The Drive Report: The Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica

Over the years, the many iterations of the Lamborghini Huracan — Lambo’s last V10-powered naturally-aspirated baby — have only strengthened the notion that you really can’t have too much of a good thing. Having perfected the art of making a supercar better with time, Lambo has managed to take a crowbar to the gaps in the Huracan portfolio and create one that’s in equal parts a road-going track car and a track-loving road car. Which is kind of the point of a bog-standard Huracan, except the new one — the Huracan Tecnica — does it all a little bit better. Things can get confusing at a granular level, so suffice it to say that there’s plenty of demand for all kinds of Huracan, and a new addition that pairs the engine of the STO with a more softly-sprung suspension with four-wheel steering thrown-in, is yet another welcome addition.

The Huracan Tecnica, the latest from the Huracan line-up, is a rear-wheel drive (RWD), rear-wheel steering alternative to the Huracan RWD and the outrageously dramatic and track-focussed STO. It’s the enthusiast’s and the anorak’s Huracan, with some cleverly revised bodywork. It’s also a defiant nod to the old-school, naturally-aspirated, ballistic supercar in an era where its peers are throwing-in all kinds of emissions-shaving equipment, along with the towel. It’s traditional supercar theatre at its finest, and it’s meant to be relished before its inevitable extinction.

The Huracan Tecnica arrived in India during a year which surpassed every sales record held by the brand’s Indian subsidiary. Having witnessed 33 percent growth in 2022, Lamborghini India is now in a position of strength, which allows it to bring a variety of special and limited edition Lambos to the country. And while the Urus has done the bulk of heavy lifting in terms of sales, it’s the beloved Huracan that has been flying the supercar flag and keeping alive the spirit and poster-car worthiness of Lamborghini.

Having driven the bonkers STO at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC), I opted to drive the Tecnica on road, for the sake of variety. Said roads belonging to the city of Doha. On the day of the FIFA World Cup 2022, hours before the quarter-finals, when most people in the city were thronging towards the stadium or towards a television screen, I hopped into a gleaming Huracan Tecnica, having the unique novelty of watching the city framed by its wind-tunnel swept A-pillars. It’s a reminder that, should the roads allow it, there’s no better way to travel than with a throbbing V10 singing right behind you.

The idea behind the Tecnica is a very appealing one. Take the inherent madness of the STO, make it softer, add Aventador-level rear-wheel steering tech, and rework the looks of the Huracan to match the drama of modern supercars without going all-out like the STO. The result is a car that looks sharp, and more purposeful than before. Recognisable but new. It exchanges the graphic-festooned racing overalls of the STO, for a more real-world pair of chinos and a bomber jacket. In short, the Tecnica looks smashing.

To demonstrate the point, there was a Huracan STO in tow, its demonic roar making the measured growl of the Tecnica seem more menacing in its restraint. Of course when you mash that throttle, it’s hard to ascertain just how mild it is, because it’s still a naturally-aspirated V10. Straight-line speed isn’t delivered so much as it is injected intravenously — this is a car that’s inherently unbridled, so its tameness is relative. But the rawness, when compared to the screaming STO, is certainly dialled-down, and should the road surface allow it, this feels like a very liveable Lamborghini. The interiors are snug, bathed in alcantara, and the breathtaking surgical precision of the steering, while superfluous for public road usage, still feels like you’re operating a stealth jet. It’s like bringing a searing laser to a kitchen knife fight.

Although still operating within the speed limits of the city of Doha, the Tecnica didn’t shy away from delivering thrills. But the most exhilarating zone lies between 4,500 rpm and 8,500 rpm, when the atmospheric V10 is truly and breathtakingly in its element, delivering the sort of thrill that Lamborghini would find very hard to with an electric powertrain. And it does so without getting you to wince every time the car goes over a reflective marker on the road. The Huracan Tecnica is a car that gets the science of speed and the art of everyday driving very right, without compromising on anything that would make it a lesser Lamborghini. As the penultimate form of the Huracan, it may not be the swan-song to the last naturally-aspirated V10 great manufactured by the brand. Few cars have looked, performed, or sounded better at the end of their life cycle than the stunning Tecnica.