CES 2020

If your only reason for holding off on purchasing a new Lamborghini Huracan EVO to this point was that you were worried it wouldn’t integrate well with your new smart home, good news! At CES this week Amazon and Lamborghini announced that the 2020 EVO will be the first car to feature Alexa in-car integration!

Sure, there are already lots of great reasons to buy a Lamborghini Huracan. What with its 5.2-litre V10 naturally-aspirated engine capable of generating a maximum power of 630 bhp at 8,000 rpm with 600 Nm of torque at 6,500 rpm. Or its ability to use launch mode to propel the car from 0-60 in a scant 2.9 seconds and hit top speeds cresting 200 MPH. Or just its insane Italian styling and engineering of a car with a nose so sharp you could practically shave with it. But, really, that’s all for naught if you can’t use your voice to control the car and have to flip switches and turn knobs like some kind of commoner.

While a lot of cars feature Alexa integration, the Huracan will be unique – and first – to allow you to use your voice to control certain features and functions of the car itself. Right now these commands are fairly limited, like asking Alexa to adjust the in-cabin temperate, or turning the seat heaters on and off, or change the color of interior lighting. While it seems like things like changing the car’s driving modes – Strada, Sport, Corsa – or adjusting cruise control settings might seem like a natural fit, the Lamborghini engineer said they want the driver to concentrate on making those adjustments, and not allow any integration that could potentially negatively impact the driving experience. Probably not a bad idea when you’re blasting down the autostrada at 300 KMH in a near $300,000 car.

In addition to the in-car controls, Alexa can also be used to aid in navigation, tying into the car’s map system and setting destination and also controlling the car’s audio system while you keep your hands on the wheel and fingers on the paddle shifters. You can also utilize Alexa for all the typical things like asking for weather reports or random facts. Further, Alexa can execute scenes that will trigger events in a connected smart home, such as an “Alexa, I’m home” command that can open the garage, turn on lights, and set the thermostat.

Also, with the Alexa integration, you’ll be able to subtly drop things like, “Oh, I like your Amazon Echo Dot speaker. I use Alexa too. You know. In my Lamborghini.”

And even if none of that Alexa stuff works, remember: You’ll still be in a Lamborghini. (And, for the record, yes, I did get to sit in the car. And it was everything you'd imagine.)