Breaking Limits On The Lamborghini’s Overpowered V10s
So what is the recipe for achieving this goal? You can try a twin-turbocharged setup, use exotic fuels and performance additives, and of course, don’t forget to tweak that ECU. Before you go to start imaging that firey output and ear-numbing exhaust notes, we should remind you that Lamborghini’s V10 and V12 engines are everything but affordable.
Just a single engine cost can get you a couple of perfectly well-family cars. That being said, these engines are more capable than you think. They can perform more than their objective of powering a street-legal Lamborghini. That is why, several tuning shops exist that will transform your regular Lamborghini into a car that is more like a sonic jet on wheels that can even shame the Bugatti Chiron’s engine output.
Wonders of Lamborghini
337 SPEED explains why the Gallardo and Huracan models suffered from “Supra Syndrome”. If you remember Mark IV Supra, after its release, its reception was not as good as one would expect. A few other cars like the Nissan 300ZX and Mazda FD RX-7 bested the Supra either in looks or performance. However, after Supra started getting modified with giant turbos that gave over 800 horsepower output, its cult following dramatically increased.
Similar was the case with these two V10 Lamborghini models. They were considered inferior to the Murcielago and the Aventador with V12s. However, with the right turbochargers, tuning, and other mods, the Lamborghini Gallardo and Lamborghini Huracán are supreme rulers of the track. Let’s dig deep into how powerful and otherworldly these engines are.
A short look at History
For $110 million USD, Audi bought Lamborghini in 1998. It also inherited an excellent team of engineers which was affected by mismanagement. Although, it did include people like Maurizio Reggiani. He is the same person who was involved in the making of the Bugatti EB110 Quad-Turbo and is now serving as the Vice President of Lamborghini Motorsport.
Lamborghini Calà and the birth of Gallardo
The Lamborghini Cala was a concept car and aspiring mini Diablo that never made it to the production stage. It remained a prototype but gave the foundation for the Gallardo. The Cala came with a 4.0L V10 engine which was connected to a 6-speed manual transmission. This setup made 493 horsepower at 7500 rpm and 376 lb-ft of torque at 4500 rpm. That being said, the Lambo Gallardo was more powerful because of the bigger 5.0L V10 engine which was later bored more to become 5.2L V10 in the second generation.
The first generation V10 was made using Audi cast aluminum block with under square bore (82.5 mm)and stroke (92.8 mm) configuration. The engine had even fired because of the special crankshaft with an 18-degree offset crank pin. The second generation V10 had an odd firing. However, both V10s had different sound profiles.
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Sales, a new experiment, and Heffner Performance’s breakthrough
The Gallardo was a monumental success. Just in the first year of introduction, its sales were double that of the Lamborghini Murciélago which was the flagship model with V12.
Of course, the popularity of Gallardo and its performance on the track made some people itch to make it more ferocious. One of the early experiments with twin-turbochargers was started by Heffner Performance, a shop or outlet from Florida that currently provides twin turbo systems for various cars from Ford GT to Audi R8.
The Jason Heffner and The Heffner Performance Team had already made a name for themselves by supercharging Lamborghini Diablos and Vipers models.
In 2005, Heffner Performance came out with a twin-turbo 700 system for the Gallardo. The setup included a twin-turbo ball-bearing water-cooled arrangement with a compression ratio of 9.0:1 and an output of 700 bhp. Now the Gallardo was covering a quarter mile distance in 11.4 seconds instead of 10.4–5 seconds with the factory engine specs.
The first year 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo was priced at $165,900. Meanwhile, Heffner from Florida was charging $55,000 for this performance upgrade package. Over the year, Heffner Performance developed packages that would shoot up output up to 2,000 horsepower. These packages equipped the Gallardo with sleeve engine blocks, MoTeC air-to-water intercooler, and more. C16 racing fuel was used with these new packages.
Finally, Jason Heffner achieved something unbelievable. He managed to accelerate the Gallardo fast enough for it to travel a quarter-mile distance in just 8 seconds.
New nomenclature, engine updates, and UGR
The LP-560 naming was started in 2008 for Gallardo and its engine was revised for the Second generation of Gallardo. A new 5.2L V10 with uneven firing. This V10 had a bigger bore spacing and larger bore diameter than the previous engine. Crank pins were not offset this time which resulted in odd firing order. A new direct injection system was also introduced which raised the compression.
The second-generation Gallardo’s V10 was more potent and robust which again gave companies like UGR (Underground Racing) from Charlotte, NC to push the Gallardo Lp-models to their limits. Like the Heffner Performance, UGR also offered twin-turbo packages. UGR’s twin-turbo 2R packages included two big Billet Turbochargers. Of course, the upgrades and other mods were not limited to these.
From K&N air filters to CP Spiral locks and carbon clutch, there was a lot more which came with these packages. However, you would need to spend as much as the base price of the Gallardo to get these limit-breaking packages. Although, despite the high cost, one could at least break the world record with UGR’s upgrades.
One thing to remember while we are giving credit to the engine is that the all-wheel drive played a huge role in rolling those wheels. With the standard AWD system, formidable V10, title of street racing king, and a highly successful Lamborghini with huge sales, the Gallardo was finally retired after a decade of production run.
Enters Lamborghini Huracán
In 2014, the Lamborghini Huracán LP 610–4 made its debut for the 2015 model year. This new Lamborghini was more technologically advanced than its predecessor. It came with electric power steering, a torque vectoring system, and more. The Huracan was receiving power juice from a mid-engine 5.2L V10 which was coupled to a Lamborghini Doppia Frizone (LDF) a.k.a 7-speed automated manual transmission. This engine had a compression ratio of 12.7:1 and a dual-fuel injection system.
The Huracan’s engine was indeed based on the Gallardo’s engine. Hence, its development and refinement happened at a faster pace. It allowed AMS Performance, a Racing car parts store in Batavia, Illinois to flirt with the Huracan’s powertrain. Their Lamborghini Huracan Alpha 12 Twin Turbo Package used the block engine with a bolt-on turbo kit that made brought a better fit and finish than the factory model.
MoTec control and flex-fuel integration, AMS could increase Huracan’s output up to 1,200 horsepower. Not enough for you. No need to sweat. AMS Performance has packages like the Alpha Omega Huracan as well which pushes the engine to produce up to 3,000 horsepower which keeps quarter mile distance timing around 7 seconds.
All being said, the V10s in the Gallardo and the Huracon should not be looked down upon just because they are smaller and less powerful than the V12s in the Murciélago. Yes, the Lamborghini Murcielago was bestowed with high-performance specs when it came out of the factory.
However, we have already seen there are enough individuals who can transform the Gallardo and the Huraco with proper tuning. End results? A much faster and more aggressive performance car that would not bow to Murciélago in any circumstances.
Source: 337 SPEED
