2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante Gallery

Few cars look so eager to kill you as a Lamborghini, and the Huracan Performante has to come near the top of that murderous list. The Italian automaker's Nurburgring storming, 631 horsepower supercar is the most aggressive of its line, $280,000 of V10 testosterone. If you're not at least a tiny bit apprehensive, it's not doing its job right.

The Performante is as much about science as it is speed, however. Lamborghini's engineers came up with a new carbon fiber technique, shredding the super-strong, lightweight fibers and encasing them in resin. They're calling it forged composites, and it means they can mold complex shapes that hardly tip the scales. With its judicious application on the wing, lower fascia, front lower spoiler, throughout the cabin, and elsewhere, it saves almost ninety pounds from the regular car.

Like that, there's a 5.7 liter V10 engine under a glass cover aft of the cabin. Naturally aspirated, with an 8,500 rpm red line, it's paired with a 7 speed dual-clutch transmission.

The main magic is in the aerodynamics. Rather than a trick adjustable wing, Lamborghini's aero vectoring funnels airflow through electronically-controlled vents behind the engine, up through the spoiler struts, and out its trailing edge. Turn one way and the air rushes out the opposite side, helping stick the Huracan to the asphalt.