Well, this was to be it. I just decided to hang up my Exotics Racing driving boots, once and for all. I did also decided that if I’m going out, I’m going out with a bang. I decided that for my last drive, I would step into the car that has haunted me all these years: The Lamborghini. The problem with the Lamborghini, is that several years back, I drove the Gallardo for the first time, and it was the one car that seemed too untamed and too wild for me to properly enjoy. Every time I would step on the gas, the back end would want to step out, and I would get shivers from the image of me spinning the car on the track. Yes, I’m more worried about the image of me not being the high-performance Formula One racer that I imagine myself to be, and less about the actual car damage itself.

And now, on the dawn of my retirement, I say to myself, “What’s the car that I want to drive as my farewell.? What’s the white for me to conquer as I say ‘So long’? It would have to be that damn Lamborghini! Vengeance would be mine! As I was browsing the Exotics Racing website to select the car, I see that they now have the new Lamborghini Huracán Performante! Wait, the Performante!?! The Nürburgring record smashing Performante!?! The Lamborghini that lives up to the true Italian heritage of Lamborghini not just some over-the-top, undrivable exotic supercar? Yes indeedy! They’ve got the Lamborghini of Lamborghinis. I see this on the website and have to drive it. Then I looked at the price and thought maybe not. Then I thought if not now. when? If not me, who? So I clicked yes to the Performante.

Approaching the Performante, this Lamborghini is similar enough to the standard Huracán, (is there such a thing as a STANDARD Lamborghini?) with one impressive 6 foot wingspan exception. Whattawing! Actually, the wing is that it’s not as massive as the racing version. By Lamborghini standards, it’s actually quite sublime. Up close, this is a wing unlike anything I’ve seen. It’s obviously not just some plain fiberglass, but you also don’t see the carbon fiber weaving you’d expect. The wing has a polished mosaic finish to it that looks more fiberglass than Carbon Fiber. This material is newly created and patented by Lamborghini, a Carbon Fiber composite that is as strong, and yet, even lighter than Carbon Fiber. Wow! Somebody else can do the research to find out how it’s actually made.

I look at the interior, and it’s classic Lamborghini. Hi-tech switches start button located under the red safety cover, and a healthy dose of Alcantara lining throughout. Finish this off with Performante wording stitched into the seats and a little design pattern along the doors. At start up, the car sounds classic Lamborghini. The v10 roars to life, spitting out Grappa and Vino. We close the door, which is a normal lateral swing, not a swoop up like the Aventador and we head out to the track. I punch it coming to the first turn, and everything feels nice and solid. I think to myself I must be going slower than I thought. Maybe the car does not have the pickup I anticipated, but no this was more an indication of how smooth the car is. I start dropping the hammer closer and closer to the floor, the car starts picking up speed and I’m expecting the understeer to kick in as I exit turn 1. Nope! I turn the wheel slightly to the right to keep me on track and the car obliges. Well that was nice. Now we shoot down the front straight. I short shift as an anticipated reaction to the instructor telling me to do so, but not JD, he lets me know next time, take it all the way to the 8500 rpm limit. Oh boy, I will remember that next time for sure! We hit the first braking zone cone and the car comes to a stop, and yet again,  I’m some 50 feet are so short of the turn-in point, so I have to release and coast through the turn. Good stopping power. The car turns in hits the peak and I’m back on the gas accelerating down the second straight. The car is handling great. The all-wheel drive feels perfectly balanced. We approach the Carousel, off-camber turns five and six, and the Performante just gobbles it up. Oh my! Houston, this is awesome! The car stays planted and I let the car do its thing.

Truth be told, and as JD was told, I just wanted one lap that I can just drive myself with no instruction and nail that 120 mph at the end of the front straight. On lap 7 or 8, at this point they tend to blur into one another, JD obliges and I take the car around the track with minimal input from the instructor, and now I feel comfortable. I brake late break into turn one and get the perfect setup for the front straight, and at last I’ve reached Nirvana. 122mph! The rest of the lap falls into place, and there you have it: 56.34 seconds! My new lap record. Yes!

Now, a sense of calm flows over me. I feel that, yes, this is the retirement I deserve. The Lamborghini has been tamed and I’ve been validated. Thank you Lamborghini for the proper send off. That is it. No more Exotics Racing. No more super car driving. Goodbye. Arrivederci. I walk away. I stop. I look back. Oh who am I kidding! That Ferrari 458 needs me, and I need it. See you in October 🙂