The last V10-powered Lamborghini? Huracán Tecnica Review | The Driver’s Seat with Henry Catchpole
Jul 27, 2023
The last V10-powered Lamborghini? Huracán Tecnica Review | The Driver’s Seat with Henry Catchpole
The Lamborghini Huracan is a bit of a dinosaur now, right? And the Tecnica is just an exercise in clinging on, trying to generate a few more sales in the twilight of the model’s life while a replacement is developed. It’s surely got its work cut out against much newer competitors like the McLaren Artura and Ferrari 296 GTB. That’s one perspective.http://bit.ly/HagertyYouTube https://www.hagerty.com/media https://www.hagerty.com/media/newslet … https://www.facebook.com/Hagerty https://instagram.com/Hagerty https://twitter.com/Hagerty https://www.hagerty.com/drivers-club http://bit.ly/RedlineRebuild http://bit.ly/BarnFIndHunter https://bit.ly/JasonCammisaICONS https://bit.ly/JasonCammisaRevelations [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Content
0.68 -> (ambient music)
2.881 -> (birds chirping)
6.06 -> - [Henry] Air,
7.086 -> (bubbling)
(hissing)
9.24 -> unseen, all around us.
12.69 -> That magical mixture,
14.608 -> (crackling)
16.23 -> just chilling
17.67 -> seeing where the wind takes it,
20.04 -> oblivious, that it's about to happen,
23.077 -> (loud humming sound)
24.526 -> (engine revving)
33.992 -> (revs engine)
44.029 -> (car roars by)
45.87 -> The rollercoaster ride of its life.
51.754 -> (gentle music)
52.587 -> (engine roaring at a distance)
60.509 -> (car roaring past)
61.83 -> The way that we breathe
is pretty fundamental,
65.52 -> and in the automotive landscape,
68.49 -> the turbocharger is now king.
71.22 -> (car roaring)
74.25 -> But I want to sing the praises
77.49 -> of the naturally aspirated engine.
80.55 -> I don't want this to be
82.23 -> a case of hating on the
turbocharged engine,
85.32 -> which fundamentally is better.
87.81 -> There's no getting around it.
88.77 -> Particularly in this automotive landscape,
91.13 -> it is more efficient.
93.48 -> It's an easy way of producing power.
96.03 -> However, because of
the increasing ubiquity
99.72 -> of the turbocharger,
101.37 -> there's a danger that
the overall narrative
104.55 -> becomes well, somewhat negative
107.82 -> towards naturally aspirated engines.
111.33 -> And I don't think that's fair.
113.862 -> (engine roaring)
115.279 -> (dramatic music)
117.87 -> So with the help of the new 212,000 pound
121.14 -> or $239,000 Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica
125.61 -> and its 5.2 liter V 10, I think it's time,
129.12 -> we had a bit of a reminder
130.77 -> of just why a good NA is still the OG.
135.884 -> (engine roaring)
137.64 -> I think it all starts with the names,
140.58 -> because natural aspiration,
naturally aspirated,
144.72 -> natural, pure, aspiration.
146.79 -> Speaking of higher things, it
sounds heavenly, doesn't it?
152.1 -> By contrast, well,
155.287 -> "forced induction",
157.32 -> that sounds like the sort
of automotive equivalent
160.65 -> of feeding for foie gras, doesn't it?
165.24 -> Perhaps that's just me and my predilection
167.55 -> for reading too much into words.
169.92 -> What isn't just me though is sound.
173.189 -> (engine revving)
179.94 -> Sound is good or at least can be good.
182.28 -> It's why we listen to music
and you can think of an engine
186.45 -> as a musical instrument or
rather three musical instruments.
191.79 -> The first one, induction,
194.13 -> air being forced through small pipes.
197.61 -> It's a wind instrument.
199.949 -> (engine humming)
202.47 -> Then after that, well you've
got the percussion section
205.65 -> the valve drain.
207.747 -> (engine revving)
212.52 -> And finally we have our
second wind instrument,
216.54 -> which is the exhaust.
217.83 -> Again, air being forced through tubes.
221.13 -> (engine revving)
226.86 -> It can all add up to something wonderful.
232.23 -> Tell me, that's not music.
234.658 -> (engine roaring)
237.57 -> The trouble is that turbocharging,
240.51 -> well, it muffles two of those instruments.
243.57 -> The two wind instruments are kind of,
245.363 -> they're just taken away from you
248.25 -> because of the barriers
that are put in the way
251.13 -> of the air going through those tubes
253.89 -> and that's a shame.
255.689 -> (car roaring)
257.07 -> It is worth pointing out that
this is particularly true
260.01 -> of modern turbocharged engines
262.05 -> that have even more to contend
with in terms of restriction.
265.05 -> You still obviously get notes,
266.61 -> but they tend to be more sinusoidal,
269.311 -> more singular in their tones
271.95 -> because instead of getting all
the pulses from each cylinder
275.91 -> through the exhaust, for example,
277.83 -> you get, well really just one
279.96 -> because that's being fed
out of the turbocharger,
284.46 -> the fluttering of wastegates
or the blow-off valve.
288.782 -> (whistles)
291.87 -> I rather like it, but it's no match for
294.68 -> (revs engine)
296.55 -> a proper naturally aspirated voice.
300.147 -> (car roars by)
303.45 -> Those two wind instruments
of induction and exhaust
306.93 -> are just,
308.925 -> they're magical.
310.29 -> And there's something else
311.82 -> that naturally aspirated engines have,
314.46 -> the real spine tingling top end.
318.714 -> (engine revving)
326.681 -> (car sputters)
328.44 -> You see, to get more power,
330.27 -> NA engines need more displacement,
or more revs, or both.
334.53 -> By contrast, in modern
turbocharged engines
336.96 -> we tend to see downsizing
of both cylinders
339.9 -> and displacement and they
don't really need high revs.
344.07 -> And that can have an exponential effect
346.53 -> on the soundtrack.
347.91 -> We can understand the fundamentals
349.98 -> of an exhaust though by
converting rpm into hertz.
353.52 -> So let's take this V 10 engine
355.71 -> and let's say just to make
the maths nice and easy,
357.6 -> it registers 9,000 rpm,
359.49 -> which is perfectly sort of understandable
361.65 -> for a naturally aspirated engine.
363.72 -> Divide 9,000 by 60 and you get to 150.
368.34 -> Now we need to divide that by 2,
370.02 -> because obviously the
exhaust pulse only comes
371.88 -> sort of once every two
revolutions of the crank
374.04 -> but then we can multiply that
by 10, giving us 750 hertz.
380.55 -> Now let's take perhaps a replacement
383.37 -> for this might be a
turbocharged V6 revving to,
386.67 -> again, let's make the maths
nice and easy, 7,200 rpm.
392.49 -> So that gives us divide by 60, 120.
397.26 -> Again, divide by 2. We get to 60.
399.96 -> This time though we can
only multiply that by 6.
403.02 -> So we get to 360 or
less than half the hertz
407.82 -> of our 9,000 rpm V 10
naturally aspirated engine.
412.65 -> So seemingly relatively
little drop in rpm,
416.79 -> gives us quite a big difference
419.19 -> in terms of exhaust tone.
421.282 -> (car roars by)
423.98 -> Of course,
425.55 -> it's not just that top end
that well is so spine tingling,
430.8 -> so interesting in a
naturally aspirated engine.
434.25 -> Almost wherever you are in the rev range,
439.2 -> you get different tones,
you get things to listen to,
443.25 -> different notes to enjoy,
and that variation is key
447.87 -> to the second real benefit that I see
451.47 -> to naturally aspirated engines
453.72 -> in terms of performance
cars and that's drivability.
460.68 -> Because the soundscape of the
naturally aspirated engine
463.35 -> is so distinctive, you instinctively know
467.79 -> where you are in the revs.
470.61 -> And once you know that engine
you know exactly, therefore,
473.94 -> how it's going to behave,
when you open the throttle.
479.544 -> Car roars by
481.29 -> It just becomes intuitive.
482.91 -> You feel that much more
hardwired between your right foot
488.62 -> and what's coming out of
the engine behind you.
491.67 -> Then there's the delivery
of the performance
494.03 -> (revs engine)
494.863 -> that lovely linear progression
498.24 -> that makes it easy to balance
the car through a corner.
504.723 -> (bright music)
507.177 -> And what the naturally aspirated engine
509.46 -> might lack in outright thump,
512.28 -> it makes up for in response.
515.88 -> It's the sharpness of
the throttle response
517.98 -> that beautiful knife edge of precision
520.29 -> that allows you to really walk a tightrope
522.51 -> with a naturally aspirated car.
524.34 -> You ask for more, it gives liftoff
526.56 -> you get less instant request reaction.
529.62 -> It's electric.
531.51 -> But with more modulation and soul.
535.41 -> You can actually tell how important
537.66 -> response and progression of power are
542.46 -> because of the way that,
544.26 -> well the press releases
for turbo-charged cars
546.66 -> talk about them.
547.56 -> They're always aspiring to be
549.6 -> like naturally aspirated
engines in those regards
555.3 -> and yet they can never quite match them.
559.8 -> Of course, having all these
naturally aspirated benefits
562.17 -> is all well and good,
563.25 -> but it's as frustrating
564.54 -> as a bayonet bulb in a
world of screw and sockets
566.79 -> if the rest of the car
567.72 -> doesn't let you make the most of them.
569.49 -> But the Tecnica definitely
lets you make the most of them.
577.2 -> It's why I think it's
still an important car
580.5 -> because I bet quite a few
of you look at it just as,
584.16 -> well, another Huracan,
another evolution of a car
588.09 -> that well fundamentally came
out 20 years ago, this year
592.14 -> in the form of the Gallardo.
594.15 -> It's like Lamborghini is clinging on.
596.76 -> It might be seen as old
fashioned or another rehash
600.3 -> but actually in the Tecnica,
603.9 -> this magical 5.2 liter V 10
608.13 -> has the package to live up to it.
613.23 -> I've driven pretty much
614.31 -> all of the Gallardos, and
Huracans over the years,
616.53 -> and this is simply the best.
618.9 -> The direct steering ratio combined
620.79 -> with the rear steering means
it feels small and wieldly,
624.03 -> and absurdly drivable and above all, fun.
627.69 -> But with this yowling heart of a monster,
631.05 -> everything comes together.
634.83 -> Yes, arguably the STO is even more pure
639.12 -> as the one I'd love to try and live with,
641.24 -> if I could only have one Huracan.
643.53 -> But then I am the sort of person
644.82 -> that thinks a camping trip
is actually a holiday.
650.22 -> I was worried it might
not work on UK roads
654.09 -> but actually it does.
660.409 -> And you have the breadth
of ability in this.
664.5 -> You can't put it into strata mode.
667.62 -> It becomes quieter.
669.03 -> You don't have to have
the noise all the time
671.94 -> and the ride is perfectly supple.
674.832 -> (car roars by)
677.49 -> The changes might seem relatively minor
679.56 -> but the Tecnica is the all round package.
682.2 -> It's still a little rawer
than some of its competitors,
684.807 -> but to me that just ensures
686.7 -> it retains the drama and fierceness
688.92 -> that a supercar should have,
particularly an Italian one.
692.79 -> Arguably the option of that other piece
694.83 -> of almost extinct
engineering, a manual gearbox,
698.01 -> would make it even better
699.81 -> but it's dual clutch is so good
702.21 -> that I can even forego a third pedal.
704.91 -> It might be coming to the end of its life,
707.13 -> but it's one of the
very best driver's cars
709.44 -> in the world right now.
712.35 -> It would be easy to think
713.28 -> that the naturally aspirated engine
714.63 -> is coming to the end of its life too.
716.46 -> It's been predicted for years,
718.68 -> but I definitely don't want
you to think of this film
721.53 -> as an obituary.
722.94 -> Manufacturers like
Lamborghini, and Porsche
725.22 -> are keeping the faith
726.75 -> and with the advent of
synthetic fuels, who knows?
730.14 -> So, let's stay positive.
733.65 -> Naturally aspirated engines,
long may they continue.
739.659 -> (car roars by)
746.523 -> (ambient music fades)
749.032 -> (pulsing)
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-apDJU0s5Ys
