Skip to main content

The Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato might be 2023’s most insane supercar

This Lamborghini car is a rally ready supercar

One of my favorite things to do in automotive-related video games like Forza Horizon, which give you so much freedom, is to create a rally-inspired supercar. There’s something so fulfilling about having a car that’s meant to do one thing, but completely flipping its purpose with long-travel suspension and beefy tires and creating something entirely different. While most of us will have to dream about a rally-inspired supercar, Lamborghini has finally revealed a production version of the Huracan supercar that’s meant to go off-road. It’s taken the automaker roughly four years to come out with the really-ready Huracan Sterrato, but it could go down as one of Lamborghini’s best modern supercars.

Take a look at the Huracan Sterrato, and you’ll immediately notice that it’s not like the other Huracans in Lamborghini’s lineup. With plastic fender flares that look like they were bolted onto the body, roof rails that can hold 66 pounds, a roof-mounted air intake, an extra set of front lights mounted on the hood, and a slightly raised ride height, the Sterrato is clearly meant to go off-road. It’s not a purpose-built rock crawler or a dune basher like the Ram 1500 TRX, but a blisteringly fast vehicle on loose terrain like dirt or gravel.

For drivers looking for bragging rights, you’ll want to look elsewhere. The Sterrato gives up a lot of numbers in the name of fun. The 5.2-liter V10 engine makes 601 horsepower, a loss of 30 horsepower from the regular Huracan because of the car’s unique air intake system. Peak torque, though, goes unchanged at 413 pound-feet. Still, the drop of power means that the Sterrato will get to 62 mph from a standstill in 3.4 seconds, nearly a full second off other Huracans. Top speed has also dropped to 160 mph. These changes probably have more to deal with the Sterrato’s all-terrain tires than its power drop.

Recommended Videos

Instead of tearing up a racetrack, the Sterrato is made to raise hell on a dirt trail. So, it has the necessary suspension upgrades to do just that. The supercar has 1.7 inches of extra ride height, as well as a track that has been increased by 1.2 inches at the front and 1.4 inches at the back. To be able to handle any bumps, the Sterrato’s suspension has been softened considerably. The supercar still comes with electromagnetic shock absorbers that give drivers the ability to choose a set damping force. Underbody protection has been added to keep rocks and debris from damaging components, while a special dynamic setting called Rally, which is also found on the Urus Performante, allows for big tail-out moments on loose terrain.

Lamborghini hasn’t provided any pictures of the Sterrato’s interior yet, but the automaker claims that the supercar will have a few new functions like a compass, an inclinometer, a steering angle repeater, and a pitch and roll indicator that can be accessed through the infotainment system. Sterrato Green microfiber trim will be a new option on the inside.

With hundreds of supercars all focusing on setting quicker lap times, we applaud Lamborghini for doing something different. This reminds us of the Lamborghini of old, when it did things differently and marched to the beat of its own drum. Lamborghini has plans to build around 1,500 units of the Huracan Sterrato starting next February. Pricing for America hasn’t been announced yet, but it will cost around $270,000 according to today’s conversion rates in Europe. With today’s crazy market and a lengthy list of YouTubers with cash to blow, we’re sure these will be scooped and resold at crazy prices, with only a handful able to actually get dirty.

Joel Patel
Former Freelance Writer
Joel Patel is a former contributor for The Manual. His work has also been featured on Autoweek, Digital Trends, Autoblog…
Behold the most insane, street-legal go-karts for grown-ass adults
Treehouses and Hot Wheels were the stuff of boyhood dreams. But legit go-karts were where the real fun was at
Ariel Atom 4 open-cockpit racecar, parked with sunset in the background.

Tricked-out treehouses, Nerf slingshots, retro gaming consoles, Hot Wheels cars — all the trappings of a picture-perfect childhood. But the epitome of boyhood rad-ness? Go-karts. They were fast, loud, and undeniably dangerous, which, of course, made them irresistible to most of us.

Fast-forward a decade or three. You may be (mostly) grown up now, but you can still relive your street-racing glory days. Some automakers are thinking way outside the box with compact, adult-friendly "racecars." Behold the world's best street-legal go-karts for adults.

Read more
Lamborghini’s upcoming supercar will have a 1,001-hp plug-in hybrid V12 powertrain
Lamborghini news: Here’s a sneak peek at what engine will replace the outgoing naturally aspirated V12
Lamborghini LB744 PHEV Powertrain from overhead in the engine bay of a chassis.

Lamborghini is known for making world-class naturally aspirated engines. From the Huracan’s V10 to the Aventador’s V12, soulful engines are Lamborghini’s thing. Unfortunately, Lamborghini has discontinued the Aventador and its mighty V12 engine. While we don’t know what’s in store for the Aventador’s replacement, Lamborghini has given the world a look into its upcoming powertrain, which will include a plug-in hybrid component with three electric motors.
A PHEV from Lamborghini? It certainly sounds like the end times. But if you think Lamborghini is making something akin to the Toyota Prius Prime, that’s not what’s happening here. At the heart of the plug-in hybrid powertrain is a 6.5-liter V12 engine. The new L545 motor is a major upgrade of the Aventador’s 6.5-liter V12. The new engine weighs 37 pounds less, has more power, has a higher redline, and features a raised compression ratio of 12.6:1.

Getting into actual numbers, the new 6.5-liter V12 engine is good for 814 horsepower on its own. That’s a large upgrade over the Aventador, which made up to 769 horsepower in its most potent configurations. While peak horsepower comes at 9,250 rpm, the engine hits its redline at 9,500 rpm. If there’s one figure that hasn’t grown a lot, it’s torque. The new V12 is rated at 535 pound-feet, which is only 4 pound-feet more than the old 12-cylinder motor.
In addition to giving the engine a major overhaul, Lamborghini has also repositioned the way the gearbox and engine are packaged together. Unlike the Aventador, which had a single-clutch transmission that was positioned in front of the engine, Lamborghini has turned the new V12 180 degrees. Additionally, power is being routed through a new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission that Lamborghini designed that will sit behind the engine.
So far, these would be massive changes on their own, but the engine is getting a large helping hand from a plug-in hybrid component. Lamborghini will assist the V12 engine with three electric motors. Two axial-flux motors are located at the front – one on each wheel – and a third electric motor at the back that’s integrated into the transmission. The front electric motors allow for torque vectoring, while the rear electric motor can act as a starter motor, generator, or an extra source of power. On their own, each motor is capable of producing 148 horsepower – roughly the same amount of power as a compact car. Combined, Lamborghini claims the V12 engine and the electric motors are good for 1,001 horsepower.

Read more
These are Lamborghini’s final V12-powered supercars
The Invencible coupe and Autética roadster are the last of the naturally aspirated V12 hypercars from Lamborghini
Lamborghini Auténtica front end angle parked in the middle of a windy road with clouds in the back.

The march of time slows for no one, not even exotic automakers like Lamborghini. When the automaker introduced the Aventador Ultimae, we thought it marked the end of the V12 Lamborghini and the Aventador platform. Lamborghini, though, is having some trouble saying goodbye and has introduced two one-offs that it’s using as a true send-off to the V12 engine and the Aventador that came out in 2011.
The one-offs are called the Invencible coupe and Auténtica roadster. Like the majority of limited-edition specials from Lamborghini, the two one-offs utilize the current Aventador’s platform. That means the models also come with the same 6.5-liter V12 engine that’s found in the Aventador Ultimae trim. So, power is rated at 769 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque – mega figures by any measure. The two will also feature all-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering.

Previous

Read more