Lamborghini isn't a name that is associated with rally competitions – mainly because the famous Italian brand didn't line up at the start of a stage of gravel and snow racing. Being very much fond of flat surfaces with loads of grip, the supercars from Sant'Agata Bolognese aren't particularly attracted to getting their bodywork dirty. But each family has that one member that does everything in perfect opposition, just to kill boredom.
That's not to say that a Lamborghini can be tedious – unless you think horses are better than bulls at setting four-wheeled vehicles in motion (and your favorite color happens to be a specific type of Prancing Horse Red).
To honor the anniversary of six decades of Lamborghini, the company put even more fun in one of their most successful models (from a sales perspective): the Huracan. What came out of that idea is logic-bending: an off-road mid-engined supercar – the Sterrato.
The "baby Lambo" Huracan is actually the best-selling supercar from the Italian maker, with over 20,000 units in its nine-year production. Overall, the Urus is topping the sales charts, but that is a five-door SUV with the engine in front of the driver. Not a bad thing at all, but not a supercar, also. However, the two raging bulls share one trait: they can do very well when the asphalt expires in the rear-view mirror.
Photo: Lamborghini
Launched late last year in the shadow of Porsche's 911 Dakar, the all-road Huracan promised uncompromising Lamborghini exhilaration on all surfaces: dead-flat speed tracks, remote dirt roads, or snow-clad trails. Come 2023, the acclaimed Italian is making its way to Palm Springs, California. Or thereabouts, to the Joshua Tree National Park to get some fresh air and warm up its bespoke all-terrain tires.
Just to prove a point, Lamborghini put its deviant son through sand and dirt at the Chuckwalla Valley Raceway to show off the Sterrato's ability to transition from one surface to another at the touch of a button. As you can see in this video, the company's chief technical engineer details the hows and whys of Lambo's rebellious offspring with Germanic precision.
But notice one thing: the mathematically-precise German wrench-turner turns absolutely mental when drifting the Sterrato at the company's test dirt track in the South of Italy. If a car can make a cool-as-a-cucumber German smile with excitement, the rest of Planet Piston can rest assured that it is a fine car indeed.
Photo: Lamborghini
Off-road or not, it is a Lamborghini, first and foremost, and the V10 roaring behind the driver doesn't accept any possibility of being taken for something else. All-wheel-driven, for cutthroat rally-like drifts and handling, the Sterrato feels equally in its habitual environment digging four-wheel ditches in soft ground or thrashing the track at 260 kph (162 mph).
Slow, for a Lamborghini, but factor in that the all-road Sterrato sits 1.3 inches higher above ground (44 millimeters) than its closest relative, the Huracan EVO. It might not sound like a lot, but the increased ground clearance will affect aerodynamics. Also, the custom-made Bridgestone Dueler AT002 tires aren't built for 200+mph speeds but for sure-footedness on slippery surfaces.
The V10 in this car is the 5.2-liter V10 that makes 602 hp (610 PS) and 417 lb-ft (565 Nm), taking in fresh air from the high-placed roof-mounted air inlets. The naturally-aspirated plant red-lines above 8,000 RPM (Lamborghini made no compromises there), sending the punishment to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
Larger wheel arches, roof rails, and fog lamps on the front grille give the Sterrato a meaner demeanor than its urban brethren – although no inhabitant of Planet Piston ever thought of thinking about any Lamborghini as a behaved automobile.
After nearly two decades in news television, Răzvan turned to a different medium. He’s been a field journalist, a TV producer, and a seafarer but found that he feels right at home among petrolheads. Full profile
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