Lamborghini Huracan Evo: The car with a highly developed brain

Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Integrata. It sounds very high tech and coolly Italian, which it is. This name abbreviated to LDVI, is a highly sophisticated computer that is the heart or more correctly the brain of the new Lamborghini Huracan Evo. LDVI controls the key functions of the car like the engine, steering, suspension and brakes to make a hardcore supercar less daunting and, more predictable and easier to drive. More importantly LDVI also represents fresh thinking at Lamborghini, which is to make its customers feel like gods behind the wheel. What better way to stoke their egos?

No supercar owner likes to think that he’s a bad driver but the truth is, a large majority of them simply don’t have talent to come anywhere close to their car’s potential. LDVI, however, promises to elevate their driving skills to make them think they are better drivers than they actually are. And that’s a clever way to seduce potential buyers.

The bespoke car

I’m driving the Huracan Evo at the Bahrain International Circuit to see how good the new tech is and if it makes me feel like one of the Formula 1 drivers who race here every year at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

However, there’s a lot more to the Huracan than the electronic brain. It’s a mid-life upgrade of the ‘baby’ in the Lamborghini family, which gets improvements in key areas to keep it fresh and competitive. The Huracan’s stunning shape is largely unchanged, but there are quite a few design tweaks to make it look more menacing than ever. There’s an addition of larger ducts in the front, new intakes on the side, a subtly reshaped rear spoiler and revised exhaust pipes that move up to make way for a more aerodynamic underbody.

The interiors too are all heavily upgraded and the centrepiece (literally) is a new 8.4-inch touch screen, which is neatly housed in the central console. It comes with a number of functions including Apple CarPlay but more importantly it displays vital data thrown up by the LDVI system, which is somewhat like a report card of the driver’s antics behind the wheel.

With the Huracan Evo, Lamborghini is also offering a lot more personalisation than before and owners can choose from an endless combination of colours, fabrics and finishes to make their cars truly bespoke.

Power and confidence

And now to the most important question. How does it drive? Does all the new hardware really make it brilliant to drive? The fast and flowing Bahrain circuit is a great place to explore the potential of the revised Huracan. Exiting the pitlane and pinning my right foot hard to the floor board, I am reminded of how utterly brilliant the 5.2-litre V10 engine is. The way it revs to 8,000rpm and the way it sounds are simply epic. And in this latest guise it produces a colossal 640hp, 30hp more than before, which is good enough to propel this Italian missile from 0-100kph in just 2.9s. That is seriously quick! Down the long straight, I clock 275kph in a flash. But what’s a bigger achievement is the ease with which I could hustle the Huracan Evo around this full-fledged Formula 1 circuit.

I could dive into a corner with abandon, knowing that the LDVI would keep on the straight and narrow by adjusting the drive to individual wheels, balancing the brakes and controlling engine power. With every lap I get more confidence with that reassuring feeling of an invisible hand pressing me down on the circuit, to stop me from spinning out of control. The only downside is that, there is a slightly synthetic feel to the driving experience and the rawness of a supercar unfettered by electronics is missing. But who’s complaining?

For the mere mortals like me, this feeling of being able to drive from zero to hero is hard to beat.

Hormazd Sorabjee is one of the most senior and much loved auto journalists in India, and is editor of Autocar India

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From HT Brunch, February 17, 2019

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