Is Lamborghini going to turn its Huracan into an off-roader?

Lamborghini already has an SUV – the £160,000 Urus. But it could soon add to its off-road line-up with the Italian marque teasing new footage of its Huracan Sterrato – a supercar designed to be driven away from the tarmac.

A version of its Huracan model with a lofted ride height, off-road tyres and rock-deflecting panels was first revealed back in 2019, but the brand has now shown a selection of images and a video of a pre-production model being put through its paces.

The brand has remained tight-lipped about when we might see it appear in showrooms. When we do, it could be the perfect supercar for Britain’s pothole-riddled roads.

Sterrato, translated from Italian, means ‘dirt road’. And as you can see, it’s a fitting nameplate for this particular supercar. 

Very little information has been released by Lamborghini about the model, other than a tag line of ‘Beyond the Concrete’.

The camouflage skin on the car has ‘brave’, ‘authentic’ and ‘unexpected’ dotted over the bodywork – certainly words that describe the company’s decision to make a production version.

The video shows the Huracan Sterrato being driven on a winding B-road before dramatically skidding off the tarmac onto a gravel track.

It then races against a downhill mountain bike rider across loose terrain on a cross-country sprint to a gated rustic property.

The soundtrack of the clip confirms that it is powered by a V10 engine, which will be the same 5.2-litre unit used in the conventional Huracan and is also the motor propelling the Urus ‘super SUV’ (read our test drive of that car here).

Reports suggest the engine will be the same configuration used for the latest Huracan EVO, meaning around 640bhp delivered via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox that will result in a 0-to-62mph acceleration time in the region of 3.3 seconds.

Power will be sent to all four wheels for optimum grip, and all four wheels will also steer so the supercar can turn aggressively no matter what surface is beneath the specially-created chunky off-road tyres.

Modified suspension means it has ample ground clearance and should even cope with small jumps – though we’re not sure if we’d feel comfortable launching through the air any car with a six-figure price tag. 

Unlike the 2019 concept, this one has no roof-mounted light bar, though it does retain the additional illumination provided by a pair of LED lights mounted to its nose. 

Roof bars that could be used to transport off-road gear, canoes, bike racks or a roof box also remain in the latest example previewed.

In terms of styling, it certainly ticks the Lamborghini supercar boxes with plenty of drama, sharp edges and bulging body parts.

This includes a set of composite bodywork around the engine bay, side skirts, air intakes and huge wheel arches – these are made from carbon fibre and elastomeric resin designed to deflect stones. 

It also gets additional underbody reinforcement to protect its belly from scrapes and loose rocks as well as a rear skid plate that doubles as a diffuser.

The fast-paced footage appears to show an interior roll cage and we expect there to be four-point seatbelts and body-hugging seats to keep occupants securely in place no matter how much they’re bouncing around.

The supercar-maker has previously said the idea behind a vehicle of this type is inspired by the Jarama and Urraco models of the 1970s, with an example of each converted into high-performance desert racers that competed in the rallies under their respective names in 1973 and 1974.

When speaking about the original Sterrato concept in 2019, Maurizio Reggiani, Lamborghini’s chief technical officer, said: ‘The Huracan Sterrato illustrates Lamborghini’s commitment to being a future shaper: a super sports car with off-road capabilities, the Sterrato demonstrates the Huracan’s versatility and opens the door to yet another benchmark of driving emotion and performance.

‘Lamborghini’s R&D and design teams are constantly exploring new opportunities and delivering the unexpected as a core characteristic of our DNA, challenging possibilities while inspired by Lamborghini brand heritage.’ 

Taking a sports car and converting it for off-road use might sound a little alien, but it is something Porsche has previously experimented with when creating rallying and rally-cross 911s – and recently toyed with the idea of developing a ‘Safari’ version of its flagship model.