Lamborghinis are like ordinary black cabs in London, hippies in LA or millionaires in Monaco, they are a status symbol for success, wealth and decadence. A middle finger was normal or boring, dammit, even Batman drove an LP640 and had two bikini-clad models in the passenger seat.
Being at home in cities, circuits and generally dry tarmac, I was surprised when I was invited to drive a couple of Lamborghinis around Denmark and Sweden. Such an invitation to Sweden or Norway is not uncommon at this time of year, but is much further north than Copenhagen for some fun on a frozen lake. This was a very different Nordic experience with Lamborghini, giving me the opportunity to pilot Technical, STOs and URUS Performantes on Pirelli Sottozero winter tires on a road trip that started and ended in Copenhagen over 263km of very cold tarmac and even a ferry.
Given the conditions, the traffic and the convoy that included a dozen or so Lamborghinis, there weren’t many opportunities to really test the limits of the handling or even the dynamics of the cars at full throttle, but this was a rare opportunity to see what it would be like to own a Lamborghini, enjoy it through cities and even as a winter driver. How many people do you think (aside from @PowerslideLover) throw their Huracan STOs on the ice a lot? With all due respect to the rear-wheel drive, 565Nm and 631hp supercar, it performed surprisingly well in snow and ice, having learned that anything but the slightest throttle input would cause the rear to spin.
Life was much more civilized, comfortable and isolated in the URUS Performante, with its tech, massage seats, four-wheel drive and a trunk for my suitcase, which wasn’t present in the STO. In such slippery environments, the URUS offers surprising confidence given the explosive power lurking under my right foot. With 657 hp (up 16 over the standard car) and 627 lb ft, the Performante accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.3 seconds. Don’t forget that the Perf weighs in at a staggering 2,150kg even with its new carbon fiber bumper and optional carbon fiber hood.
The STO and URUS are prime examples of Lamborghini’s ability to define an identity of cars that are exciting, emotional and blazingly fast, in two segments and shapes that couldn’t be more different. These are probably the last examples of Lamborghinis we’ll see without any form of electrification in their powertrains, and these are cars that should be celebrated while they’re still in production. Even driving these cars at everyday speeds on busy commuter roads is an opportunity, I’m not sure that can be said for much longer.
