For once, nobody argued about the winner on the way down. Juliana called it at the bottom, and even Ron — who’d spent the whole test making the emotional case for the other car — didn’t really push back.
A pass with its own weather legend
The Passo di Gavia doesn’t have Stelvio’s fame or Turini’s rally pedigree, but it has its own story: the 1988 Giro d’Italia ran a stage over Gavia in a genuine blizzard, riders descending through snow in short sleeves, in what’s still remembered as one of the hardest single days in the race’s history. It’s narrow — single-lane in places, with real exposure and no guardrail illusion of safety — and it earns the “rain or shine” framing honestly, because the weather up here genuinely can turn in either direction with very little warning.
Three drivers, three AWD cars built to handle exactly that unpredictability. Juliana takes the Audi R8 V10 and makes the case that’s rarely the centerpiece of a road test in this series: value. Ron claims the Lamborghini Huracán EVO Spider for the naturally aspirated V10 he’s argued for in nearly every test he’s driven it in. The Porsche 911 Turbo S goes to whoever’s narrating — the car that already won at Timmelsjoch on margin-of-safety logic.
The numbers, for anyone who wants them before the story
| Audi R8 V10 | Lamborghini Huracán EVO Spider | Porsche 911 Turbo S | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Engine | 5.2L NA V10 | 5.2L NA V10 | 3.7L twin-turbo flat-6 |
| Horsepower | 562 hp | 640 hp | 650 hp |
| 0–100 km/h | 3.4 sec | 3.1 sec | 2.7 sec |
| Top speed | 324 km/h | 325 km/h | 330 km/h |
| Rental (per day) | ~€800 | ~€1,950 | ~€1,100 |
| Drivetrain | AWD | AWD | AWD |
This is a genuinely clean comparison — every figure here is straight from this fleet’s own listing, no hedging required, and all three are confirmed available out of the same cities. Worth noting for anyone tracking this series: the R8 and Huracán actually share the same naturally aspirated 5.2L V10 platform underneath very different bodies and tuning.
First stint: the climb, where the Huracán made Ron’s case for him
The Huracán went up first, and the shared V10 with the R8 immediately showed a different personality wearing a different body — more aggressive tuning, more outright drama, the AWD system deploying power in a way that felt, by Ron’s account, more alive than precise. “Same engine family as the R8, completely different character,” he said over the radio. “This is what I keep saying — the number on the page doesn’t tell you what a car actually feels like.”
The 911 Turbo S followed through a stretch where cloud rolled in fast, exactly the kind of moment this pass is known for, and made the same margin-of-safety case that won at Timmelsjoch: 650 hp and Porsche’s most sophisticated AWD system, confidence in reserve exactly when visibility and grip both degrade at once. “This is still the car I’d want if the weather actually turns,” the narrator said. “That hasn’t changed.”
Second stint: the descent, and Juliana’s case that actually won
The R8 came down last, and Juliana’s argument wasn’t about being the fastest or the most dramatic — it was about something none of the other tests in this series have really centered: at roughly €800 a day against the Huracán’s near-€2,000, a driver can genuinely relax into this car rather than white-knuckling every apex worrying about the bill. “It’s not slower in any way that matters on a real road,” she said. “And you can actually enjoy it instead of protecting it. That’s worth more than people give it credit for.”
A bit of context on each car
The Audi R8 V10 shares its naturally aspirated 5.2L V10 with the Huracán underneath very different tuning and character — one of the last of its kind as the segment moves toward turbocharging and hybrids.
The Lamborghini Huracán EVO Spider is covered in more depth in the Cime de la Bonette apex-hunting test and the Grossglockner road test.
The Porsche 911 Turbo S already has its own spotlight covering why usable AWD confidence, not just outright numbers, is the actual selling point.
Practical considerations
The Passo di Gavia is genuinely narrow in places with real exposure — this is not a road to underestimate, and current conditions are worth confirming before any visit given how quickly weather changes here. All three cars are confirmed available out of Monaco, the French Riviera, Munich, and Paris.
Our call: the Audi R8 V10. Not the most powerful and not the most dramatic — but the one Juliana’s value argument actually won on: real weather-agnostic AWD capability at roughly €800 a day, letting a driver enjoy the car instead of worrying about it. Choose the Lamborghini Huracán EVO Spider if character and drama matter more than the bill, or the Porsche 911 Turbo S if outright margin-of-safety in genuinely unpredictable weather is the deciding factor.
All three are standalone rentals out of Monaco, the French Riviera, Munich, and Paris. Get in touch and we’ll set one up.