It is fair to say that casual automotive news readers will have already lost count of the number of the Lamborghini Huracan variants by now. This Huracan STO is yet another one.
Unveiled recently at The Box, Freespace in the heart of the West Kowloon Art Park, the STO - for Super Trofeo Homologata - is once again a pretty special Huracan. It boasts elements that will entice you to write a check for one, even if you already have a Huracan or two.
At HK$5,692,632 before options, it will be a fairly big check to write.
The STO is especially tempting for people who are into racing and have an eye for detail. This "street-homologated super sports car" brings together a large range of unique body parts and panels shared by no other Huracans.
And it looks very much like a Huracan race car developed for exclusive use on race tracks, like the Huracan Super Trofeo EVO or the Huracan GT3 EVO.
The former is a race car in the brand's one-make race series, while the latter is a machine developed to contest for top international GT3 honors.
The director of Lamborghini Hong Kong, Albert Wong, helped the audience better understand the new car's racing influence. "The Huracan STO is the purest incarnation of Lamborghini Squadra Corse heritage, directly transferring technologies from the Huracan Super Trofeo EVO. This new model delivers all the excitement of a beautifully balanced, lightweight and aerodynamically superior super sports car, mirroring the driving feeling and exhilaration of the Super Trofeo."
Like the Huracan EVO RWD, the STO is a rear-wheel-drive-only version.
Unlike the EVO RWD, however, the STO does not use a detuned version of the 5.2-liter naturally aspirated V10 engine. The soul-stirring V10 comes with the full power output of 640hp reserved for the top performing all-wheel-drive Performante and EVO variants.
The acceleration is, as expected, impressive. Lamborghini quotes a three-second dash to 100kmh, but off the lights, it may not outrun the rapid all-wheel-drive Huracans, with their superior traction.
Having said that, the STO can be much more capable around a race track for several good reasons.
First, thanks to the extensive use of lightweight materials. With the more than 75 percent use of exterior body panels in carbon fiber and the removal of front driving parts, the STO tips the scale at 1,339kg for its dry weight - 43kg lower than the already lightweight Huracan Performante known to break lap records when it was released a couple of years ago.
Second, it employs a special, Formula 1 racing derived CCMR carbon-ceramic brake disc developed by Brembo. The system is said to be superior to traditional, already very expensive and track-focused, carbon ceramic brakes, and Lamborghini offers a set of figures to back up its claim.
Then, there are the aerodynamically optimized body parts, including vents, air ducts, diffusers and a huge, adjustable rear wing.
Some of the parts were designed along with the development of others, like the CCMR brakes.
The one-piece "cofango," which incorporates air ducts, front splitter and louvres, and the endurance race car-inspired "shark fin," are certainly not afterthoughts.
Finally, Lamborghini offers three new driving modes with corresponding vehicle dynamics settings in the STO.
The Trofeo mode is for getting fastest lap times on track, the Poggio (rain) will possibly make the baby bull more a tractable animal, and the STO is presumably for everyday fun.
staff.reporter@singtaonewscorp.com
