10 years.
That's how long Lamborghini's latest iconic V10 model has been with us.
The Huracan succeeds the iconic Gallardo, which was the brand's most successful model in history back then (with more than 14,000 units sold in its 10-year production lifespan).
Of course, expectation of the new model were always going to be high when it was launched in 2014, but in the 10 years that followed, the Huracan scaled new heights - over 25,000 units sold, making it the best-selling model in Lamborghini history.
And this year, we finally will bid it goodbye. The Huracan's replacement is set to be revealed later this year, featuring a hybridised powertrain and, in all likelihood, fewer cylinders.
As Lambo's iconic naturally aspirated V10 model takes its final curtain call, we hop back into what is perhaps its most intense and unfiltered road-going variant to take a (very noisy) trip down memory lane.
A deafening taste
I don't really remember the first time I saw a Huracan, though I think that's not really quite so important. I do, however, recall the first time hearing one. That is typically most people's first taste of a Huracan - hearing it.
5.2-litres. 10 cylinders. Naturally aspirated. That's a recipe for an absolute riot.
And the Huracan sure was - screaming its way through a fairly quiet Bedok South neighbourhood in the dead of night. To this day, I don't even know what colour that particular car is. But I know it's somewhere, lurking, because I heard it all the time (and still sometimes do today).
That was probably eight or nine years ago. I had barely entered the automotive industry.
Since then, the Huracan range has grown and evolved. To date, there are 13 road-going models, with various powertrain configurations and engine outputs, and even one designed for going off road. Four more special edition models have also been released, including an official police car variant for the Italian Polizia.
Alongside the road car program, the racing program was also progressing. The Huracan served as the basis of seven total race cars across both the GT race series as well as the brand's own Super Trofeo events. Victories across a host of GT race events over multiple years speak to the racing pedigree of the Huracan model as it continues to be one of the more competitive cars in GT racing.
Unleash the beast
Race and road come together to form this very car I'm driving today - the Huracan STO, the wildest, most hardcore interpretation of the model (limited-edition models not included).
When it comes to high-performance super cars, this is perhaps the ultimate expression of the 'old' formula.
The mid-mounted naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10 sends 631bhp and 530Nm of torque to the rear wheels, making this the most powerful series-production Huracan money can buy. And, plenty of weight saving means that at 1,339kg, it's also the lightest one you can buy. And of course, all the aero and downforce that can be legally plastered onto a car (inspired by the racing models, obviously), and a wing that's big enough to be fitted on a prop plane.
My first time driving a Lambo was this Huracan STO model back in 2021, and that's quite the first introduction to the brand.
Three years on it is still as exciting as it is enervating, as intoxicating as it is intimidating. And it is so, so loud. Unfiltered by insulation of any real sort, the noise that the V10 generates dominates every single human sense. It wreaks havoc on your ear drums, the reverberations sends shivers down your back, and I swear you start to get a slight metallic taste in your mouth.
And truth be told, it is also slightly absurd. Quite literally a race car with number plates on, the Huracan STO distils the purest essence of performance. Not purely just in speed and 0-100km/h numbers, but in the exact sensations of high octane driving. Direct steering and razor sharp response, but also zero rear-ward visibility and no comfort to speak of. This car was designed to live and breathe on the race track. It's thrilling (if undeniably quite tiring in boring city traffic), because you feel everything.
Into the future
What's in store for the next-generation entry-model Lamborghini super car? And more broadly, what's next for the 'super car' as a whole?
The automotive world is changing. Even in the 10 years that the Huracan has been around, change has been unyielding.
Beyond just the EV explosion, even super cars have rapidly evolved. Through increased turbocharging and the employment of electrification, performance figures have continued to climb, which can make something like this Huracan feel quickly dated. A successor will come, surely with more power, more aggressive handling, quicker lap times. The super car evolution will continue, and Lamborghini will not be left behind.
What will inevitably be left behind, though, is this. A piece of history.
And that's okay. In the annals of history, different chapters tell different parts of the story - each as important and relevant as every other. From the Miura to the Aventador, from the Huracan to whatever comes next, the story goes on.
10 years is a good run. Nirvana didn't make it 10 years; The Beatles barely did. Alexander the Great's Macedonian empire only lasted six. Arthur Rimbaud, one of the most influential poets of all time, only put pen to paper for four years.
For 10 years, the Huracan has whirled its way across the globe, leaving a trail of exotic sonic destruction in its wake. As this story comes to its unavoidable close, marked by more limited edition models being unveiled like the Huracan STJ and Huracan Sterato 'All Terrain' Ad Personam, we sing the Huracan's last, boisterous hurrah. And quite literally - this exact car here is the very last Huracan STO for Singapore. No more will come.
And so it must end: 10 years. 10 cylinders. 10/10.
