Lamborghini has taken the wraps off the eagerly awaited Gallardo replacement, but fans and potential owners hoping to see it in the flesh will have to wait until the Geneva Motor Show in March to do so.

Lamborghini claims that the Huracán is new from the ground up and, while that’s no doubt true, the end result bears a striking resemblance to the company’s current flagship Aventador. The same angular headlamps and the same sharp lines feature, although this is a much more compact car.

Still, saying that a car looks too much like a Lamborghini Aventador is not exactly a criticism of it. However, good looks only go so far and for a vehicle to be greeted with open arms into the supercar club, it had better be able to perform, too.

And, on paper at least, it appears that Lamborghini’s new baby will have no problems. The 5.2-liter V10 engine has been tweaked to deliver 610HP, and because so much carbon fiber and aluminum has been used in the car’s construction, it only weighs 1,422kg; that’s a power-to-weight ratio of just 2.33kg per horse power.

Lamborghini also claims that the new car is good for a 0-100km/h time of 3.2 seconds and a 0-200km/h time of 9.9 seconds, yet somehow, the engine meets the latest EU6 emissions regulations.

Some purists will be upset that the new car cannot be specified with a traditional manual transmission. A seven-speed, dual-clutch paddle-shift unit is standard. But so is active four-wheel drive and carbon-ceramic brakes, which means that it will be able to stop as quickly as it accelerates.

The biggest difference over the car it replaces can be seen in the cabin. Most of the Gallardo’s instruments and dashboard elements were lifted straight out of an Audi (well, the German carmaker is its owner).

The Huracán’s cabin is much more exciting and is dominated by a central 12.3-inch touch screen which can be customized to display everything from how the engine is revving to maps and infotainment functions. Lamborghini says that the first deliveries will take place in Spring 2014.