The rally style headlights stuck to the Huracan’s shark nose are optional.
The Huracan Sterrato looks extremely aggressive with its all-terrain tyres.
The huge roof scoop renders rear vision from the driver’s seat a complete zero.
The Sterrato has been raised 44mm higher than the ground-hugging normal version.
What we like
Ride quality Ridiculous engine noise Handling on dirt
What we don’t
The price The silly headlights Scarcity
What we like
Ride quality Ridiculous engine noise Handling on dirt
What we don’t
The price The silly headlights Scarcity
Lamborghini is a brand built on madness, excess and eye-searing design. Its cars don’t have to make sense, and indeed its owners probably prefer it if they don’t – they have other vehicles to use for the real world.
So, the existence of the new Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, the world’s first ‘All-terrain Supercar’, a V10-engined mad machine built to drive sideways at high speed on dirt, should not come as a surprise.
And yet it really does, because there’s never been anything like it before (yes, Porsche has built the 911 Dakar, but it’s more of a sand-dune-climbing, desert-crossing motorsport tribute), for the very good reason that no one ever considered it would be a good idea.
It also sounds just a touch intimidating, the kind of driving experience that would require pro rally driver skills to survive, so it was with some trepidation that we headed to Palm Springs, USA, to test out the new Huracan Sterrato.
Does it represent good value for the price? What features does it come with? 8/10
Well, considering every Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato will almost certainly go up in value and become a collector’s item you’d have to consider them good value, at least in investment terms.
On the other hand, any car with a price tag of $503,949, before on-road costs, sits somewhat adjacent to the word “value”.
That large number has not put enthusiasts off, however, with all 1499 of the limited-run Sterrato Huracans already sold, and a long list of people with their names down hoping that someone gets scared and changes their mind, apparently.
Our vehicle came with two built-in cameras, which you could operate through the touchscreen to record Tik Tok-length videos of your driving.
This is almost certainly a cost option, but no one could tell us exactly, and all of the cars are already sold, no doubt to people who ticked every single option box.
Oh, and you do get aluminium floor mats. Nice.
Is there anything interesting about its design? 9/10
Oh yes, it’s pretty interesting, all right, because it breaks new dusty ground for Lamborghini, and its Huracan in particular.
To cope with its intended use, the Sterrato has been raised 44mm higher than the ground-hugging normal version and it’s also had giant, bolt-on style guards attached to make it look a bit wilder.
Also quite noticeable is the huge roof scoop – which renders rear vision from the driver’s seat a complete zero, they may as well throw the mirror away – which has to be there to help the V10 engine breathe.
The rally style headlights stuck to the Huracan’s shark nose are optional.
The Huracan Sterrato looks extremely aggressive with its all-terrain tyres.
The huge roof scoop renders rear vision from the driver’s seat a complete zero.
The Sterrato has been raised 44mm higher than the ground-hugging normal version.
The side air intakes through which air usually gets to the mid-mounted power plant have been blocked up, because they would have sucked in too much dirt and gravel.
I’m happy to report the silly looking rally style headlights stuck to the Huracan’s shark nose are optional, although again, no doubt every buyer has gone for them, because they stand out in a crowd.
The Huracan Sterrato has no problem doing that on its own, of course, because it already looks extremely aggressive, and its knobbly, all-terrain tyres finish off that style flourish.
How practical is its space and tech inside? 7/10
Next question, please. You don’t get cupholders, there’s not really anywhere to put your phone and the cabin generally feels as roomy as a phone box that’s been through the wash and shrunk quite badly.
There’s a frunk that can barely hold two small backpacks and that’s about it. If you want practical space, buy an Urus. The Huracan Sterrato is not a practical car, but that’s not part of its design brief.
What are the key stats for its engine and transmission? 9/10
The Sterrato is powered by a Lamborghini engine that’s on its way into the history books, a 5.2-litre V10 that will die with this, the last variant of the Huracan.
Its replacement will be powered by a V8 hybrid, which will no doubt be more powerful but simply will not sound as amazing.
The version in the Sterrato has been detuned slightly, partly because of the breathing issues – you just can’t get as much air into an engine when it’s driving through its own self-propelled dust storm – and because of its all-terrain tyres, the first ever to be speed rated to 260km/h.
It still makes an impressive, and very loud, 449kW (602hp) and 560Nm, however. I’d describe it as “more than enough”.
That monster engine is matched with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic and a very, very clever all-wheel drive system.
What is its fuel consumption? What is its driving range? 6/10
So, Lamborghini claims the Huracan Sterrato will deliver a fuel “economy” figure of 14.9 litres per 100km, which seems like a lot, until you consider it probably won’t get anywhere near that, if you drive it the way you’re supposed to, particularly foot flat and wheels spinning on dirt.
Again, fuel economy is not a core value for this car, nor its buyers.
An 80-litre tank means a theoretical range of around 480km.
What’s it like to drive? 10/10
I could give you the short version of what it was like to drive the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato at speed on a specially prepared dirt race track, which would be to say that I have never, ever had so much fun in a car, but that would be selling it short.
While the Sterrato is clearly built to do one insensible thing brilliantly, while somehow not imperilling the life of its driver, what is most incredible about it is how good it is at everything else, as well.
To create this Huracan, Lamborghini had to increase the ride height significantly, soften up the suspension and increase its amount of travel.
It also had to ask Bridgestone nicely to produce a tyre unlike anything the world has ever seen, an all-terrain tread capable of dealing with dirt and gravel and yet also grippy enough to be used on a sealed race track, or to carve up your favourite mountain pass.
It also had to be capable of being speed rated to 260km/h, or about 100km/h faster than any all-terrain tyre Bridgestone has ever produced before.
Looking at the unique Dueler All-Terrain AT002s, with their chunky tread, you would assume that the Sterrato is going to be noisy, slippery and possibly a little rough on public roads, but that’s not the case at all.
This Huracan rides more smoothly – largely thanks to those suspension tweaks – and more quietly than its forebears, and it’s actually more practical around town as well, thanks to the ride height. So, no more flinching at speed bumps.
The tyres also provide proper supercar levels of grip on public roads, even those dusted with a bit of desert sand.
There’s a bit of squirm at the rear and under hard braking, but overall the experience is typically Lamborghini Huracan wonderful, all playing out to a soundtrack that is beyond beautiful from that howling V10.
The first part of our track experience at the Chuckwallah Raceway was also familiarly fantastic, the Huracan ripping around the sealed track at astonishing speed; it certainly doesn’t feel detuned.
Lamborghini had gone to the trouble of mirroring the sealed circuit with a specially constructed dirt track in the infield, so that 50 per cent of our lap would be spent sideways in ankle deep, dust, sand and rocks, much of it through long, long bends, with the occasional chicane set up specially for Scando flicking action.
Now, I am not, by any means, an expert at drifting, nor an accomplished rally driver, so I was, to put it mildly, shit scared of getting this half-million-dollar, limited-edition, 449kW monster on to the dirt section.
I feared I would spin around, or flip upside down, or find some other way to embarrass myself, but what happened when I got there was beyond inexplicable, and beyond joy.
This car is so clever, so easy to drive, so beautifully balanced, that it can turn a total newb into Colin McRae. His name comes to me because the whole experience reminded me of driving a rallying video game, it felt unreal, and yet overpoweringly visceral at the same time.
I could start a drift with the slightest flex of the throttle, then balance the car as it pivoted around a bend before nailing the throttle and haring off to the next fantastic drifting opportunity.
When we got back on the sealed stuff, the car would shake like mad, at 200km/h, as the dust attempted to get its way out of the wheels, but that just added to the excitement.
The secret wasn’t that I’d somehow become a better driver, it was what Lamborghini engineers call, accurately, “the hero maker”.
It’s a software and hardware package called LDVI, or ‘Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Integrata’, which, when you put the Sterrato in ‘Rally’ mode, uses many sensors combined with torque vectoring and selective braking to keep you going where you want to go, with minimal intervention.
Or at least minimal intervention that you can feel, which makes you feel like a hero.
I kind of understand how it works, but I totally relate to how it makes you feel. Like a genius. And you’d pay $500K for that, surely?
What safety equipment is fitted? What safety rating? 7/10
In a V10-engined supercar you’re meant to drive on dirt? You’ve come to the wrong place.
Okay, so there’s no crash rating, and there won’t be, but you do get AEB, driver, passenger, and side airbags along with knee airbags as well as front and rear-specific collapsible areas, reinforcement bars in the doors. Oh, and Electronic Stability Control.
What warranty is offered? What are its service intervals? What are its running costs? 8/10
The Huracan Sterrato comes with a Lamborghini warranty good for three years with unlimited kilometres.
It also comes with 24/7 roadside assist for an unspecified amount of time. It is also offered with pre-paid scheduled maintenance service for three or five years.
Verdict
Not just a spectacularly stupid idea made real, the Lamborghini Sterrato is by far the best, or at least most hilarious, of the many Huracan variants the company has produced.
It makes you feel like a hero, even when you’re going sideways on dirt like a nutter. It could just be my new favourite supercar.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
Keyword: Lamborghini Huracan 2023 review: Sterrato