Lamborghini’s Exclusive Winter Classroom Returned to Livigno in 2022
In February 2022, Lamborghini brought its Accademia Neve winter driving program back to Livigno, the high-altitude Italian Alps resort town that doubles as a natural proving ground when temperatures hover around zero during the day and plunge to minus ten at night. The three-day program, open exclusively to Lamborghini clients, put the Huracán EVO, Huracán STO, and Urus Super SUV on prepared ice tracks under the supervision of Squadra Corsa racing drivers. Lamborghini positioned the event as a return to form after two consecutive winters lost to pandemic disruptions.
What makes this program worth examining closely is what it reveals about how Lamborghini uses ice as a proving ground for its engineering. A conventional test drive on warm tarmac flatters almost any modern supercar. Ice strips away that flattery. The differences between all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive, between predictive vehicle dynamics and raw throttle response, become impossible to ignore. The Accademia Neve format forces both the cars and their owners to prove something, exposing the real-world depth of systems that read as mere spec-sheet entries in a showroom.
One source indicates the program was originally launched in 2012, making the 2022 edition part of a decade-long investment in client engagement. Ferrari runs its Pilota on Ice program; Porsche offers Ice Experience events in Finland and other cold-weather locations. Lamborghini’s answer is Livigno, and the company keeps coming back.
A vibrant fleet of Lamborghini Urus and Huracán models awaits action at a snowy winter driving event.
The Huracán EVO on Ice: Where Four-Wheel Steering Earns Its Keep
On paper, the Huracán EVO‘s four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering are familiar spec-sheet entries. On a frozen surface where available grip can be a fraction of what dry asphalt provides, they become the entire story.
Four-wheel steering turns the rear wheels opposite to the fronts at lower speeds, tightening the turning radius, then aligns them at higher speeds for stability. On ice, this means the car rotates more willingly into corners without overwhelming the front tires’ meager traction budget. The LDVI system, coordinating the all-wheel-drive torque split, traction control, and stability management, reads inputs from accelerometers, gyroscopes, and steering angle sensors, then predicts what the car needs before the driver finishes asking for it. Livigno’s frozen tracks are where that predictive intelligence either justifies itself or falls short, and by all accounts the EVO justified itself.
The Huracán EVO Spyder also appeared at the event. Open-top driving in sub-zero temperatures is an acquired taste, but the Spyder’s structural rigidity and identical mechanical underpinnings mean it performs the same exercises as the coupe. The difference is purely atmospheric: wind chill, engine note echoing off snowbanks, and the sensory overload that a closed cabin filters out.
The striking green Lamborghini Huracán EVO stands poised on a snowy expanse, framed by majestic winter mountains.
The STO on Ice: A Rear-Wheel-Drive Track Car Where Grip Disappears
The most revealing vehicle in the 2022 fleet was arguably the one least suited to the environment. The Huracán STO sends all of its power to the rear wheels only. It was designed for racetracks, not frozen mountain passes. Putting it on an ice circuit is like asking a sprinter to run on a freshly waxed floor, and that is exactly the point.
Lamborghini described the STO’s contribution as delivering “high-octane race-oriented control,” which is a polite way of saying the car demands constant, precise throttle modulation and steering corrections that the all-wheel-drive models handle automatically. Without the front axle pulling the car through corners, every input from the driver’s right foot either builds a controlled slide or initiates an unplanned pirouette. The prominent rear wing and aggressive front splitter generate downforce that matters at circuit speeds but contributes almost nothing at the lower velocities of an ice track.
That mismatch is precisely why the STO’s inclusion is so instructive. Where the EVO’s LDVI system masks the difficulty of driving on ice, the STO exposes it. Squadra Corsa instructors could use the STO sessions to demonstrate the fundamentals of weight transfer, oversteer management, and the relationship between steering angle and throttle position. For owners accustomed to the EVO’s electronic safety net, the STO strips that net away and says: now you drive.
A striking black Lamborghini Huracán STO with vibrant green details leads the way on a snow-covered track, followed by another supercar.
The Urus Earns Its Winter Credentials
Lamborghini’s inclusion of the Urus alongside the Huracán range was more than a courtesy to SUV owners. The Urus shares the same four-wheel-drive and four-wheel-steering architecture highlighted in the EVO, but applies it to a vehicle with a higher center of gravity, greater mass, and different weight distribution. On snow and ice, that combination rewards smoothness over aggression, testing the same underlying engineering in a body that forgives less.
The Urus also carried a different kind of weight in 2022. By that point, the Super SUV accounted for a substantial share of Lamborghini’s total sales volume, and many Accademia Neve participants likely drove a Urus as their primary Lamborghini. Giving those owners a structured environment to explore the vehicle’s limits built confidence in the product’s capability and deepened the emotional connection between buyer and brand. An owner who discovers their Urus can drift controllably on a frozen mountain track views the vehicle differently than someone who only uses it for school runs.
The Urus’s ANIMA driving mode selector, which adjusts throttle response, transmission mapping, and stability control parameters, plays a central role in adapting the vehicle’s behavior from snow-appropriate caution to more playful oversteer on demand. Like the EVO, the Urus proved its dynamic systems function with genuine sophistication when the surface beneath them offers almost nothing to work with.
A powerful yellow Lamborghini Urus demonstrates its exceptional handling by kicking up a dramatic spray of snow on a winter track.
Squadra Corsa Instruction: The Human Element Behind the Engineering
All of the engineering sophistication in the world means little if the driver cannot interpret what the car is telling them, and that is where Squadra Corsa comes in. Lamborghini’s factory racing drivers led the driving activities and provided instruction, ensuring participants maximized both their own potential and the cars’ capabilities. This separates the program from a luxury rental experience. Squadra Corsa instructors are professional racing drivers, not hospitality staff with performance driving certificates. Their involvement means participants receive feedback calibrated to the specific dynamics of each Lamborghini model.
The company also noted that cryotherapy sessions are part of the standard training program for its factory drivers at the DRIVERS’ LAB facility in Sant’Agata Bolognese, reinforcing the idea that this is serious driver development wrapped in luxury packaging.
Several practical details remain undisclosed. Lamborghini does not publicly list the cost of participation, nor does it detail how clients qualify or receive invitations. Based on the program’s structure as an exclusive, by-invitation experience, it likely requires existing ownership and a relationship with a Lamborghini dealer. For prospective attendees, the best starting point is a conversation with your local dealer’s brand ambassador.
Two Lamborghinis, a Huracán and an Urus, expertly navigate a snowy track under the bright winter sun.
Livigno as a Brand Stage: Luxury Beyond the Track
Lamborghini says guests were hosted in the best hotels and restaurants in the Livigno area, and the hospitality component is not incidental to the program’s purpose. Events like Accademia Neve function as curated brand immersions where every touchpoint, from the morning briefing to the evening dinner, reinforces the relationship between client and manufacturer.
Livigno itself is a deliberate choice. Sitting at approximately 1,800 meters in the Italian Alps near the Swiss border, it offers reliable snow conditions and a compact, high-end resort infrastructure. The nighttime preparation of the ice tracks, visible in event imagery showing snow groomers working under floodlights against the backdrop of the illuminated town below, underscores the logistical effort required. Lamborghini rents or builds dedicated driving circuits on frozen surfaces, a process that demands consistent grooming to maintain safe, repeatable conditions across multiple days of use.
A snow groomer is parked on a snowy path at night, with people walking around it and a rustic building in the background.
From 2022 to 2026: The Last Combustion-Only Winter
The 2022 Accademia Neve now serves as a useful benchmark for how rapidly Lamborghini’s lineup can shift. The 2026 edition, held in Livigno from January 6 to 16, featured an entirely different fleet: the Temerario, Revuelto, Urus SE, and Huracán Sterrato. Every vehicle in the 2026 roster carries hybrid electrification, and the Temerario replaced the Huracán as the brand’s core supercar offering. The naturally aspirated V10 that defined the 2022 event’s soundtrack gave way to a twin-turbo V8 augmented by three electric motors.
The 2026 program also expanded its partnership footprint. Bridgestone served as an official technical partner, supplying custom-engineered Blizzak LM005 winter tires. Sonus faber set up a dedicated chalet for audio listening experiences. Macron designed technical apparel for participants. Capita debuted a snowboard finished in Lamborghini’s Arancio Egon matte colorway. Hospitality included stays at the Hotel Lac Salin SPA & Mountain Resort. The contrast with 2022’s more straightforward format illustrates how Lamborghini progressively layers lifestyle partnerships onto its core driving programs.
For LamboCars readers, the takeaway is practical. If you attended or aspired to attend the 2022 program for its pure V10 and V8 character, that era of Accademia Neve is closed. The program’s future belongs to hybrid powertrains, and 2022 represents the final chapter of the combustion-only winter curriculum. Whether the new electrified models deliver the same visceral experience on ice is a question only future participants can answer. What the 2022 program proved is that Lamborghini’s engineering philosophy, building vehicles whose dynamic systems genuinely adapt to extreme conditions rather than simply surviving them, translates regardless of what sits beneath the engine cover. The ice does not care what fuels the engine. It only cares whether the car, and the driver, can keep up.
The Lamborghini Urus and Huracán STO showcase their distinct styles against a breathtaking snowy mountain backdrop.
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