Porsche recently slapped down a gauntlet, and Lamborghini has picked it up. Now, some of the world’s fastest road cars are suddenly going off-road.
The V10-powered Lamborghini Huracán is about to challenge dusty old Toyota Land Cruisers and Jeeps for off-road supremacy.
Two Makes a Trend: Supercar Off-Roaders
Last month, Porsche unveiled an impossible monster. The 2023 Porsche 911 Dakar is an off-road-oriented version of one of the world’s fastest cars. With a lifted suspension, a roof rack (with an optional pop-up tent), and a 0-60 mph time of 3.2 seconds (on pavement), the 911 Dakar seemed like a glorious idea and possibly a threat to the laws of physics.
Porsche plans to build just 2,500 worldwide — possibly because that’s all the world can take.
Now, Lamborghini has its own answer.
Raised Suspension, Custom All-Terrain Tires
Lamborghini will build just 1,499 units of the Huracán Sterrato. They’ll use a 610-horsepower version of Lambo’s venerable 5.2-liter V10 engine and a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. All four wheels spin thanks to an electronically controlled all-wheel drive with a rear mechanical self-locking differential.
So far, this sounds like a normal Lamborghini. Then it gets weird.
It sits 1.7 inches higher than a normal Huracán “to ensure greater suspension travel.” Aluminum underbody protection guards against damage from trail debris. Special tires Bridgestone developed just for the Sterrato feature “an innovative pattern design and a cutting edge compound which provide a perfect grip both on gravel and tarmac.”
Weirder still, they’re run-flats. They sit under flared wheel arches. Grille-mounted trail lights won’t make it to the U.S., Lamborghini says. They’re not road-legal here. Roof rails — roof rails on a Lamborghini — allow you to mount supplies on top. There’s no mention of a Porsche-style pop-up tent.
Forget Turn-by-Turn Directions, This Thing Tracks Your Coordinates
Inside, the usual driver’s instrument display (Lamborghini insists on calling it the Human Machine Interface) now includes “a digital inclinometer with pitch and roll indicator, a compass, geographic coordinate indicator, and steering angle indicator.”
A compass and a geographic coordinate indicator — they really intend for you to take this thing well off of mapped roads.
Lamborghini hasn’t mentioned a price, but we’re betting the $222,000 Porsche lists for the Dakar might be slightly lower than the even-more-exclusive Sterrato.
We don’t care about the price. We care about the 4-day desert race we’re looking to plan to settle the fight between these two. Lamborghini and Porsche — get in touch. You know the world needs this answer.
