Wartburg beats Lamborghini Huracán RWD as airport “Follow Me” vehicle

Automobili Lamborghini announced that it will extend its collaboration with Guglielmo Marconi Airport in Bologna for the sixth time, supplying a rear-drive Huracán as a “Follow Me” aircraft parking guide vehicle. This, of course, makes perfect sense, given that a number of people landing in Bologna visit the Emilia Romagna region to say hi to Lamborghini, Maserati, Ferrari, Pagani, or others operating in Italy’s “motor valley.” (Pro tip: this region is also a destination for the cheese-obsessed. Plan accordingly.)

Frankly, it would be hard to come up with a better business card for the Sant’Agata factory than a V-10 under a special livery, greeting you right at the runways.

Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Hungary’s international airport was looking at less glorious options when it came to its “Follow Me” fleet. Namely, Wartburgs.

The East German Wartburg 353W came with a 1.0-liter three-cylinder two-stroke engine, a column shifter, front-wheel drive, and a specific noise only a Tupolev Tu-134’s jets would blast out of your ears.

For its airport duty, the model was also upgraded with a CB radio, as well as a lightbar featuring the indicators of an Ikarus bus. Using the common 1:50-ratio petroil mixture, the car would return around 25 miles to the gallon.

Fast forward to today, and with its 580-horsepower 5.2-liter V-10, the Lamborghini Huracán LP580-2 RWD is a 17.82-mpg affair. In a part of the world where fuel is expensive, this may seem like an extravagance, but only until you learn that back in 2013, Lamborghini sent an Aventador LP 700-4 to report for the same duty. The Huracán RWD is still overkill, given the average speed of a “Follow Me” vehicle mandated by the taxi speed of the aircraft. All that horsepower and nowhere to go.

That’s another point for the Wartburg, right there.

Lamborghini Centro Stile’s latest creation comes with the graphics you would expect on a “Follow Me” vehicle, as well the Italian tricolor on both doors, roof, front and rear intakes. And while a 1981 Wartburg 353W may beat it in fuel consumption, Lamborghini’s V-10 burns its fuel a whole lot cleaner, not unlike modern jets.