Lambo 'drift car' unveiled

It's not only Ford that's launching cars with drift mode. Unveiled in Melbourne this morning, Lamborghini's latest Huracan variant, the rear-drive Huracan LP580-2 is arguably the first Italian supercar deliberately tuned to go sideways.

The lighter two-wheel drive Huracan variant features a Sport setting in its ANIMA drive mode system that the Sant'Agata company says delivers "fun to drive" characteristics and a "tendency towards oversteer".

When motoring.com.au drove the 580-2 in Qatar earlier this year, tester Mike Duff stated: "All you need to do is to keep the steering pointing in the right direction and a sufficiently generous dose of throttle applied and the car holds the sort of angle that would make Ken Block's Italian cousin proud, for as long as you want."

There's less power and torque in the 580-2 compared to its AWD counterpart but 426kW and 540Nm (down 22kW and 20Nm) is nothing to be sneezed at. Balancing the power chop is a 33kg drop in weight and a hefty near $50K reduction in price. The LP 580-2 is priced at $378,900 – $49,100 less than its LP 610-4 counterpart.

Lamborghini's regional boss Eginardo Bertoli told motoring.com.au the LP 580-2 is aimed at younger buyers but also "at the same time very sophisticated customers and drivers".

Bertoli admitted the Huracan is not a wild rear-drive Lamborghini in the mold of the Balboni 550-2 Gallardo. But he believes it will be more widely accepted.

He said that rather than upset Lamborghini enthusiasts, the drift-friendly technology "is modern technology that very much fits with Lamborghini's technic".

"The LP 580-2 is very easy to drive day-to-day but on the circuit it is traditionalist. It [the technology] will not disappoint purists," he told motoring.com.au.

Bertoli says he expects as many as 50 per cent of local Huracan buyers to opt for the 580-2 and that the car will help grow Lamborghini volume Down Under.

"I think we should surpass more than 100 sales in Australia this year. Around 80 per cent of those will be Huracan and many new people to the brand will buy the LP 580-2," he stated.

The LP 580-2's top speed is only 5km/h shy of its faster sibling's 325km/h and 0-100km/h sprint is only a touch slower than its AWD counterpart at 3.4sec.

The rear-drive car features unique front and rear styling, a bespoke steering system which promises better feel and also firmer anti-roll bars and stiffer springs to sharpen cornering response.

Instead of carbon-ceramic braking, the LP 580-2 gets steel discs. In itself this could account for a substantial proportion of the price discount between AWD and RWD models.