Ten things we learned about the Lamborghini Huracán Spyder

Silly as it may seem, the new Lamborghini Huracán Spyder is its least-focused, most fashion-conscious new model. With 602bhp and a top speed of over 200mph. That’s the pace of progress for you.

Thing is, the Huracán’s had a difficult start in life. Is it too tame, not a ‘proper Lambo’ – whatever that is – and does its four-wheel drive and variable Dynamic Steering sully its credentials in the face of Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche’s roadsters?

We decamped to Miami Beach to find out. After hours of arduous research, we present the TG findings...

Weren’t expecting that, were you? Indeed, the Huracán has survived the chop with its dignity intact. The ridiculously cantered windscreen deflects airflow into ducts just aft of the occupants’ ears, which is then vented out over the hot engine. It’s not at all blustery inside – you can have a pleasant conversation, or enjoy the V10’s song without losing it in the ensuing hurricane. The three-layer roof is well-engineered, and operable at up to 31mph. Well done Lambo.

Yup, that roof is a canvas job. Stephan Winklemann and co just don’t get the lust for folding hard-tops, turning their noses up at the fact that a Ferrari 488 Spider or McLaren 650S are mistakable for the fixed-roof cars in hood-up mode.

No such fear with the cloth roof, says Sant’Agata. Even if it’s hailing ice the size of watermelons, surviving onlookers will be in no doubt you’ve shelled out the extra to have a Huracán with all the sky.

So does the Lamborghini Huracán coupe, of course, but there’s nothing like removing a few inches of metal and alcantara to crank up the fury. The Huracán’s sonorous engine and ‘industrial accident in a fireworks factory’ exhaust just beg to be bathed in, and having the Spyder is like being in the royal box at Wimbledon; prime place for the action.

Should they have bothered with 'dynamic steering'? Lamborghini says it will continue to develop and hone the system which reduces the steering effort needed at low speeds for easier maneuvering, but even on the limited evidence of driving it around Miami, it still needs work.

The sheer amount of weight thrown at the steering around 50mph is so utterly unwelcome, you find yourself wondering if the power steering assistance has broken altogether. Not that any buyers care, you understand – depressingly, the vast majority of Huracáns have been specified with the feedback-bereft option. Bad news.

Everything from the Ford Focus RS to McLaren’s sublime 675LT lets you mix’n’match your modes, so you can have sporty throttle and gearbox response but a softer suspension setting which is ideal for driving on, say, an actual road. Not so in the Huracán Spyder, which still lobs rock-hard ride in the Corsa mode pot, along with razor-sharp powertrain reflexes. Lambo says a solution is a top priority...

Look, turbochargers are incredible pieces of kit, but all too often, carmakers use them to crank out power outputs that are probably a bit higher than they could actually get away with. The Huracán is a great example of raging against the dying of the light.

Yes, it ‘only’ has 602bhp, putting it way down on the Ferrari and McLaren rivals, but 0-62mph in 3.4sec, 100mph in 10.2sec and 201mph is hardly slow, is it? If you need more pace than that, you want your head testing, or a career as an astronaut.

This is not an exaggeration.

The Huracán Spyder is offered with the same carbon bucket seats as the coupe. They look divine, and are available in a wide range of garish colours. However, they have no padding whatsoever, and as a result, extended time perched in them makes it feel like your pelvis has suddenly become made out of knives and is trying to cut its way out of your bottom. This isn’t very comfortable.

If you, like me, can’t afford a Huracán but fancy an experience that’s similar to sitting inside one, may I suggest sitting cross-legged on an unsanded fence panel for several hours.

Remember the old days, when drop-top supercars were far, far more weighty than their fixed-roof twins because of all the lead piping and railway sleepers that had to be nailed in to stop it flexing? The Huracán doesn’t need any of that.

The carbon-aluminium tub is so strong, only the windscreen pillars have needed structural beefing. Yet it’s still 120kg heavier than the coupe, which is all down to the roof mechanism itself, the motorised buttresses, droppable rear window and hidden pop-up rollover bars. Considering Ferrari’s 488 Spider only swells by 50kg as a result of decapitation, the 1542kg Huracán Spyder is left looking like a (very beautiful) porker. If you’re into that sort of thing.

Miami Beach loves a Lambo. Especially if the roof is missing, it’s in a bright colour and making a naughty noise. Everyone from boy scouts to geriatrics squeal with delight and gaze at its pointy form when it hoves into view. This car makes you awfully conspicuous, and I’ve no doubt that exact fact is responsible for a good portion of its sales. Please be aware that away from Florida, reactions may vary.

On the subject of making a rear-drive LP580-2 Spyder, or a hardcore rear-drive model to sit alongside the incoming Superleggera, there was much grinning, winking, and ‘we’ll have to see, won’t we’, from Lamborghini's CEO Stephan Winkelmann and head of R&D Maurizio Reggiani.

So if you’re holding out for a weapons-grade Huracán, watch this space...