Lamborghini India head Sharad Agarwal is upbeat. He says the supercar maker is likely to hit pre-Covid level of sales this year in India as global sales for the first six months of 2021 were at their highest ever worldwide. Leading the charge, of course, is the Urus SUV, accounting for about half the total numbers, but more traditional supercars are doing well too.

The company just launched the Huracan STO model in India at an eye-watering Rs 4.99 crore base price before levies and taxes. It’s powered by a 5.2-litre V10 engine. Here are some numbers: Power of 640hp, torque of 565Nm, 0-100kmph in three seconds, 0-200kmph in nine seconds. Agarwal took some time to give The Telegraph the low-down on the car.

Sharad Agarwal

What are the things that make the Huracan STO different?

This car has been designed with the singular purpose of bringing the emotions and the experience to our customers like a genuine racing car. If you look at the name of the car, STO, it stands for Super Trofeo Omologato, which in Italian means a racing car that has been homologated for street legal use. And on this Huracan STO we have used all our experience and expertise from our racing car EVO GT3 and the Super Trofeo car.

Can you tell us about the features?

If you look at the front of this car, you see this ‘cofango’ (the bonnet and fender combined single unit) that is derived from the Miura and with it we are not only able to bring the lightweight solution but also this is an easy access feature in motorsport. On this you can see that we have air ducts with which we are able to increase the downforce and improve the cooling. Then we also have an aerodynamic solution in the front splitter, which helps us reduce drag and increase downforce. On the side wheel arches we have louvres which help release the pressure under the wheel so that the car can have better downforce.

In the rear of the car, we have the shark fin, which helps us to optimise the aerodynamic balance. The air scoop on top keeps the temperature of the rear underbody cool and then we have this three-step, manually-adjustable rear wing which helps the driver to optimise the aerobalance as per race and track conditions.

There are a lot of lightweight solutions in the car. Like 75 per cent of the exteriors of the Huracan STO is made with carbon fibre and we have also used a technology called ‘sandwich’ that is used in aerospace engineering. With this we are able to reduce the usage of carbon fibre by 25 per cent. Also, the windscreen of this car is 20 per cent lighter than that of the Huracan Performante. In the wheels we have used lighter magnesium alloys, giving more weight reduction for performance.

And the tyres?

Yes. As you know, the important aspect of any car to deliver the right performance is to have the right tyres. So we have designed new tyres for this Huracan STO to give the best lap timings, for road use as well as track use. These have been developed by Bridgestone with us.

The rear is quite happening too.

In the rear there is the feel and experience of a racecar. The new exhausts on the STO have been designed to give the sound notes of a genuine racing car. The rear diffuser along with the rear wing manages the rear downforce on the car and brings an optimal level of drag as well. Also, this car is much wider than the Huracan EVO. And the sound notes give the feel of an EVO GT3.

(Clockwise from top) aerodynamic aids, like the rear wing and less obvious ones, that keep the car stable at speed; the interior is race car-like and uses lightweight materials; the shark fin stands out at the rear, and the driving mode selector is on the steering wheel

What have you done for weight saving on the inside?

When you are inside you’ll feel like you’re in an EVO GT3. So there are sports seats, four-point seat belts, floor mats in carbon fibre, the door panels, too, are in carbon fibre, the door opener strap is also a lightweight solution like what you see in a racing car. The interiors are upholstered in alcantara, which saves weight. Also, the seat adjusters are mechanical and not electrically operated to save weight. When you are inside we want to give you the feel that you are actually in the EVO GT3 — a genuine race car experience.

And you seem to have different driving modes as well....

Yes, on the Huracan STO another interesting thing is that you have three new driving modes which are different from what you see on our sportscars. The first mode is STO, which is for your day-to-day city driving conditions and the fun-to-drive mode. Then you have the Trofeo mode. In this mode the setup is created to give you the best experience on the racetrack, to give you the best lap timings. The third mode is the Pioggia mode, where the setup is created to give you the best stability under wet driving and wet racing conditions. So those are the setups it creates so that you can enjoy the car in all situations.

I believe it steers differently too....

On this car we have the rear-wheel steering. So, based on the need, the rear wheels also steer with the front wheels. When you are cornering the car on the track at slower speeds, the rear wheels move in the opposite direction to the front wheels, thus the wheel arc is reduced and it makes the car more agile and gives you faster corner exits. But if you are cornering at high speed, the rear wheel will move in the same direction as the front, so that the car is more stable and you get a faster exit. So that’s the technology that the Huracan STO uses. There is also torque vectoring, which maximises performance (grip). Then we have Magnaride, which helps adjust the dampening of the shock absorbers to the road conditions. This car also has the lifting system, the standard ground clearance is 135mm and you can raise the car up to 175mm.