The Lamborghini Huracán Performante made waves earlier this year when it laid claim to a new Nürburgring lap record. That feat was largely made possible by the company's new active aerodynamic system, and Lamborghini put together this short video to detail exactly how it works.
The Aerodynamica Lamborghini Attiva, ALA, or Lamborghini Active Aerodynamics system uses two spoilers to maximize or minimize drag, and thereby downforce, at any given moment. Under full acceleration, the system makes the car as slippery as possible to maximize acceleration. Under braking, the spoilers reroute airflow to increase downforce, providing additional grip when the car needs it most.
What's more, the Huracán Performante can split its downforce in the middle of a turn. Lamborghini calls this Aerovectoring. As the vehicle's weight transfers to the outside wheels in a corner, the active aerodynamic system provides more downforce on the inside, where the vehicle needs it the most. That increases grip substantially, which allows for higher cornering speeds with less steering angle.
All that clever engineering helped the Huracán Performante turn a 6:52.01 at the Nürburgring, besting the previous record holder, the Porsche 918 Spyder by just under five seconds. Unlike Porsche, Lamborghini did not turn to a hybrid driveline for its record setter. Rather, the Huracán Performante uses a 5.2-liter V-10 engine good for 640 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, 70 percent of which is available from just 1,000 rpm. Dry, the machine weighs 3,047 pounds, and those numbers are good enough for a 0-124 mph time of 8.9 seconds.
That's a lot less power and straight-line performance than the Porsche 918 Spyder, which produced 887 horsepower, hit 60 mph in 2.2 seconds, and reached 120 mph in just 6.7 seconds. Obviously, the Lambo's aero is working for it.