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Let’s talk dream cars. The dreamy new Lamborghini Huracan offers all the speed, power, and performance you’d expect from a Lambo. What auto collector doesn’t dream of owning a Lamb? For decades the auto manufacturer topped the list of nearly every true car lover and for many it still does.
In the 1980s, Lambo and Ferrari duked it out for the top spot in sports cars, but in 2022, the field exploded. Now, even the might Lamborghini must fend off a field of competitors.
Its sleek coupe, the Huracan offers unprecedented speed and handling, but a base model price tag of $327,838. If that makes you gasp, you’ll probably want to shop around for an alternative to the king of the luxury class coupes. If you missed the job of casting cars for a Michael Mann TV show or movie, you could go with one of the alternative options.
I totally and completely understand if you think you must own a Lamborghini because, as a child and teen, I hung a poster of my favorite Lambo on my bedroom wall. It went right next to my Ferrari poster. I dreamed of Countach and Testarossa, and I watched Miami Vice every week just to see the cars in action.
Here’s reality. Almost no one could afford this type of dream car in the 1980s and now, even more so. In the 1980s, most vehicle manufacturers strove to increase fuel efficiency to entice car buyers after the gas shortages of the 1970s.
Today, as we face certain shortages of oil for refining and gas once again skyrockets in price, most automakers turned to electric vehicle design to develop an alternative that still provides power.
Vehicles like the Countach and Testarossa earn horrid gas mileage. That never changed. The Lamborghini Huracan does, too. In the city, it earns 13 miles per gallon and on the highway, it earns 18 miles per gallon. Combined, you could earn a whopping 15 miles per gallon.
If you have the funds for this vehicle, perhaps simply have it altered to an electric as Great Britain’s Prince Charles did with a favorite Aston Martin.
What’s not to love about this darling vehicle though, besides the price tag and the miles per gallon? You’d own a two-pass, two-door coupe with a 5.2-liter port and direct-injected DOHC 40-valve 90-degree V-10 engine paired with a seven-speed twin-clutch transmission. Hello! In a world that keeps turning to one-speed electric automatics, a seven-speed manual seems dreamy.
Forgive Lamborghini for offering no choices choice of trims. You can purchase the base model and that’s all. If you really need to change anything, head to Manfred.
Lambo promises performance and delivers with an engine that produces 630 horsepower and 416 pound-feet of torque. Your only driveline option – rear-wheel drive – will have to do. It flies from 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds.
It features a top speed of 201.9 miles per hour (mph), but to make your vehicle road legal in the US, you’ll need the car shop to install a speed limiter so it can only reach 155 mph.
In the US, manufacturers top out at 155 mph at the factory to keep in line with legal mandates. The sporty yet luxurious interior offers interior racing stripes, a vehicle information display above the shifter, and a bare-bones, futuristic driver’s display. Expect to fold yourself into this Lambo just as everyone does with every other Lambo.
The manufacturer didn’t change its sleek, low-to-the-ground, futuristic design. Aerodynamics describes this beast. Also, for a trunk. This vehicle provides 1.34 cubic feet of cargo space. You won’t grocery shop in this, but who runs errands in a Lambo except for Conor McGregor?
In 2021, Lamborghini ramped up the colors for the exterior to 13. I’ll skip the full list of goofy names like Blu Cepheus and Nero Helene. Suffice it to say, you can nab this sports car in various shades of blue, green, yellow, white, black, metallic gray, red, and orange.
You’re probably drooling over this vehicle by now. Yet, the price tag or the tiny availability might stop you. You can find alternatives to Lamborghini’s Huracan.
However, let us set you up for a tough search. Few manufacturers can rival the Lamborghini name and reputation, but you can find more affordable vehicles that offer a similar design. Let us help you get started with a quick list of our favorites, starting with our top three, then providing the runners-ups.
1. Audi R8
The Audi R8 offers a bargain compared to the Huracan in price, starting at $158,600. The second generation of Audi R8 hit showrooms in 2015 and continues to thrill car buyers.
Why It’s Similar to the Huracan
This little Audi packs a wallop with its 5.2-liter V10 engine capable of 562 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. Its naturally aspirated engine sucks down gas just like the Lambo. You also nab the performance with the R8, and it comes in a coupe.
The gas mileage of 14 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway offers comparable fuel efficiency. Besides a range of exterior colors, that’s where the similarities end aside from the sporty exterior because Audi provides more choices.
Vehicle Design Observations
Let’s start with the driveline; you choose rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive. Earlier years of this offered four-wheel-drive for maximum handling.
You still get seven-speed transmission with the R8 but in an automatic. The Audi accelerates from 0 to 60 slightly slower than the Huracan at 3.2 seconds. You can seat two in the vehicle and the trunk on this car gives you a little more room with 4 to 8 cubic feet, depending on seat configuration.
Choose from four trims, each offering nine exterior color choices and a 5.2-liter engine under the hood with an automatic transmission. The driveline changes and choosing the AWD gets you a little more horsepower, up to 602 hp.
Choosing the AWD also lands you better handling and traction, making this sporty Audi a viable everyday car, so long as you don’t need to put too many miles on it.
Who wants to fill up the gas tank this often?
Speed/Time for 0 to 60 miles per hour: 3.2 seconds
Horsepower: 562 hp
Torque: 406 lb. ft.
Base Model Cost: $158,600
Seating Capacity: two
Fuel Efficiency: 14 mpg in the city/23 mpg on the highway
Towing Capacity: not designed for towing
2. Mercedes-Benz AMG GT R
Bargain shopping when it comes to Lambo competition takes on new meaning. The Mercedes-Benz AMG GT R starts at $165,600. It offers a less powerful engine but doesn’t improve the fuel efficiency. While Benz earned its reputation on sedans, its sports car still shines.
Why It’s Similar to the Huracan
This coupe earns just 14 mpg in the city and 20 mpg on the highway. Like the Lambo, it only offers rear-wheel drive, and similar to the Audi, it comes in a seven-speed automatic. Just as Lamborghini did, this manufacturer only offers one trim.
Vehicle Design Observations
This Benz features the back end of a Porsche and the front end of a Ford GT. That means it appears boxy coming towards you and slinky as it leaves you. Its 4-liter, V8 engine accelerates from 0 to 60 in 2.9 seconds, and it manages a quarter mile time of 10.6 seconds. The V8 engine produces 577 horsepower and 516-pound feet of torque.
Speed/Time for 0 to 60 miles per hour: 2.9 seconds
Horsepower: 577 hp
Torque: 516 lb. ft.
Base Model Cost: $165,600
Seating Capacity: Two
Fuel Efficiency: 14 mpg in the city/20 mpg on the highway
Towing capacity: not designed for towing
3. Ford GT
Yes, you can buy American in a supercar. With the Ford GT, it depends on the year. To purchase a 2022, you need half a million dollars. You could nab a 2006 Ford GT for a typical used car price if you shop around.
There’s the irony. Now, a pristine, perfect GT from 2006 runs about $150,000 to $250,000, but you can pick one up for less than 100K.
Hearkening back to the 1960 models, expect to pay about $400,000 for a perfect GT. That’s one of the marks of a supercar – they increase in value as they age.
Why It’s Similar to The Huracan
The style, the lines, the low-to-the-ground design all say Lambo, yet from Ford. Even if you purchase a classic design, it still earns the same mileage as the Lambo. Buying a 2006 model earns you 13 mpg in the city and 21 mpg on the highway. Sound familiar? Nothing has changed.
Vehicle Design Observations
The Ford uses a slightly smaller 3.5-liter, EcoBoost twin-turbo V6 engine that produces 660 horsepower and torque of 550-pound feet. The American competition earns gas mileage of 12 mpg in the city and 18 mpg on the highway.
Paired with a seven-speed automatic transmission and adaptive suspension with an adjustable ride height, it outdoes the Italian brand in price, but offers amazing style, too.
Speed/Time for 0 to 60 miles per hour: 3.0 seconds
Horsepower: 660 hp
Torque: 550 lb. ft.
Base Model Cost: $500,000
Seating Capacity: Two
Fuel Efficiency: 12 mpg in the city/18 mpg on the highway
Towing capacity: not designed for towing
Runners Up to the top Three
If you didn’t find the next car of your dreams in the top three vehicle alternatives to the Lamborghini Huracan, keep reading. We located other Lamborghini Huracan alternatives, too.
4. Ferrari 296 GTB
Ferrari manages to fall between the cost of the exorbitant Italian brand and the even more exorbitant American brand. Good job, Ferrari for making a sticker price of $321,400 seems like a bargain. This hot little hybrid coupe shows that supercar manufacturers can invest in modern technology.
Its body style shows a sleek, almost cartoonish look, but its engine gets serious. The 3.0-liter V6 engine also includes an electric component that provides 15.53 miles of travel on a single charge. The V6 produces 819 horsepower and 546 torque.
The venerable automaker only offers an eight-speed automatic transmission and a rear-wheel-drive driveline. This little goer sprints from 0 to 60 in less than 2.9 seconds. The clincher that makes this car cool comes at the gas pump. This hybrid supercar earns a combined 36.7 mpg. The European version achieves a speed of 206 mph.
5. Maserati MC20
Maserati offers no surprises in the sleek, low-slung MC20. The opening price of $212,000 puts in the same budget class as its supercar brethren. Its 3.0-liter, V6 Nettuno engine produces 621 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque.
The MC20 accelerates from 0 to 60 in less than 2.9 seconds and reaches a top speed of 202 mph. It offers comparable gas mileage to the Lamb, too, earning 15 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway. It does offer eight speeds from its automatic transmission, but like the Lambo, you may only have this vehicle in rear-wheel-drive.
One difference exists. You can choose between a two-door coupe or a two-door retractable hard-top convertible.
6. McLaren 570S
As you shop supercars, you start to think of something less than 200K as a bargain. The McLaren offers that bargain in its 570S that matches the Huracan for power and handling, but with a tiny price of $191,100. Its 3.8-liter V8 engine produces 562 horsepower and – pound-feet of torque.
Pair that with a seven-speed automatic with rear-wheel-drive and you have the McLaren. It quietly earns the same fuel efficiency as most other supercars, earning 15 in the city and 22 on the highway. Similar to the Maserati, it offers choices in trims.
In fact, it offers the same two choices – either a coupe or a convertible. You add a bit to the price by going with the convertible which costs $211,300. The McLaren design provides the sports car owner with a trunk though, so you could run errands in it.
While not huge, its trunk ranges from 5.3 to 7.13 cubic feet. The range comes from the design letting you fold a seat down.
7. Porsche 911 GT3
Starting at $161,000, the Porsche 911 GT3 provides an actual trunk but no fuel efficiency improvements. This sports car boasts a 4-liter, six-cylinder engine with your choice of a six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed automatic transmission. The 4-liter engine produces 502 horsepower and 346 pound-feet of torque.
Porsche only offers rear-wheel drive on the 911 GT3. Here’s a major difference. The 911 GT3 comes in a coupe or a four-seater. You could get the seating of a sedan in the styling of a Porsche 911. It even offers a real trunk, so you can grocery shop. Its trunk ranges from 9.3 to 13.8 cubic feet.
The latter figure comes from folding a seat down. Although this technically makes this the most different from the Lamborghini Huracan, who cares? The excitement of an automaker realizing that some people purchase sports cars to drive, not to admire means Porsche makes the list.
How thoughtful to realize that some folks do want to own just one car and they’re willing to spend a bit on it to live their dream. They still need to zip to the grocery and dry cleaners though. Thanks, Porsche.