Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato 2023 Review

Pricing for the 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato starts at $503,949 (excluding on-road costs and personalisation) and is available for order now ahead of first deliveries landing Down Under early next year.

This puts the Sterrato well north of its Huracan Tecnica sibling, which starts at $440,900 plus on-road costs, but below the Huracan STO flagship that opens at $596,000 plus ORCs.

The Huracan Sterrato has arguably only one direct rival – the incoming Porsche 911 Dakar, which is priced at $491,400 plus ORCs and is due to land here in the second half of this year.

Apart from its revamped chassis set-up, the 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato is easily distinguishable from its siblings as its bespoke fog lights, plastic wheel-arch flares and roof racks immediately identify it as a markedly different offering.

The differences continue inside as Alcantara Verde Sterrato upholstery is a default trim offering (but of course there are other choices), while the HMI interface has new graphics and special features that are specific to the Sterrato.

Among these is a digital inclinometer that shows pitch and roll, and there’s also a compass, geographic co-ordinate indicator and steering angle display.

There’s also a connected telemetry system that allows drivers to monitor their performance data via the UNICA app, while the Lamborghini Drive Recorder allows the driver to record video footage of their stint behind the wheel.

The Sterrato comes with its own unique colour palette, but buyers can choose from 350 exterior colours and over 60 hues for the leather and Alcantara interior via the Ad Personam program.

There’s also the option of ticking the box for custom Sterrato livery that adds further visual differentiation from other Huracan models.

As per its siblings, the 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato is equipped with front, side and knee airbags, plus the usual electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and autonomous emergency braking (AEB).

No NCAP crash test ratings are available for any variant of the Huracan.

Transforming a car originally conceived to excel on racetracks and winding bitumen roads into a dirt-track hero required a wholesale re-engineering job, with the first step being to add to the donor car’s limited ground clearance and suspension travel.

This was achieved via a bespoke set of springs and dampers all-round, along with unique anti-roll bars and reinforced suspension arms with revised geometry. The result is an extra 44mm of ground clearance, which means the car sits 171mm off the deck – more or less on par with an average compact crossover.

Apart from added ground clearance, the 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato also has more wheel travel than other Huracans, enabling it to soak up much of the pounding when blasting across gravel roads.

In addition, front and rear wheel tracks have been pushed out by 30mm and 34mm respectively, giving the Sterrato are broader footprint on the road. The wider stance is made all the more evident by plastic wheel-arch flares that protect the fenders from light-duty impacts with bushes and low-hanging branches.

Lamborghini worked with Bridgestone to develop a special set of Dueler All-Terrain 002 tyres measuring 235/40R19 at the front and 285/40R19 at the rear for the Sterrato.

All-terrain tyres aren’t normally designed to provide high levels of cornering grip on tarmac, so Bridgestone had to develop a fresh rubber compound, as well as rethink the design of the tread pattern and sidewall to fulfil the unique brief required for the Sterrato. Their hard work seems to have paid off (more on this later).

Early in the Sterrato’s testing and development phase, a few radiators and front differentials were destroyed as Lambo’s pro drivers flogged the prototypes across rough terrain. The remedy was to add aluminium underbody protection at the front, which shielded the radiator and front differential, yet without adding too much weight.

That said, the underbody protection is not intended absorb heavy impacts, as Lamborghini CTO Rouven Mohr says that would have required a steel bash plate, which would have added 55kg to the car’s weight.

As it is, Lamborghini quotes a dry weight of 1470kg for the beefed-up Sterrato, which is 91kg more than the Huracan Tecnica.

Another lesson learnt from early prototype forays on loose surfaces was that the V10 didn’t enjoy ingesting dust and gravel when drivers raised plumes while drifting the car around. The solution was to incorporate a roof snorkel, which is positioned in a channel of clean air, ensuring the 5.2-litre engine doesn’t gulp down a mouthful of dirt.

A couple of the Sterrato’s other unique elements also presented technical challenges as the rally-inspired auxiliary lights have to meet US pedestrian impact requirements.

In addition, strengthening had to be added to the Huracan’s structure to support the roof bars, which are rated to a modest 30kg. This was due to the fact the Huracan was never designed to carry loads on its roof.

The Sterrato dispenses with the rear-wheel steering that the Tecnica and STO are equipped with (it was deemed unnecessary on dirt tracks), but it instead gets a Rally Mode that’s similar in principle to the system used in the Urus Performante.

Rather than disengaging drive to the front differential, Rally Mode loosens up the electronic safety net, enabling tail-out antics on dirt surfaces.

You’re not completely left on your own though, as the system has been calibrated to intervene if sensors indicate a spin is imminent.

The V10 in the 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato is in a slightly lower state of tune than in the STO and Tecnica, pushing out 449kW rather than the 471kW that its siblings have at their disposal.

This is partly due to the Sterrato’s revised induction system that’s fed by the roof snorkel.

Nevertheless, acceleration remains undiminished, with the Sterrato dispatching 0-100km/h in 3.4sec and sprinting from 0-200km/h in 9.8sec.

The Sterrato’s all-terrain tyres and jacked-up height means v-max is electronically limited to 260km/h, but a higher top speed is in any case academic anywhere other than derestricted autobahns and racetracks with especially long straights.

As per its Huracan siblings, the Sterrato comes standard with carbon-ceramic brakes comprising ventilated rotors measuring 380x38mm and 356x32mm front/rear, gripped by six-piston front and four-piston rear callipers.

As a result, the Sterrato wipes off speed just as ferociously as it piles it on, coming to a standstill from 100km/h in just 39m.

No fuel consumption figures are as yet available for the 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, but it’s quite likely to be slightly thirstier than the Tecnica as it weighs more and is less slippery through the air.

The Tecnica consumes 14.5L/100km based on Europe’s WLTP combined-cycle standard, which is equivalent to 328g/km of CO2.

The 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato may not be the fastest variant of the V10 supercar, but we’d argue it’s the most entertaining.

The combination of all-terrain tyres, a 44mm higher ride height and softer suspension set-up means it pitches and rolls slightly more than the Tecnica, and certainly when compared to the hard-core STO.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. Yes, the Sterrato isn’t going to set lap records at the Nordschleife, but that’s in any case not particularly relevant in terms of day-to-day driving.

Setting off on our road loop through the largely barren landscape of southern California, it soon becomes clear the Sterrato is kinder to your spine than other Huracans. Added suspension travel plus taller tyres certainly helps here.

Eventually the opportunity presents itself to push on through a few corners, and the Sterrato responds with greater crispness than I had imagined.

I figured the all-terrain tyres would dull steering response and introduce a slight delay between making a steering input and the car actually turning. This isn’t noticeably the case though, which indicates that the work Bridgestone has done to make an A/T tyre feel more like a tarmac-focused performance tyre has paid off.

Yes, ultimately the car slides earlier than the STO and Tecnica, but whereas that might lead you to conclude this would dampen fun levels, the opposite is the case.

The key point to note is that breakaway is much more progressive in the Sterrato than its siblings, which makes its dynamic envelope much more accessible to drivers of all levels.

With an STO, the limits are stratospherically high, and when the rear-end breaks away it does so with far less warning, which means most pilots will only scratch the surface of its capabilities.

But the real fun in the Huracan Sterrato begins when you engage Rally mode and cut loose on gravel.

The Lamborghini events team had set up a rallycross stage at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway that showcased the car’s prowess on both tarmac and dirt, and this was a masterstroke.

You can probably glean from our onboard video above that the Sterrato loves to slide – Rally mode gives you plenty of scope to do this – but it’s so easily reined in that you never feel in danger of spearing off into the weeds.

Cleverly, the LDVI electronic brain that controls the chassis has been programmed to help you get the car rotated through tight corners and slingshot out of them. It does this partly by configuring a more rear-biased AWD system in Rally mode, but that’s only the start.

Other measures include braking the inside front wheel on corner entry to help you initiate the turn, and then as you get on the gas in mid-corner, more torque is sent to the outside rear wheel so you can use the throttle to steer the car.

As soon as you begin to wind off steering lock, added torque is directed to the front wheels, so all four tyres can hook up and launch you down the next straight.

It all adds up to a laugh-out-loud experience, which makes you realise this seemingly far-fetched Huracan variant was actually a rather good idea.

As described above, the 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato is certainly up to the challenge of blasting across dirt roads and hard-packed sand.

But in case you have any illusions of conquering sand dunes or ploughing through sticky mud, you can lay those to rest as that’s not what the car was conceived for.

The 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato isn’t dramatically different to its siblings inside, apart from the bespoke trim options and HDMI interface that’s unique to this model.

Other than that, the look and feel will be familiar to anyone who’s spent time in a recent Huracan.

One thing to note is that plumbing for the roof snorkel completely obscures the view out the back window, so rearward visibility in the Sterrato is particularly poor.

There’s also the other Huracan limitation of insufficient oddments space and cubby holes in the cabin, which means there’s nowhere to even keep a 500ml bottle of water.

It’s quite likely the all-new Huracan replacement that’s due to surface next year will address these issues.

Prior to driving the 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, we figured it may turn out to be a cynical marketing ploy, with more image than substance.

However, having put it through the wringer on tarmac and gravel, our conclusion is that it’s the most entertaining and sensible (as unlikely as that seems) model in the Huracan line-up.

We’ve already covered the Huracan Sterrato’s huge fun factor, but the added usability stemming from its compliant ride and ability to sail over speed humps, potholes etc is the icing on the cake.

2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato at a glance:
Price: $503,949 (plus on-road costs and personalisation)
Available: Early 2024
Powertrain: 5.2-litre V10
Outputs: 449kW/560Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: To be confirmed
CO2 emissions: To be confirmed
Safety rating: Not tested