A few years ago I had the opportunity to drive Lamborghini’s Murciélago and Gallardo models back-to-back. That experience, joyous as it was, also served to highlight the predicament most “full-fat” supercars still find themselves in – smaller, lighter and more high-tech rivals, sometimes from within their own stables, are nearly as fast, far easier to drive, and more practical. It was like that with the Murciélago… The smaller, cheaper Gallardo’s performance may appear less impressive compared with its bigger brother on paper, but in real life, on the road, the Gallardo’s performance potential was far more easily accessible. The Murciélago, by comparison, was exactly as the more extreme supercars have always been – fearsomely fast but unpolished.
Now, with an emphasis on the highest possible power/weight ratio, an exclusive and patented new transmission, the world’s only production carbon-fibre monocoque and a new 6,5-litre V12 engine that pumps out more torque lower down the rev range, the fearsomely-titled new Aventador represents not only a giant leap for Lamborghini, but also, potentially, for the supercar as a genre. According to Lamborghin president, Stephan Winkelman, it is so vastly different to the Murciélago that it actually represents a jump of two generations.
I was among the fortunate few to drive the newcomer at the Vallelunga circuit near Rome, Italy, this past weekend and am happy to share my first impressions here, while the sheer sense of occasion still settles within me and the full driving impression that will be published in CAR’s June issue, starts to take shape in my head.
Design
The look is polarising to say the least. Some on-lookers suggest it is too derivative, and that there’s too much of the 2007 Reventon in it. Quite frankly, seeing as chances are highly unlikely that you’ll ever get to see a Reventon in real life, I think the Aventador’s styling is spot on, partly because the Reventon is one of my favourite Lamborghini designs of all time, but also because it has all the drama and sense of occasion you’d expect from a flagship Lamborghini. In the metal it is far more aggressive – people and other objects around it lending perspective to the car’s sheer width and lowness. There are also hints of several ‘70s supercar concepts in the detailing, with an element such as the louvred rear engine cover that covers the engine reminding me very much of the Alfa Romeo Carabo. The design is the work of Filippo Perini, the same man who also designed the gorgeous Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and, interestingly, the reborn Miura concept from a few years ago. It’s not often you see a designer switch so effortlessly from retro to futuristic.
Interior
Being part of the Audi stable is really paying off for Lamborghini. There’s a solidity to the switchgear that cars from the Sant‘ Agata stable haven’t always possessed. Parts-bin sourcing is obvious in the fitment of MMI control system, for example. But there are some excellent details – taking its cue from the world of avionics, there is a red “lid” over the starter button that needs to be flicked before the button can be pressed, missile launcher style. It’s not a new idea, certainly, but in a car titled Aventador, somehow very fitting. In front of the driver is a fully digital TFT-LCD screen that can be modified by using the right-hand column stalk. You can have the speedo as the dominant dial, for example, when cruising, but switch to a display that puts the rev counter on centre stage for track use. Overall, comfort is good – it’s certainly got all the toys. If I have to criticise one thing in the interior it would be that I’d have liked to drop the seat down lower.
Under the skin
Lamborghini claims the Aventador to be the first production car with a full carbon-fibre monocoque. The entire passenger cell, with the tub and the roof included, is a single component, ensuring maximum rigidity and boosting safety. The entire monocoque cell weighs only 147,5 kg. Aluminium frames are used to attach the suspension components front and rear. In total the Aventador weighs in at an impressive 1 575 kg.
Another first for a Lamborghini is a pushrod spring and damper suspension concept inspired by the systems used in Formula 1. There are several advantages to pushrod suspension, including reduced component weight, reduced forces on the dampers and lower unsprung mass. Together with aluminium double wishbones and a carbon-fibre ceramic brake system, the Aventador’s underpinnings were clearly designed to be as light as possible.
The same obsession with weight is evident in the design of the transmission. Instead of doing the simple thing and opting for a dual-clutch ‘box out of the Audi parts bin, Lamborghini went to the extremes of developing an all-new patented design called IRS (Independent Shifting Rod), with the biggest reason being the saving of weight. The, essentially “robotized manual”, 7-speed ‘box features four carbon synchronizers, five operating modes and can shift gear in 50 milliseconds.
The Aventador is permanently all-wheel driven, of course, as the “4” in LP700-4 indicates. The latest-generation Haldex IV electronically-controlled coupling distributes torque between the front and the rear as conditions and driving style dictate. A self-locking rear differential and a front differential electronically controlled by the ESP combine to make the new Aventador’s drivetrain more “active”, compared with the passive systems used before. The driver can choose between three drive settings – Strada (road), Sport and Corsa (track). Each mode alters the transmission, differential, steering and dynamic control systems.
Engine
Lamborghini’s proud heritage of big-capacity V12 engines continues with an all-new 6,5-litre unit that delivers 515 kW at 8 250 r/min and 690 N.m (at 5 500 r/min) of torque. Importantly, and unlike the peaky engine in the Murciélago, a big slice of that maximum torque figure becomes available much lower down the rev range in the Aventador. Again weight was a focus area with the new engine, and the new powerplant is also more compact, allowing it to be placed 7,5 cm lower in the car, improving its centre of gravity.
Performance
So, how does she go? A few figures first… Lamborghini claims a 0-100 km/h time of 2,9 seconds. Probably even more impressive is the 0-200 km/h time of 8,9 seconds! Top speed is 350 km/h.
We didn’t get to drive on the road – perhaps wisely – and instead Lamborghini shuttled us to the highly technical Vallelunga circuit outside Rome. Standing in the pits, with the cars doing flying laps, I was overwhelmed by the sense that I was at a race event – the Aventador sounds like a 100 per cent racing car. Put three of them together on the same piece of tarmac, shut your eyes and you could be at Le Mans. It’s spine-tingling stuff.
A few cockpit details immediately set you up for a decent drive – the shift paddles are long enough making them easy to reach and there’s plenty of adjustment on offer from the steering wheel. Visibility to the front and sides is good, not so the view out the back through that louvred cover over the engine. It’s always been like that with big Lamborghinis, but at least these days you have a reverse parking camera to help.
Even in the first few hundred metres you can sense that the Aventador is a completely different animal to the Murciélago. Whereas the Murciélago always felt the big, heavy car it was, the Aventador doesn’t. From the first push of the right foot the driver gets the sense that “it’s game on”. The torque being available lower down the rev range is one key to the transformation, but I must say the gearbox impressed me too. I’ve traditionally not been a fan of so-called “robotized” ‘boxes, but this IRS version manages to feel smooth and refined when you want it to be and pretty hardcore and abrupt when you want that. But it always shifts quickly, and it always does so with a feeling of refinement and robustness.
The three driving modes really do unlock three distinct characters. Strada is really only for the road, as its name says. I tried it on the track and it was simply too soft and understeery. Sport is what most driving enthusiasts will use most of the time, I expect, because it makes the car feel significantly more alert. But Corsa… that turns the Aventador into a racing car.
Whereas the line between understeer and sudden, violent oversteer was quite a fine one in the Murciélago, it’s not the case with the Aventador. That’s not to say this big Lambo has become clinical. Far from it. But at least it talks to the driver as a whole, whereas its predecessor sent differing messages from the front and the rear. Perhaps the biggest compliment I can give the Aventador in terms of the way it inspires confidence is to say it is Porsche 911 Turbo S-like… This is important because it makes it possible to exploit more of the Aventador’s capability, more often. With the Murciélago this was not so easy – just ask the fellow who flipped his on De Waal Drive in Cape Town last week…
To buy
As we reported recently, Lamborghini has a new distributor in South Africa – Pearl Automotive, also agents for Bentley and Lotus. The Aventador retails for R5 700 000 and apparently about half-a-dozen or so order have already been placed locally. If you’re not in the queue yet, I’ve got some bad news… the first 18 months’ worth of production is already sold out!
A full driving impression and launch story of the Aventador will be published in the June issue of CAR.