'PLAY IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF RESEARCH,' said Albert Einstein (always good for a quote, that man). This car was born through play.
Back in 2017, when Lamborghini was putting the finishing touches to the Urus SUV, its senior engineers were charging around the Strada Bianca dirt track at the Nardo development ground in southern Italy. While testing the Urus, we were in love with the driving on this course,' grins Lamborghini's likeably enthusiastic chief technical officer, Rouven Mohr. 'We thought: "Wouldn't it be amazing to drive on this course in our super sports cars?"""
Head of design Mitja Borkert takes up the story. 'We were so excited by the idea, I called my guys and said: "We need to start sketching." We made a third-scale design model, Rouven liked it a lot and I said to him: "Why don't we build a demonstrator?" He said: "Yeah! We have an old Huracán durability development car-free." So I set about designing the cladding and so on...'
Everybody in Lamborghini's inner circle who drove the demonstrator was captivated by it; even those initially sceptical about whether or not there might be a market for such a car. When Stephan Winkelmann returned to Lamborghini as CEO in 2020, during an epic design meeting in which both the Revuelto hybrid and modern-day Countach were approved, a production version got the green light. When we showed him the Sterrato,' Borkert recalls, he said: "That's what we need to do. We should always be different."
This story is from the July 2023 edition of Evo UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 2023 edition of Evo UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
BMW M135 xDrive
The M135 has lost an and gained chassis revisions and a restyle. Is it enough to make it a benchmark hot hatch?
Audi S5
S5 by name, S4 by nature, is Audi's new mid-size petrol-powered saloon a step in the right direction?
Lamborghini Urus SE
Lambo's super-SUV gets a major mid-life overhaul, going hybrid in the process. Has it become any easier to like?
HALL evo OF FAME
The evo Hall of Fame was established to recognise the great and the good of our corner of the universe. Prepare to welcome this year's inductees
CIRCUIT DAY
After three days of assessing their behaviour on the road, it's time to head to the Circuito de Navarra to find out how our nine contenders respond when their handling limits are explored
EVO CAR OF THE YEAR 2024
Nine brilliant cars, from flyweight roadsters to bombastic supercars to a be-stickered estate(!), do battle on some of Europe's finest and most spectacular roads. Which will emerge victorious? Place your bets now.
Porsche Panamera GTS
It lacks the raw power of its hybrid rivals, but does the new GTS’s more traditional approach give it its USP?
Alpine A290 GTS
The new electric Renault 5 has won plenty of plaudits. Is the hotter Alpine version a car to win petrolheads' hearts too?
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop
