The Lamborghini Huracan Performante, the car that the marque bearing Raging Bull emblem’s newest lightened, hardened, faster version an existing car, was always known to be quite a bit more of a speed demon than the ‘base’ car.
However, beating the production street legal car lap record on the fearsome 22km Nurburgring track didn’t seem like something achievable for a car like that, let alone was it something that we were even sure that Lamborghini was necessarily interested in.
It recorded a fastest time of 6 minutes 52 seconds, roughly 5 seconds quicker than the previous holder’s time of 6 minutes 57 set by a Porsche 918 Spyder. Other contenders of that hybrid hypercar era was the McLaren P1 and LaFerrari (though the times for those two weren't officially published) and there are only a few street legal cars that have a spot in the coveted ‘under 7’ club.
On the leaderboards, though, the Radical SR8LM holds an even quicker time at 6 minutes 48 seconds which it set in 2009, though whether or not that really qualifies (enough) as a street car is the subject of intense debate.
In 2015, though, Lamborghini put their then-new Aventador SV around the track to see how fast a time that would record. It also managed to just barely squeeze in a 6 minute 59.73 second lap, perhaps setting the stage for an even hungrier bunch of testers and engineers to clinch the top spot with their next attempt.
The Huracan Performante hasn’t been officially unveiled to the world yet, hence the lack of proper, beautifully shot photos. There have been teasers, of course, as we are still in the ramp up to its premiere at the Geneva Motor Show next week, but up until now we have to use our imaginations to fill in the visual gaps left hidden by the intricate camouflage.
Reportedly, aside from the extensive diet plan being successful in shaving around 150kg from off the normal Huracan, there’s also a much more comprehensive aerodynamic package as well as an engine that produces roughly 470kW. Though we don’t quite know, we suspect Lambo has kept the all-wheel drive system, and it’s certain from the car’s soundtrack that it’s retained the naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V10.
For more on Lamborghini vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
