Flat-out in a Huracan on Abu Dhabi Runway
Not often you get to floor a Lamborghini on a live runway!
By Shahzad Sheikh
Every now and then you get to do something a little crazy, a bit Die Hard Hollywood, in this line of work. Like driving a Lamborghini Huracan. Flat-out. On a runway. A LIVE runway. In Abu Dhabi. And film it! And not be arrested or shot.
Click below to watch the video.
These things never quite go to plan, so because of various reasons I only got one do-or-die run in the car. And that was right after witnessing the landing gear of yet another plane cross mere metres above me in the swept-back cockpit of my Italian stallion. Yes the lone runway at Al Bateen Executive Airport in the heart of the UAE capital Abu Dhabi – was indeed live.
I waited pretty much an entire day for my session which essentially was over in just under 18 seconds. That’s about the time it’s probably taken you to read from the beginning of the last paragraph to this point now.
So behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4, screaming at full chat, that short span of time proved to be burst of exhilarating and adrenaline-pumping intensity that was as ferocious as it was fast.
And of course I screwed up. A little bit. Changing up too early twice, hitting the rev limiter once, my gear shifts were less than ideal. But the 602bhp (610PS) 5.2 V10 certainly made up for my nincompoopiness by securing a top speed of a few clicks over 270kph in those seconds anyway.
That sounds stupendous, but this is in a car capable of 325kph, and hitting 100kph from rest in 2.8 seconds. Plus it’s not actually the fastest I’ve ever been in a Lamborghini which was… DON’T be silly I’m not actually going to tell you!
Nonetheless those 18 seconds made the journey up to Abu Dhabi and the tedious wait well worth it. Because one day I can tell my grand children – ‘Did I tell you about the time I once drove a Lamborghini Huracan. Flat-out. On a runway. A LIVE runway. In Abu Dhabi. And I wasn’t arrested or shot.’
That will never get old.
