Lamborghini is the latest to explore the potential of a supercar that's equally at home both on and off the road.
The Italian firm on Tuesday unveiled the Huracan Sterrato concept, which may hint at a new type of supercar coming in the not too distant future.
Sterrato is the Italian word for “dirt” and signals that this particular Huracan likes to get dirty. This is made possible by a taller ride height, chunky off-road wheels and tires, plus plenty of underbody protection.
Using lessons learned from the Urus SUV, Lamborghini engineers raised the Huracan's ride height by 47 millimeters and sharpened the car’s front approach by 1 percent and the departure angle by 6.5 percent to help it clear rough terrain. They also increased the track at both ends by adding wide, 20-inch wheels with chunky off-road tires, a modification that required widened wheel arches to be added.
Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato concept
Then there's all the underbody reinforcements and body protection, most of it made from aluminum. This includes a rear skid plate that acts as a diffuser, body-hugging bars that double as side skirts, and a skid plate that helps to strengthen the front section by being integrated with the front frame. Composite materials containing some carbon fiber have also been used for protective elements around the engine and air intakes, as well as for the mud guards.
No changes were made to the stock Huracan's engine, meaning a 5.2-liter V-10 generating 640 horsepower lurks within. However, the car's vehicle dynamics system, which controls the all-wheel-drive and 4-wheel-steering systems, as well as the suspension, has been tweaked for off-road driving. In particular, the system has been tuned to put more power down in areas of low grip, particularly at the rear wheels.
Inside, the design team added a titanium roll cage, new sport seats with 4-point safety belts, and aluminum floor panels.
Lamborghini as early as the 1970s looked at building sports cars capable of going off-road, specifically for desert racing. Back then, test driver Bob Wallace built the Jarama Rally and Urraco Rally to explore the potential, though production never proceeded from there. More recently, design firms Italdesign Giugiaro and GFG Style have gone down the same road with their respective Parcour and Kangaroo concepts. Incidentally, the Parcour was based on the Huracan's predecessor, the Gallardo.
Italdesign Giugiaro Parcour Concept, 2013 Geneva Motor Show
