I recently fulfilled a childhood dream by driving a Lamborghini—specifically, a lime-green, rear-wheel-drive, V-10-engined, 600-horsepower Huracán RWD—for three days. It is the least-expensive Lamborghini available, at a mere $199,800 base (the one I drove was $260,000 with options), which means you might suddenly be contemplating the purchase of one, just like Brad Pitt. If you are, I’d like to provide a handy primer to the joys and vagaries of Lamborghini ownership:
The Door Situation
Called “scissor doors” by the car industry and “Lamborghini Doors” by Rick Ross in his 2017 single “Lamborghini Doors,” these doors are the feature people expect to see most when you tell them you’re driving a Lamborghini. The Huracán doesn’t come with scissor doors, though—it has only regularly, swing-sideways doors. If you want fancy Lambo doors, look to Lamborghini’s top model, the Aventador, which costs $400,000. Another way to look at this is that the doors are a $200,000 option. Which you may want, because people will express disappointment that the Huracán doesn’t come with those goddamn doors.
The Seats
The seats in the Huracán are the most rigid seats you will ever sit in. They don’t coddle you—in fact, the carbon fiber wings near your hips will bruise you. And they are set super low. On the road, you are at eye-height with the bumper of a Subaru Outback, which is disconcerting. On the plus side, those seats make you feel totally connected to the road, if only because your ass hovers mere inches above it. You will come to appreciate the bare-bones nature of these seats once you are in them. But getting into them is tough. You’ll need to ease in.
Easing into the Seats
Basically impossible. The secret to having any success is to go ass-first, then swing your legs in. If you get into a Lamborghini—or any ground-hugging supercar—feet-first, you will both flop in like an invertebrate and smack your head on the door sill, and everyone will laugh at you, Mr. Rich Man Who Can’t Even Get Into His Fancy Italian Sports Car.
Putting the Car in “Drive”
On the console you’ll find a bunch of buttons. There’s a “P,” for park. An “R” for reverse. An “M,” for manual mode, where you control the gears yourself using the paddles behind the steering wheel. But there’s no “D.” To make the Lamborghini move forward, you have to pull on the right-hand paddle shifter. You will forget to do this the first time you drive it, resulting in you revving the car and going nowhere, thereby corroborating bystanders’ beliefs that you are that guy who owns a Lamborghini and revs his engine for no reason.
Being That Guy
When you’re feeling a little conspicuous, take comfort in that old Italian chestnut that goes… how do you say… "Qualche volta nella vita, ogni uomo dev’essere ‘quello." (Translation: Every guy must be “that guy” sometimes.)
One Very Important Option
The hydraulic nose-lift option costs $3,500 on top of the Huracán RWD’s $200,000 base price, but the word “option” is a misnomer. You need this function. Flick a switch on the wheel and the front end of the car whirs upward two inches, raising the ground clearance from five inches to seven. Biiiiig difference. Use the lift before pulling into a driveway or parking garage, going over a speed bump, or approaching a pebble.
The Cupholder
As in, there is one. Finding it is a game of hide-and-seek. One of your passengers will press the dash, you’ll wonder why, and then a cupholder will emerge like T-1000 walking through a wall in Terminator 2. Does a Mango La Croix hanging off your dash kill the vibe a bit? It does. Are you grateful that that your Lamborghini has a place for it? You are.
Finding the Turn Signal
You will wonder where the turn signal is. Is it a stalk on the left side, like normal cars? No. Is it a stalk on the right side, because this is an Italian car? No. The turn signal control is on the steering wheel. It’s a little switch you toggle with your left thumb. You will drive many miles indicating lane changes you don’t intend to make before realizing that you cancel the signal by pressing the switch down.
The Trunk
It’s right up front, and can fit your Lamborghini-brand car cover, white leather Lamborghini-brand driving gloves, and can of Fix-a-Flat, —all complimentary. You can fit any one of the following in the space that remains: an 24-pack of toilet paper, a small child (Come on! It was funny! I didn’t close it!) or, say, a weekend bag.
Rear-Wheel Drive
The “RWD” in Huracán RWD stands for “rear-wheel-drive,” which is notable because most Lamborghinis are all-wheel-drive. Having all four wheels actively adjusting to maximize traction is key when 600 horsepower is in play. When you take half the wheels off-duty, well, let’s just say the Huracán RWD car is spirited. There can be some slipping and sliding in the back end, but you always feel in control.
The Ride
Smoother than you’d think for a car that sounds like it wants to kill other cars. It handles highway cruising well if you don’t mind the omnipresent fear of being lodged underneath a semi that’s changing lanes. The most fun to be had is not on a cop-free straightaway but on a gently curving uphill road in the country. The Huracán attacks hills. Most of its weight is in the rear of the car and you feel pushed by it, like a rollercoaster… that itself is being pushed by God.
The Crowd Reaction
You will be giving a lot of people rides in your Lamborghini. (Most of these ungrateful passengers will say, “Wow, the seat is so low“ and Wait, it doesn’t have the doors?”) Drivers will honk at you. A lot. Sometimes the honking is accompanied by yelling, as in, “Hey!” or “Ahhhh!” or a kind of primal howl. You will be a kind of god to children ages 5-15. Particularly 11-year-olds. Eleven-year-olds are in the sweet spot of supercar enthusiasm and knowledge. They are old enough to understand why the car is special, but not so old that they tamp down their sheer glee about it. Your interactions with kids will remind you when a Lamborghini Jalpa was the Hot Wheels car you wanted to play with the most and when you had a Jalpa poster on your wall right next to a bikini’d Paulina Poriskova. (For example.) Still, something about Lambos captures the imagination of pretty much everyone. The Lamborghini defines “ultimate sports car” for the regular person. Its fighter-jet angularity, its buzzsaw sound, it’s belly-scraping lowness, the fighting bull in the emblem… It’s a magical unicorn to people. Particularly at gas stations.
Gas Stations
It’ll take you 4 minutes to fill the tank, plus another 20 to answer everyone’s questions (“No, it doesn’t have the doors”) and let dads take pics of their kids sitting in the cars. This is a hassle, but you own a Lamborghini—so, you know, deal with it.