mix it in this crowd, however, you need more than a big wing on the back and a noisy exhaust. You need to back it up.
Having launched the car in a blaze of publicity - and controversy - over its claim of a 6min 52sec Nurburgring lap, Lamborghini chose to continue the confrontational approach by inviting us to Imola to put it to the test. OK, so it's the hometown of Lamborghini boss Stefano Domenicali and just down the road from the factory. But it's also heavily branded in the colours of his former employer, Ferrari.
Speaking more practically, it's also a very, very fast circuit, even with the addition of chicanes following that notorious weekend in 1994 when it claimed the lives of Roland Ratzenberger and Aytron Senna. Lamborghini is currently celebrating its little-known connection with the latter back at the factory museum, the exhibition including an aborted collaboration with McLaren that saw one of its engines tested in an F1 car by the man himself.
![Lamborghini Huracan Performante - May 2017](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2017/05/31/TELEMMGLPICT000130462429_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQfyf2A9a6I9YchsjMeADBa08.jpeg?imwidth=350)
All very appropriate. But we're here to test a car, not for a history lesson. And a fast circuit like Imola is just the place to demonstrate the Performante's party piece - a clever active aero system branded as "ALA" (Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva, or active aerodynamics) which is able to switch between high and low downforce modes. It can even introduce more downforce to the inside rear wheel, the claim being this drags the car into the corner in a process described as "aero vectoring".
It's also a bit more powerful than a regular Huracan at 631bhp over 602bhp, gets 442lb ft of torque over the standard 413lb ft and weighs a little less, too. The 0-62mph time is cut by four tenths to 2.9, the 0-124mph benchmark nailed a whole second faster at 8.9 seconds.
![Lamborghini Huracan Performante - May 2017](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2017/05/31/TELEMMGLPICT000130462424_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqd5_sWj-Hu5YV1uSoc_Px3vPScD4-cs68PIMm6jv25XA.jpeg?imwidth=350)
The differences on paper are far more dramatic on the circuit though, especially when you're watching an instructor in a regular Huracan struggling to hold his line while the Performante nails the apex each and every time.
Thank the aero vectoring and the sharper steering in the Corsa (Race) mode, this Performante finally getting the bite to the front axle so obviously lacking in the standard LP610-4. Although track-focused, it's not crazily stiff either, with the spring rates increased by just 10 per cent.
As such it remains compliant as well as agile, the all-wheel-drive system permitting early deployment of that gloriously sharp throttle and full appreciation of the naturally-aspirated, 5.2-litre V10 behind your head. With this engine Lamborghini has a real selling point over its turbocharged equivalents - it's a high-revving sensation, a proper supercar engine in the traditional style.
On the circuit the Performante turns even averagely talented drivers into heroes. But it's also focused enough to reward true enthusiasts and live up to those lap time ambitions. That it's reliant on a huge suite of technology to do this may trouble some purists. For the majority of buyers it will just underline the fact that the Performante is as safe and predictable as it is wild and rampant.
The really clever bit? It's actually not the aerodynamics, the fancy "Forged Composite" trimmings or the optional sticky Trofeo tyres. It's the fact the Performante is also a far more entertaining road car than the standard Huracan, delivering a truly thrilling and inspiring drive at modest speeds while being capable of truly astonishing ones when given the space to do so.
This is the most track-credible car Lamborghini has ever made. Almost by accident, it seems to almost be one the best to drive on the road, too.
THE FACTS
Lamborghini Huracan Performante
TESTED 5,204cc, V10, seven-speed paddleshift gearbox, all-wheel drive
PRICE/ON SALE from £215,000/now
POWER/TORQUE 631bhp @ 8,000rpm/442lb ft @ 6,500rpm
TOP SPEED 201mph
ACCELERATION 0-62mph in 2.9sec
FUEL ECONOMY 20.6/14.4 mpg (EU Combined/Urban)
CO2 EMISSIONS 314g/km
VED £2,000 first year, then £450 for following five years, then £140
VERDICT Huracan Performante delivers on the traditional Lamborghini spectacle but has the poise and circuit pace to back it up.
TELEGRAPH RATING Five stars out of five
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