Aren’t tunnels brilliant? They cut through mountains or under water, providing a concrete cocoon for your relentless need to move forward. There are not, however, enough of them in the UK. Our roads don’t need them for the most part. In their absence, long bridges do a similar job. I’ll tell you where does have loads of tunnels: Norway. It has around 900 of them, including the longest tunnel in the world at 24.5km. If you ever get your hands on a Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder, it would probably be worth going to Norway.
A naturally aspirated 5.2ltr V10 emits a sound to be savoured. The Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder is the perfect vessel for this masterpiece of an engine. At first glance, it’s easy to write the convertible off as something simply for posers over and above the coupe. You wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. Removing the roof, however, facilitates an enhanced listening experience when you find a stretch of open road down which to open the taps. Or, even better, a tunnel.
It brings you closer to the experience, providing a sensory overload of the most awesome kind. The horizon comes at you fast, the Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder clings tightly to the road surface and the soundtrack is akin to an old F1 car. If that’s the only justification for getting a Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder, then it’s more than enough.
This experience is heightened in tunnels. You get giddy when one looms into view. Is that bridge under which I’m about to pass long enough to justify selecting sport and dropping it down a couple of cogs? Of course! God speed and savour the moment. The only irritation is that it’s over in a flash, so fast is the car. To Hindhead!
The sound is one facet of the overall driving experience in the Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder. It’s a dominant facet because, I mean, it’s a sound you’ll chase journey after journey like a high-decibel addict hunting down their next fix. So impressive is the noise that you forget everything else.
Yet there is 631hp and 560Nm of torque on offer. 0-60 takes just 3.1secs. There are three succinct drive modes to savour and a surprisingly usable car. When you’re not screaming in the face of nature, the Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder performs the mundane surprisingly well. The nose lift function gets you over speedbumps and once settled into a cruise, you could be driving a GT. Just about.
The ride is firm, as you’d expect, but not unforgivably so in Strada. The mutest of the settings, Strada keeps the exhaust note quietened down and flicks through the 7-speed dual clutch transmission quickly. Hit cruise control at 70mph and you’ll see 30mpg.
The biggest challenge is exercising self-control. The angel on one shoulder tells you to keep it down for five minutes, that hell can be unleashed when the road next opens up. The devil sitting atop your other shoulder, however, rather insistently requests that you select Sport and select it now. “You’ve got a naturally aspirated V10 behind you,” he says, “and this car has to be returned to Lamborghini soon. Carpe Diem!”
You can make startling progress along a B-road. Whilst the steering doesn’t have much feedback, it’s perfectly accurate and well judged. You can place the car with confidence and my word is there some traction available. Minimal body roll, perfectly poised and fired out of corners with haste, the AWD inspires that bit more confidence over and above the RWD EVO.
The Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder is a surprisingly approachable car. I was concerned that I might not actually fit in it from reading other reviews. I’m 6ft 2” but found no issues with ingress, egress or finding a comfortable driving position. The sport seats are firm, but everything is adjustable positionally. The cabin is also really well appointed, covered in leather and alcantara and nice to the touch.
The infotainment is also a massive step up from that found in the Lamborghini Aventador. The touch screen in the centre console is easy to use, although one irritation is that you have to dive into a menu to adjust the volume of the speakers. Everything else is on the steering wheel, but not the volume. Indicating, full beams, wipers; all on the steering wheel. But nothing for the volume.
The steering wheel takes a bit of acclimatising to, but I quickly got used to it. The fine metal paddles that sit behind it beg to be used and are fundamental to the driving experience. In Strada, it doesn’t kick down the gears when you floor it, so taking control is the best way to go. Or select Sport. Actually, just do that. Everything gets louder as the valves in the exhaust open up and the Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder really comes to life.
You get other mod cons such as a reversing camera and parking sensors. The Sensonum for Lamborghini audio is worth having, although smartphone integration doesn’t come as standard. It’s £2,440 before VAT.
The roof takes 17secs to put up or down at speeds of up to 31mph. It’s a fabric roof and the cabin can get loud, depending upon the road surface. The 20” wheels and slender tyres don’t help in this regard. It’s a supercar after all.
I found the Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder did everything I asked of it. From enlivening my soul in the Hindhead tunnel to crawling through West London traffic on the commute to work, it just took everything in its stride. The Lamborghini Adaptive Steering and all-wheel steering even make the car incredibly light when traversing tight spaces at low speeds.
The Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder undoubtedly feels like an Aventador lite, but that’s no bad thing. It’s less extreme and more approachable for it. Everything is relative, but even the fuel consumption wasn’t so bad, high teens/early 20s. Compared to the Aventador, that’s positively eco-conscious.
Yet the Huracan doesn’t want for drama. If you don’t see its distinctive styling approaching, you’ll certainly hear it. A Lamborghini needs to turn heads and this does. It feels very much a car in which to simply enjoy driving. There’s no storage space but you don’t need a destination to justify taking it out.
You’ll always find a stretch of road along which you can let it sing its sweet, sweet song. With the roof off, you feel more connected to the overall experience. If you live near a tunnel, then this is most certainly the supercar for you.
Even ambling around town, however, you can select sport, use the paddles and enjoy the sound echoing off the buildings and walls that you lazily pass. And that’s the beauty, you don’t have to be driving like Mad Max to revel in the experience of the Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder. Whether you’re cruising down Kings Road or blasting round a circuit, you’ll manage to find a sweet spot. From posing to performing, it ticks every box.
Related article: Lamborghini Aventador S review
