Is the Huracan STO a racecar for the road? Not quite, but also very much yes
Overview
ULTIMATELY, all good things must come to an end. The Lamborghini Huracan is undoubtedly a good thing, and the end is undeniably not far off.
But the Huracan – like all good Lamborghinis – will not go quietly. The Huracan STO is one of the last derivatives of Lambo’s V10-powered supercar (the jacked-up Sterrato crossover will be the last AWD Huracan, while the Tecnica that launched last year is the final RWD Huracan variant), and it is arguably the purest, rawest demonstration of the Huracan platform’s potency.
STO is Lamborghini shorthand for Super Trofeo Omologato, which is something of a misnomer as it is not actually a homologation special for the Huracan Super Trofeo Evo GT3 racecars of the Lambo’s exclusive one-make series.
There is a strong resemblance, however. The STO is literally cut from a different cloth to lesser Huracans, with all of its exterior panels (bar the plastic side skirts and the aluminium roof and door skins) being crafted from ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre, with sharply creased scoops, vents, fences and spoilers on every panel that closely mimic the lines of its race car relative.
Even from a great distance, the differences to a regular Huracan are obvious. From the two heat chimneys sprouting from the one-piece bonnet to the ventral fin and roof duct, to the massive full-width carbon-fibre wing at the tail, the STO is unmistakeably unique.
Extraction vents keep high-pressure air out of the front and rear wheel wells (the latter providing a great view of the full 305-section tread face of the rear tyres), the engine’s heat rises though a louvered carbon engine cover (which detaches completely from the chassis, race car-style) and the STO’s haunches have prominent strakes to prevent air from spilling over the sides, funnelling more air towards its huge wing and the engine air intakes instead.
Thanks to the carbon construction, these new aero features don’t come at the cost of weight. In fact, the STO weighs 43kg less than the last track-ready Huracan, the Performante, and it results in a 53 per cent increase in downforce as well. With the rear wing set to the most aggressive of its three settings, all of that bodywork generates 420kg of downforce at 280km/h, providing plenty of function to match its athletic form.
Inside, the STO’s minimalist aesthetic certainly feels racy. The door cards are crafted from a single slab of satin-finish carbon fibre with a red fabric pull tab taking the place of a regular door handle. Alcantara covers the entire dash and much of the centre console while the floor mats are slabs of aluminium plate with grip tape, and behind the seats lurks a chunky titanium roll bar for owners to anchor a racing harness to.
The seats, however, don’t align with the rest of the STO’s racy cabin. There’s a cruel reason for that: thanks to Australian side airbag legislation, the seats that the STO is meant to ship with had to be substituted with Lamborghini’s standard ‘comfort’ seat. They’re nicely supportive, and arguably a better option for larger frames, but sadly the STO’s actual seats look as wild and as racy as the rest of the car yet the ones we receive do not.
To help cleave more mass off the kerb weight, the STO’s glass is thinner – so thin, Lamborghini’s representative cautioned against hanging heavy cameras off the windshield using suction cups. “The glass, it’s like cigarette paper, be careful” he warned.
The powertrain is anything but fragile, though. Screaming to 8000rpm, the Huracan STO’s 5.2-litre V8 develops the same 470kW peak as the Performante, though makes slightly less torque at 565Nm. However, without a front differential and the rest of the all-wheel drive machinery that the Performante was saddled with, the STO’s lower mass and lighter front-end coupled with all its aero cleverness are the right ingredients for a true track star.
The STO’s one-eyed focus on circuit prowess also results in other mechanical changes, like the provision of rear-wheel steering, the replacement of the Huracan’s regular variable-ratio steering rack with a fixed-ratio one, a torque-vectoring rear diff, specific tuning for the chassis electronics, ultra-light magnesium wheels and a quartet of ultra-powerful carbon-carbon CCM-R brakes.
The culmination of all this is the most intense incarnation of a road-legal Huracan to ever roll onto a racetrack.
Driving Impressions
But how about the road?
We pointed the STO’s carbon-clad nose toward the nearest mountain range to examine whether the hard-edged Huracan would satisfy Sunday drivers or simply overwhelm them, and the outcome was a genuine surprise. For one, it is remarkably approachable. It is fair to assume that a 1339kg rear-wheel drive supercar with the 470kW and the engine in the middle would be… difficult to manage, but the STO proves the opposite.
Naturally aspirated, the big V10 develops torque in a linear way rather than the sledgehammer strike of, say, the turbocharged McLaren 720S. The seven-speed twin-clutch shifts slickly too, and with the drive mode set to the least-angry STO mode (Trofeo is for a dry circuit, Pioggia is for wet ones) and the transmission left in auto, it is no challenge to steer the Huracan around town.
Rearward vision is completely obliterated by the roll cage and engine cover, rendering the cabin mirror pointless, but other than that it is surprisingly easy to live with – just make sure you tick the options for the hydraulic nose lift and reversing camera, two things that really ought to be standard.
But regular roads are just a transit stage to more exciting ones. Up in the hills where traffic lights disappear and the few other road users are fellow enthusiasts, it is finally possible to stretch the STO’s legs… for the first two gears. With a 0-100km/h sprint of just 3.0 seconds it takes mere moments to get into licence-shredding speed, but clicking into Trofeo mode and hearing the wail of that uncorked ten-cylinder is a delightful experience.
The momentous grip from its bespoke Bridgestone Potenza Race tyres helps it put its power down cleanly too, though over-exuberant throttle applications when a bit of steering lock is on can easily make the rear axle pivot. If you can forget about the sheer cost of the car ($607,920 before on-roads, though our tester was optioned to $867,640), it becomes huge fun to play with.
And the tighter the turns, the better. What better way to engage with the ultra-direct steering and the front-end’s unrelenting hold on the pavement, and what better excuse to mat the accelerator once the corner is gone. Power on as much as you dare, then brake hard and late for the next turn – those brakes are astoundingly powerful, and can be leaned on heavily.
Slow, tight, twisty roads won’t allow to you benefit from any of the STO’s aerodynamic devices, but it’s a wicked thing when it comes to a point-and-shoot backroad.
Run out of fun roads? Even at rest, there is joy to be had in seeing its catalytic converters glow cherry-red through the large-bore titanium exhaust tips – a reminder of how hard that 5.2 litre can work. Lamborghini knows how to stimulate drama, visual and visceral.
Ultimately, though, it is obvious that this is a machine best enjoyed at the racetrack, where speed can be piled on and the true depth of its mechanical aptitude can be explored. For the lucky few who will own one, our advice would be to track it hard, and track it often.
You will not see another Lamborghini quite like this one.
Hybridisation is just around the corner for the brand, which has managed to remain one of the few holdouts against electrification until now, and an all-electric Lambo will land toward the end of the decade.
With pure combustion, natural aspiration and a rev-happy V10 howling just behind the driver’s shoulders, the STO represents “the old way” of doing things. While that may not be “the right way” in the context of the 2020s, it will still be a sad moment when it – and all of the qualities that make it such a thrill to drive – disappears.
Keyword: 2023 Lamborghini Huracan STO Review