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Lamborghini Stands by Huracan Performante 'Ring Lap, Admits Using Better Tires

During the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, Lamborghini showcased the Huracan Performante in front of its guests and visitors.
Lamborghini Huracan Performante 32 photos
Photo: Lamborghini
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The car is the brand’s most recent creation, and it started a massive controversy after announcing a new record on the Nurburgring. The said record was claimed to be staged or made up from several runs where the best times were selected, and many contradicted Lamborghini without asking for their side of the story.

Jim Glickenhaus, a famous car collector, has spoken to CNET regarding his doubts on obtaining the announced lap time with a street car, and he said he felt it was almost impossible to be done on street tires.

Fortunately, the same publication went on and spoke with the representatives of Lamborghini, who explained their results in full. They talked to Maurizio Reggiani, the Director of Research and Development for the Italian brand, who stands by the Nurburgring lap record.

Before we provide Lamborghini’s explanations, it is fair to note that some sections of the track have improved in asphalt quality due to new safety regulations.

Moreover, Nurburgring lap times are tough to measure and compare because atmospherical conditions may vary, which makes them less than relevant when several years, months, or even weeks pass between two runs.

First of all, Lamborghini’s representative spoke about one of the most controversial parts of this sequence, the tires. Mr. Reggiani confirmed that the company used Pirelli Trofeo R tires, which are optionally available with the car, but not standard factory fitment.

They are approved for road use, as required on the Nurburgring even for these runs, but their sole design is for racetrack driving, with a dash of “driving to the track” included. They are as legally close to a slick racing tire as one is allowed to use on the road. Pirelli even warns about the danger of aquaplaning on very wet asphalt with these tires, mostly designed for track use.

Secondly, the criticized speed variations of the original video, embedded below, were explained by GPS-sourced speed data. However, Lamborghini has VBox GPS data for the Huracan Performante’s ring time, which shows that a single session was used to set the time, and not “best times” on individual segments added together.

This discussion will probably be ended with the full VBox GPS log published by Lamborghini on its website, but people will still have issues believing them simply because of the human affinity for conspiracy theories and fake news in general.

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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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