LOS ANGELES -- With a starting price of $184,895,the Lamborghini Gallardo was the entry-level exotic sports car for numerous rappers, pro athletes and rich executives.
After a 10-year run and more than 14,000 sales, the Gallardo is being put out to pasture, and a faster, more nimble replacement, the Huracan, will arrive in the spring.
The Huracan coupe will be unveiled at the Geneva auto show in March. Lamborghini issued some photographs and details this week.
The Huracan -- which, like all Lamborghini cars, takes its name from a famous fighting bull -- was “developed from scratch, down to the very last detail,” the automaker said in a press release.
The Huracan’s 610-hp, 5.2-liter V-10 is teamed with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and will propel the car from 0 to 62 mph in 3.2 seconds, and 0 to 124 in 9.9 seconds. The car has a top speed of 201.
Like the flagship Aventador, the powertrain and chassis can be set in three different performance modes. In the European Union driving cycle, the Huracan gets 19 mpg and complies with the EU6 emissions regulations that take effect in 2014.
The V-10 engine has direct injection, which delivers more horsepower and torque with better fuel economy than the Gallardo engine.
Lamborghini engineers are increasingly using carbon fiber in the vehicle’s structure. In the case of the Huracan, the chassis integrates carbon fiber and aluminum.
The design of the Huracan is evolutionary from the Gallardo. It is not as extreme a look as the Aventador flagship, but the Huracan is instantly recognizable as a Lamborghini. Inside, a 12.3-inch color instrument panel can be customized to the driver’s whim.
The car’s namesake, a fighting bull, fought in Alicante, Spain, in 1879, earning a reputation for courage and defiance, the automaker said.
To promote the Huracan, Lamborghini will conduct more than 130 private previews in more than 60 cities worldwide starting in January. With the global economy recovering, and the Lamborghini dealership network expanding into China, Brazil, Russia and India, executives believe the Huracan can post higher sales than the Gallardo.
First deliveries of the Huracan begin in spring 2014. Prices have not been announced.
