Aventador [2011-2022] [Official] 2015 Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4SV
- Thread starter JHF
- Start date
The Lamborghini Aventador is a mid-engine, two passenger sports car manufactured from 2011 until 2022. Named after a prominent Spanish fighting bull that fought in Zaragoza, Aragón, in 1993, the Aventador succeeded the Murciélago and was manufactured in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy.
Bucketslash11
Das Beste Enthusiast
"if we send our fastest bull straight to hell, would it be able to get out in less than 7 minutes?"
love that line, you're probably not gonna hear a ferrari promo with those kind of words
Lmaoff Lamborghini have one over Ferrari now with this car officially going under the psychological 7 min barrier and they got every right to brag and be proud of this car! No Ferrari will only give times on their own puny test track but the Ring, nope they not going to brag about that cause they sh!t scared their cars won't make under 7min."if we send our fastest bull straight to hell, would it be able to get out in less than 7 minutes?"
love that line, you're probably not gonna hear a ferrari promo with those kind of words
Thiago
Schwarzwald Sprinter
The "fight" with the Ferrari Lamborghini is old, it's strong, it's amazing. It is more fierce than against McLaren.
The Aventador SV time in Nürburgring put in check this rivalry. When one acts, then the other reacts. Does the Ferrari will the change?
I believe LaFerrari has much more power than the Aventador SV. But it is known that his "fight" today is not the Lambo, but against Porsche 918 Spyder - the record - and McLaren P1. Wait and see.
Is it too much to dream to see LaFerrari x 918 Spyder x P1 in Nürburgring, fighting for the top of hypercars?
The Aventador SV time in Nürburgring put in check this rivalry. When one acts, then the other reacts. Does the Ferrari will the change?
I believe LaFerrari has much more power than the Aventador SV. But it is known that his "fight" today is not the Lambo, but against Porsche 918 Spyder - the record - and McLaren P1. Wait and see.
Is it too much to dream to see LaFerrari x 918 Spyder x P1 in Nürburgring, fighting for the top of hypercars?
JHF
Driving Dynamics Pro
Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 Superveloce
Track drive of Lamborghini's astonishing limited-run special, the Aventador LP750-4 Superveloce
What is it?:
An unknown quantity. With some cars you know what you’re going to get. With the limited-run Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 Superveloce, I’m not so sure.
The past couple of new Lamborghinis we’ve driven have left our flabbers slightly unghasted: the Aventador is stupidly fast, but can feel clumsy, while the smaller, cheaper Huracan is also absurdly quick at the money, but in making it easy to drive, Lamborghini has also left it a touch one-dimensional. In some ways both feel a bit ‘not for us’.
But, says Lamborghini, this is a Superveloce. And this is different. There have only been three SVs in Lamborghini’s history before now and in Muira, Diablo and Murcielago forms they’ve respectively developed 385, 530 and 670 metric horsepower. Lots during their time, but nothing to the 750 implied by the name of the Aventador. Seven-fifty foreign nags is 740bhp, here developed by a 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine that revs to 8500rpm. Not for Lamborghini forced induction: just a whopping engine in the middle of the car, which also makes 509lb ft at 5500rpm. In ‘regular’ Aventador form it’s one of the world’s great powerplants. Here it should be even better.
Again it’s mated to a single-clutch automated manual with, we’re promised, an improved shift calibration, but more significantly still is the fact that the SV is an impressive 50kg lighter than the regular Aventador. There are new door skins and a couple of lighter panels, clad over the carbonfibre monocoque, but you suspect the real weight saving comes in the stripped-out interior. Lamborghini quotes a dry weight of 1525kg, which you could probably make 1700kg by the time it sits at the kerb.
What else? A big wing for to give serious downforce. Magneto-rheological adaptive dampers are standard on the SV, as is dyamic steering – which changes ratio depending on road speed and a host of other factors like how much of a ‘bung’ you give the car on the way into a corner. We don’t like the system much on the Huracan but Lamborghini engineers tell us it is improved here. Oh, and the price is up from around £260,000 to a whisker over £320,000. There will only be 600 of them.
What's it like?:
Good. Really good. And by gum it’s fast, unsurprisingly. The 0-62mph time is claimed at 2.8sec and I believe it. That’s only down by 0.1sec from the standard car but that’s because when you’re talking 691bhp versus 740bhp, acceleration is limited mostly by traction anyway. The top speed – more than 217mph – is actually electronically governed.
When will the horsepower war end? Not yet, according to Lamborghini’s head of research and development, Maurizio Reggiani. The extra power is largely irrelevant, he says, at lower speeds. It’s when you’re well over 125mph that the extra shove makes a difference, keeps the acceleration from tailing off, and why it’s worth having. Apparently.
Well, if the engine that makes that kind of power is as good as this, then I’m cool with that. The response of the big V12 is sensational, especially if you push the buttons that takes the car’s setup from Strada, past Sport and into Corsa. Not only does that improve the throttle response to electric levels, it also changes the calibration of the dampers, the steering and the 4wd system, which is actually slightly more rear-biased in Sport than Corsa. In Corsa: forget having fun, it’s all about going fast.
And this car is fast everywhere. I say everywhere: we’ve only driven it on a track in Barcelona, and then for not very long. But even on this acquaintance I can tell you that it feels genuinely agile and alert, in a way the standard car simply isn’t. Partly that’s because of the reduced weight, partly the downforce and partly the adaptive dampers keeping a tight control of the body movements. But it’s also because the steering is quick - more on that in a moment – and the chassis is extremely throttle adjustable.
On a steady throttle and smooth movements it’ll understeer a touch, but lifting brings it back. But it’s very happy to be deliberately upset by shifting it’s body movements around, at which point it’ll oversteer quite happily. And quickly. Eventually the 4wd system shuffles power around and it’ll pull itself straight, but such is the pace, power and weight that it’d be quite possible to have a big moment in a car like this. It does, at least, have hugely powerful carbon ceramic brakes, but it’s a car that quite likes positive, smooth, controlled pedal applications. Use those and it’s hugely rewarding. And bonkers fast.
To the steering, then, because it hasn’t been without controversy in the past: here it’s better. Even around most hairpins you don’t need more than a third of a turn of lock because the ratio quickens, which is most of the point; while it's extremely stable at high speeds because the ratio slows, which is the rest of the point. And it’s just about natural enough in its operation. Still, for my money, it’s not as satisfying as a conventional rack in a McLaren 650S, but to make a big car feel agile, it does it’s job: it’s less nervous than a Ferrari F12’s setup, for example.
Any other downsides? The gearbox is also improved, and gives a satisfyingly quick shift at max revs at full throttle, but still a single-clutch automated manual can feel lethargic at lower revs and smaller throttle openings. It doesn’t spoil things, though. The SV is a hugely likeable car: a wild Lamborghini of the old-school.
Should I buy one?:
If you’re tempted by a Lamborghini, then this is currently the best model the company makes. By a mile. There’s more to it than just raw speed, but if you do want something that’s as fast as the Superveloce, you have to spend much, much more money to get it. Forgive me, I’m going to mention the Nurburgring Nordschleife for a moment. Lamborghini, with only a 15-minute window, decided it would have a crack at a Nordschleife lap time; with little notice, a Pirelli test driver set a time of 6min59sec in this car.
You must watch the video of the lap: there are some massively hairy moments, which Lamborghini’s Reggiani reckons were worth three or four dropped seconds. Now bear in mind that Porsche, after quite a lot of trying, made its 918 Spyder hybrid hypercar go only two seconds faster than that, and you have an idea of the Superveloce’s latent pace.
That Porsche and Lamborghini are both part of VW group probably means Lamborghini won’t take the opportunity to go faster and reveal what might be a slightly awkward truth: that this is the fastest car in the company’s portfolio. And at £320,000, one you might – might - almost consider a bargain.
Location Barcelona; On sale Now; Price £321,743; Engine V12, 6498cc, petrol; Power 740bhp at 8400rpm; Torque 509lb ft at 5500rpm; Gearbox 7-spd automatic; Kerb weight 1525kg (dry); Top speed 217mph; 0-62mph 2.8sec; Economy 17.7mpg (combined);CO2/tax band 370g/km, 37%
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review...ves/lamborghini-aventador-lp750-4-superveloce
Track drive of Lamborghini's astonishing limited-run special, the Aventador LP750-4 Superveloce
What is it?:
An unknown quantity. With some cars you know what you’re going to get. With the limited-run Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 Superveloce, I’m not so sure.
The past couple of new Lamborghinis we’ve driven have left our flabbers slightly unghasted: the Aventador is stupidly fast, but can feel clumsy, while the smaller, cheaper Huracan is also absurdly quick at the money, but in making it easy to drive, Lamborghini has also left it a touch one-dimensional. In some ways both feel a bit ‘not for us’.
But, says Lamborghini, this is a Superveloce. And this is different. There have only been three SVs in Lamborghini’s history before now and in Muira, Diablo and Murcielago forms they’ve respectively developed 385, 530 and 670 metric horsepower. Lots during their time, but nothing to the 750 implied by the name of the Aventador. Seven-fifty foreign nags is 740bhp, here developed by a 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine that revs to 8500rpm. Not for Lamborghini forced induction: just a whopping engine in the middle of the car, which also makes 509lb ft at 5500rpm. In ‘regular’ Aventador form it’s one of the world’s great powerplants. Here it should be even better.
Again it’s mated to a single-clutch automated manual with, we’re promised, an improved shift calibration, but more significantly still is the fact that the SV is an impressive 50kg lighter than the regular Aventador. There are new door skins and a couple of lighter panels, clad over the carbonfibre monocoque, but you suspect the real weight saving comes in the stripped-out interior. Lamborghini quotes a dry weight of 1525kg, which you could probably make 1700kg by the time it sits at the kerb.
What else? A big wing for to give serious downforce. Magneto-rheological adaptive dampers are standard on the SV, as is dyamic steering – which changes ratio depending on road speed and a host of other factors like how much of a ‘bung’ you give the car on the way into a corner. We don’t like the system much on the Huracan but Lamborghini engineers tell us it is improved here. Oh, and the price is up from around £260,000 to a whisker over £320,000. There will only be 600 of them.
What's it like?:
Good. Really good. And by gum it’s fast, unsurprisingly. The 0-62mph time is claimed at 2.8sec and I believe it. That’s only down by 0.1sec from the standard car but that’s because when you’re talking 691bhp versus 740bhp, acceleration is limited mostly by traction anyway. The top speed – more than 217mph – is actually electronically governed.
When will the horsepower war end? Not yet, according to Lamborghini’s head of research and development, Maurizio Reggiani. The extra power is largely irrelevant, he says, at lower speeds. It’s when you’re well over 125mph that the extra shove makes a difference, keeps the acceleration from tailing off, and why it’s worth having. Apparently.
Well, if the engine that makes that kind of power is as good as this, then I’m cool with that. The response of the big V12 is sensational, especially if you push the buttons that takes the car’s setup from Strada, past Sport and into Corsa. Not only does that improve the throttle response to electric levels, it also changes the calibration of the dampers, the steering and the 4wd system, which is actually slightly more rear-biased in Sport than Corsa. In Corsa: forget having fun, it’s all about going fast.
And this car is fast everywhere. I say everywhere: we’ve only driven it on a track in Barcelona, and then for not very long. But even on this acquaintance I can tell you that it feels genuinely agile and alert, in a way the standard car simply isn’t. Partly that’s because of the reduced weight, partly the downforce and partly the adaptive dampers keeping a tight control of the body movements. But it’s also because the steering is quick - more on that in a moment – and the chassis is extremely throttle adjustable.
On a steady throttle and smooth movements it’ll understeer a touch, but lifting brings it back. But it’s very happy to be deliberately upset by shifting it’s body movements around, at which point it’ll oversteer quite happily. And quickly. Eventually the 4wd system shuffles power around and it’ll pull itself straight, but such is the pace, power and weight that it’d be quite possible to have a big moment in a car like this. It does, at least, have hugely powerful carbon ceramic brakes, but it’s a car that quite likes positive, smooth, controlled pedal applications. Use those and it’s hugely rewarding. And bonkers fast.
To the steering, then, because it hasn’t been without controversy in the past: here it’s better. Even around most hairpins you don’t need more than a third of a turn of lock because the ratio quickens, which is most of the point; while it's extremely stable at high speeds because the ratio slows, which is the rest of the point. And it’s just about natural enough in its operation. Still, for my money, it’s not as satisfying as a conventional rack in a McLaren 650S, but to make a big car feel agile, it does it’s job: it’s less nervous than a Ferrari F12’s setup, for example.
Any other downsides? The gearbox is also improved, and gives a satisfyingly quick shift at max revs at full throttle, but still a single-clutch automated manual can feel lethargic at lower revs and smaller throttle openings. It doesn’t spoil things, though. The SV is a hugely likeable car: a wild Lamborghini of the old-school.
Should I buy one?:
If you’re tempted by a Lamborghini, then this is currently the best model the company makes. By a mile. There’s more to it than just raw speed, but if you do want something that’s as fast as the Superveloce, you have to spend much, much more money to get it. Forgive me, I’m going to mention the Nurburgring Nordschleife for a moment. Lamborghini, with only a 15-minute window, decided it would have a crack at a Nordschleife lap time; with little notice, a Pirelli test driver set a time of 6min59sec in this car.
You must watch the video of the lap: there are some massively hairy moments, which Lamborghini’s Reggiani reckons were worth three or four dropped seconds. Now bear in mind that Porsche, after quite a lot of trying, made its 918 Spyder hybrid hypercar go only two seconds faster than that, and you have an idea of the Superveloce’s latent pace.
That Porsche and Lamborghini are both part of VW group probably means Lamborghini won’t take the opportunity to go faster and reveal what might be a slightly awkward truth: that this is the fastest car in the company’s portfolio. And at £320,000, one you might – might - almost consider a bargain.
Location Barcelona; On sale Now; Price £321,743; Engine V12, 6498cc, petrol; Power 740bhp at 8400rpm; Torque 509lb ft at 5500rpm; Gearbox 7-spd automatic; Kerb weight 1525kg (dry); Top speed 217mph; 0-62mph 2.8sec; Economy 17.7mpg (combined);CO2/tax band 370g/km, 37%
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review...ves/lamborghini-aventador-lp750-4-superveloce
kingjr9000
Das Beste Enthusiast
Evo:
Lamborghini Aventador SV review - prices, specs and 0-60 time
JETHRO BOVINGDON
24 MAY 2015
VERDICT:
Not for the feint-hearted
PRICE:
£321,723
FOR
Sharper, more agile and even more exciting than standard Aventador. A real transformation.
AGAINST
Gearbox still on the brutal side
Lighter, more powerful and even more outrageous, Lamborghini’s new supercar has recently completed a lap of the Nürburgring in less than 7 minutes. Now we get to drive
it. On track, obviously
What is it?
The standard Aventador is hardly lacking in performance or aggression but the SV ramps everything up a notch. Lamborghini describe it as ‘the purest essence of a Lamborghini super sports car’. We’ll settle for simply ‘mad’. Weight is cut by 50kg, power up by 49bhp to 740bhp at 8400rpm. Aerodynamics, suspension and steering are also thoroughly revised. The result costs around £320,000 but as we’ve already seen with that ‘Ring lap, the SV might just give the hybrid hypercars a bloody nose and prove to be something of a ‘bargain’. You know what we mean.
speed of over 217mph. The gearbox shifts in 50 milliseconds in Corsa mode. With a bang.
On the chassis side there are radical changes. The inboard pushrod layout remains but now instead of fixed rate dampers there are magnetorheological units. Combined with the standard fit variable ratio ‘Dynamic Steering’ that makes this Aventador more configurable than ever. It keeps the Strada, Sport and Corsa modes but they now adjust engine, four-wheel drive settings, gearbox, steering and suspension. The SV has a mechanical locking differential at the rear and the ESP mimics a locking diff on the front axle. It runs on 20-inch wheels at the front and 21s at the rear with P Zero Corsa tyres fitted as standard. The rears are 355/ 25 ZR21s.
How does it compare?
At its price point the Aventador SV stands alone and even set against the P1, 918or LaFerrari it’s not a million miles away. Ok so a P1 will get from 0-186mph in 16.5-seconds to the SV’s 24-seconds… but such is the scale of the performance we’re talking about here that I can’t imagine anyone craving more very often. It’s a completely different animal to a Ferrari F12, which is closer in price but not philosophy. Basically if you want something faster, with more presence and offering more excitement you need to spend an awful lot more money.
Anything else I need to know?
That scary Nürburgring lap was done in a 15-minute window – a one shot deal. The driver ran the car in the lowest downforce setting in Corsa mode and with ESC on. He’s a Pirelli test driver called Marco Mapelli. It’s possible that the car could go quicker in the other downforce settings… the factory just don’t know as they haven’t set back-to-back laps. To be continued, then.
Engine V12, 6498cc, 48v
Power 740bhp @ 8400rpm
Torque 509lb ft at 5500rpm
0-60 2.8-seconds
Top Speed 217mph+
On Sale Now
Lamborghini Aventador SV review - prices, specs and 0-60 time
JETHRO BOVINGDON
24 MAY 2015
VERDICT:
Not for the feint-hearted
PRICE:
£321,723
FOR
Sharper, more agile and even more exciting than standard Aventador. A real transformation.
AGAINST
Gearbox still on the brutal side
Lighter, more powerful and even more outrageous, Lamborghini’s new supercar has recently completed a lap of the Nürburgring in less than 7 minutes. Now we get to drive
What is it?
The standard Aventador is hardly lacking in performance
speed
On the chassis side there are radical changes. The inboard pushrod layout remains but now instead of fixed rate dampers there are magnetorheological units. Combined with the standard fit variable ratio ‘Dynamic Steering’ that makes this Aventador more configurable than ever. It keeps the Strada, Sport and Corsa modes but they now adjust engine, four-wheel drive settings, gearbox, steering and suspension. The SV has a mechanical locking differential at the rear and the ESP mimics a locking diff on the front axle. It runs on 20-inch wheels at the front and 21s at the rear with P Zero Corsa tyres fitted as standard. The rears are 355/ 25 ZR21s.
How does it compare?
At its price point the Aventador SV stands alone and even set against the P1, 918or LaFerrari it’s not a million miles away. Ok so a P1 will get from 0-186mph in 16.5-seconds to the SV’s 24-seconds… but such is the scale of the performance we’re talking about here that I can’t imagine anyone craving more very often. It’s a completely different animal to a Ferrari F12, which is closer in price but not philosophy. Basically if you want something faster, with more presence and offering more excitement you need to spend an awful lot more money.
Anything else I need to know?
That scary Nürburgring lap was done in a 15-minute window – a one shot deal. The driver ran the car in the lowest downforce setting in Corsa mode and with ESC on. He’s a Pirelli test driver called Marco Mapelli. It’s possible that the car could go quicker in the other downforce settings… the factory just don’t know as they haven’t set back-to-back laps. To be continued, then.
Engine V12, 6498cc, 48v
Power 740bhp @ 8400rpm
Torque 509lb ft at 5500rpm
0-60 2.8-seconds
Top Speed 217mph+
On Sale Now
kingjr9000
Das Beste Enthusiast
kingjr9000
Das Beste Enthusiast
AutoExpress:
Lamborghini Aventador SV review
The awesome Lamborghini Aventador SV might just be Lambo's best car yet
Verdict
5
The SV is almost certainly the best car Lamborghini has ever made. From its ear-splitting exhaust note, to the proper head-swivelling supercar styling it fills the brief that Lambos should be the most outrageous cars on the road. But there's real substance behind the drama - usable downforce, delicate steering, huge grip and balance at the limit all combine to make it enormous fun to drive, so long as you can find the space to exploit its epic performance.
So where do you start when trying to describe what the new £321,723, 740bhp, 217mph Lamborghini Aventador SV is like, not just to drive but to look at, to sit inside, to listen to, or even just to smell? At the beginning, I suppose, which was well over four years ago now when the Aventador was first unleashed upon the world.
Back then, in 2011, the Aventador reshaped the headlines not merely because of its outrageous good looks and thundering 6.5-litre V12 engine. It stood out from those around it because it had a full blown carbon fibre chassis tub and racing car-like pushrod double wishbone suspension, and even back then it was obvious to anyone interested that there was quite a lot more to come from the car.
A year or so later the Roadster version was produced, and an excellent progression it was, too. But even with its roof removed and V12 engine exposed to the elements to give it an extra hit of drama, the Aventador still had more to give. You just knew, deep down, that its four wheel-drive mid-engined chassis could handle more power, and that the entire car was crying out for the lighter, faster, better treatment that’s been at the heart of Sant Agata’s SV models since the Miura first wore the badge in 1971. And now four and a bit years later here it is, the SV version – which stands for Super Veloce and translates to “Extremely Fast”.
Several aspects define the SV as a more focused machine above and beyond the regular Aventador. Its 6.5-litre V12 has been tuned internally and externally to produce an extra 49bhp, giving it a whopping 740bhp in total. The engine also revs 250rpm higher and rotates more freely thanks to a new variable valve timing system, allied to a brand new exhaust system.
The seven-speed gearbox has also been tweaked electronically to make the shift times faster but more violent than ever, with upshifts thumping through in a mere 50 milliseconds in Corsa mode. Likewise the Haldex four-wheel-drive system has been re-engineered to allow as much as 90 per cent of torque to be deployed via those enormous rear tyres under hard loads.
Turn the traction control off in the SV and you are much more on your own than you are in the regular Aventador. A clumsy boot on the throttle will turn the car right round if the ESC has been disengaged, unlike on the standard car.
Perhaps the biggest step forward made by the SV, however, is its new aerodynamic package. Thanks to a monstrous new splitter at the front, a redesigned underside plus a new diffuser and three stage adjustable wing at the rear, the SV generates a staggering 170 per cent more downforce than the regular Aventador. On the far side of 120mph it produces nearly 250kg of the stuff, with 60 per cent arriving at the rear axle to keep the tail rooted to the ground in quick corners.
Lamborghini claims the SV is 150 per cent more aerodynamically efficient than the standard car, and that’s the number that counts most when it comes to the management of air, because it takes into account drag as well as pure downforce. It would be relatively easy, say the car’s engineers, to generate vast amounts of downforce, but that’s no use whatsoever if the drag increases exponentially at the same time. But with the SV this isn’t the case. The car is almost as clean through the air as the standard Aventador yet generates massively more aerodynamic grip at the same time.
Mate all these individual elements to a 50kg reduction in kerb weight (thanks to lighter forged alloy wheels and more extensive use of carbon inside and out) and you begin to get an inkling as to how serious a machine the SV actually is. Except, of course, nothing can truly prepare you for the onslaught of sensations that hit you the moment you fire up the SV and begin to drive it.
On the move it feels instantly different to the regular Aventador. The ride is urgent but not ridiculously stiff, not on the track at Barcelona where I drove it, at any rate. The new variable ratio steering rack feels incredibly natural in its responses but also way crisper and much more incisive than the standard car’s steering system. And the exhaust note is twice, if not three times as loud – to a point where you do wonder how on earth the SV manages to pass European noise tests, even if it does have exhaust baffles that stay shut until beyond 2000rpm.
But it’s what happens when you put your foot down and hold it there for a couple of seconds in a low gear that will define your impression of the Aventador most dramatically. The wallop of acceleration is so violent in second, third and even fourth gear that it actually comes as a shock to begin with, even though I’ve driven Aventadors aplenty before.
It doesn’t feel as ridiculous as a LaFerrari in terms of pure, straight line energy, but neither does it feel like it would be murdered by Maranello’s masterpiece along any straight. Considering it costs less than a third of the Ferrari and there will only ever be 600 examples made over the next two years – guaranteeing the SV almost as much exclusivity as the La Ferrari – that makes it seem like peculiarly good value to me.
Potential owners of the SV would seem to think so, too, Lamborghini’s charismatic boss Stefan Winkleman proudly claiming that virtually the entire run of 600 cars has already sold out, the biggest market by far being the USA.
On a circuit as wide and open like the one at Barcelona, home of the Spanish GP, most road cars would feel hopelessly at sea, and not very fast. The straights are long, the corners fast, with only a couple of points on the lap where you drop much below three figures. But the SV is that rarest of road cars that feels entirely at home on a circuit like this.
It eats the straights almost as if they aren’t there, and in the corners it feels beautifully planted, its bespoke Pirelli Cora tyres generating huge grip at both ends, even with the ESC stability system switched off (especially with it switched off, in fact, because with it on there’s so much power available the system constantly tries to trim the throttle back).
The brakes, as you;d expect in a car such as this nowadays, feature enormous great carbon ceramic discs at all four corners, and the feel and power of the system is virtually impossible to fault. The SV stopped time and again, without fade, from ultra high speeds for lap after lap. Bearing in mind that it weighs over 1600kg with fluids plus a driver on board, that’s a deeply impressive achievement.
But not as impressive as the way it sounds or accelerates or goes round corners. Or, indeed, turns heads wherever it goes. The SV is a serious car for serious enthusiasts, no question about that, yet perhaps its greatest trick of all is that it’s relatively easy to drive at the same time. And that was always one of the car’s key engineering briefs; Lamborghini wanted to make an “Extremely Fast” version of the Aventador, yes, but the bosses also wanted to make a car that is approachable and friendly to drive. Otherwise, they concluded, what would be the point?
Lamborghini Aventador SV review
The awesome Lamborghini Aventador SV might just be Lambo's best car yet
Verdict
5
The SV is almost certainly the best car Lamborghini has ever made. From its ear-splitting exhaust note, to the proper head-swivelling supercar styling it fills the brief that Lambos should be the most outrageous cars on the road. But there's real substance behind the drama - usable downforce, delicate steering, huge grip and balance at the limit all combine to make it enormous fun to drive, so long as you can find the space to exploit its epic performance.
So where do you start when trying to describe what the new £321,723, 740bhp, 217mph Lamborghini Aventador SV is like, not just to drive but to look at, to sit inside, to listen to, or even just to smell? At the beginning, I suppose, which was well over four years ago now when the Aventador was first unleashed upon the world.
Back then, in 2011, the Aventador reshaped the headlines not merely because of its outrageous good looks and thundering 6.5-litre V12 engine. It stood out from those around it because it had a full blown carbon fibre chassis tub and racing car-like pushrod double wishbone suspension, and even back then it was obvious to anyone interested that there was quite a lot more to come from the car.
A year or so later the Roadster version was produced, and an excellent progression it was, too. But even with its roof removed and V12 engine exposed to the elements to give it an extra hit of drama, the Aventador still had more to give. You just knew, deep down, that its four wheel-drive mid-engined chassis could handle more power, and that the entire car was crying out for the lighter, faster, better treatment that’s been at the heart of Sant Agata’s SV models since the Miura first wore the badge in 1971. And now four and a bit years later here it is, the SV version – which stands for Super Veloce and translates to “Extremely Fast”.
Several aspects define the SV as a more focused machine above and beyond the regular Aventador. Its 6.5-litre V12 has been tuned internally and externally to produce an extra 49bhp, giving it a whopping 740bhp in total. The engine also revs 250rpm higher and rotates more freely thanks to a new variable valve timing system, allied to a brand new exhaust system.
The seven-speed gearbox has also been tweaked electronically to make the shift times faster but more violent than ever, with upshifts thumping through in a mere 50 milliseconds in Corsa mode. Likewise the Haldex four-wheel-drive system has been re-engineered to allow as much as 90 per cent of torque to be deployed via those enormous rear tyres under hard loads.
Turn the traction control off in the SV and you are much more on your own than you are in the regular Aventador. A clumsy boot on the throttle will turn the car right round if the ESC has been disengaged, unlike on the standard car.
Perhaps the biggest step forward made by the SV, however, is its new aerodynamic package. Thanks to a monstrous new splitter at the front, a redesigned underside plus a new diffuser and three stage adjustable wing at the rear, the SV generates a staggering 170 per cent more downforce than the regular Aventador. On the far side of 120mph it produces nearly 250kg of the stuff, with 60 per cent arriving at the rear axle to keep the tail rooted to the ground in quick corners.
Lamborghini claims the SV is 150 per cent more aerodynamically efficient than the standard car, and that’s the number that counts most when it comes to the management of air, because it takes into account drag as well as pure downforce. It would be relatively easy, say the car’s engineers, to generate vast amounts of downforce, but that’s no use whatsoever if the drag increases exponentially at the same time. But with the SV this isn’t the case. The car is almost as clean through the air as the standard Aventador yet generates massively more aerodynamic grip at the same time.
Mate all these individual elements to a 50kg reduction in kerb weight (thanks to lighter forged alloy wheels and more extensive use of carbon inside and out) and you begin to get an inkling as to how serious a machine the SV actually is. Except, of course, nothing can truly prepare you for the onslaught of sensations that hit you the moment you fire up the SV and begin to drive it.
On the move it feels instantly different to the regular Aventador. The ride is urgent but not ridiculously stiff, not on the track at Barcelona where I drove it, at any rate. The new variable ratio steering rack feels incredibly natural in its responses but also way crisper and much more incisive than the standard car’s steering system. And the exhaust note is twice, if not three times as loud – to a point where you do wonder how on earth the SV manages to pass European noise tests, even if it does have exhaust baffles that stay shut until beyond 2000rpm.
But it’s what happens when you put your foot down and hold it there for a couple of seconds in a low gear that will define your impression of the Aventador most dramatically. The wallop of acceleration is so violent in second, third and even fourth gear that it actually comes as a shock to begin with, even though I’ve driven Aventadors aplenty before.
It doesn’t feel as ridiculous as a LaFerrari in terms of pure, straight line energy, but neither does it feel like it would be murdered by Maranello’s masterpiece along any straight. Considering it costs less than a third of the Ferrari and there will only ever be 600 examples made over the next two years – guaranteeing the SV almost as much exclusivity as the La Ferrari – that makes it seem like peculiarly good value to me.
Potential owners of the SV would seem to think so, too, Lamborghini’s charismatic boss Stefan Winkleman proudly claiming that virtually the entire run of 600 cars has already sold out, the biggest market by far being the USA.
On a circuit as wide and open like the one at Barcelona, home of the Spanish GP, most road cars would feel hopelessly at sea, and not very fast. The straights are long, the corners fast, with only a couple of points on the lap where you drop much below three figures. But the SV is that rarest of road cars that feels entirely at home on a circuit like this.
It eats the straights almost as if they aren’t there, and in the corners it feels beautifully planted, its bespoke Pirelli Cora tyres generating huge grip at both ends, even with the ESC stability system switched off (especially with it switched off, in fact, because with it on there’s so much power available the system constantly tries to trim the throttle back).
The brakes, as you;d expect in a car such as this nowadays, feature enormous great carbon ceramic discs at all four corners, and the feel and power of the system is virtually impossible to fault. The SV stopped time and again, without fade, from ultra high speeds for lap after lap. Bearing in mind that it weighs over 1600kg with fluids plus a driver on board, that’s a deeply impressive achievement.
But not as impressive as the way it sounds or accelerates or goes round corners. Or, indeed, turns heads wherever it goes. The SV is a serious car for serious enthusiasts, no question about that, yet perhaps its greatest trick of all is that it’s relatively easy to drive at the same time. And that was always one of the car’s key engineering briefs; Lamborghini wanted to make an “Extremely Fast” version of the Aventador, yes, but the bosses also wanted to make a car that is approachable and friendly to drive. Otherwise, they concluded, what would be the point?
JHF
Driving Dynamics Pro
Kingjr - there you go 
First drive: Lamborghini Aventador SV
The quite mad V12 supercar gets more power, more wing and more mad. Paul Horrell reports
What's this, then?
The Super Veloce, or ‘super speed', is a faster version of the Aventador. Which means it's faster than a very fast thing. Faster in every respect, too: more power, less weight, much more downforce.
So it goes, stops, and grips more than the car that has already put on some pretty insane performances on the occasions we've had it on a track.
How insane?
Well, there's that very bonkers video of it on the Nurburgring Nordschleife at the hands of a Pirelli test driver who was in its development team. He comes home (just) in under seven minutes (just). A 'normal' Aventador is reckoned to be at least 20 sec slower.
How did they do that?
It's up to a headbanging 750bhp, and the V12's rev limit is now 8500, with a loud new exhaust so everyone knows it. But the extra horses are only a part of it. Some 50kg has been carved out.
And once you're above 60mph or so, there's a truly significant amount of downforce. The tyres are specially developed super-sticky Pirellis on bigger rims. How does 355/25 21 strike you for a set of garden rollers?
The pushrod suspension now has adaptive dampers, the superior magneto-rheological kind. And most controversially of all, there's active steering.
Any more details?
Here are the pass notes from the car's launch at this year's Geneva Show.
How does it feel?
Mad. Crazy fast. Lamborghini's V12 really is one of the wonders of the mechanical universe. Its epic hunger for speed is utterly naked. Its connection with you is nerve-meltingly vivid, going as it does without the bubble-wrap of turbos or electrical enhancement or a torque converter transmission, or even in this case much sound deadening.
Every twitch of your toe gets action - big action, right now. So think through the consequences before you ask.
Six-and-a-half litres is enough to bring massive mid-rev torque, so you can tackle corners a gear higher than you first expect. Then as the dial goes clockwise, the thrust amplifies even more. There's no sudden peak or kick-point: it just goes and goes, excitement rising but precision and proportionality intact.
I'm at the Barcelona F1 circuit. Any track like that usually makes a road car feel meek. But the Lambo manages to stamp its impression even here. You're never at full throttle for long. Even the pit straight is consumed as a series of quick chattering bites through third-fourth-fifth.
And yes, the V12 sound echoing off the grandstands really does tingle like the heyday of F1 power.
How does it compare to the regular Aventador?
You know what? I never drove the standard car and came away thinking, 'What this slug needs is more poke'.
A 10 per cent increase in high-rev power-to-weight ratio and a 3 per cent improvement in torque-to-weight, with the same gearing, was never going to be transformative. But hey, I'm not complaining. Anyway, other changes are much more significant.
Which ones?
The chassis, and in particular the steering. I really was sceptical about this. Every active steering system ever built has robbed you of any realistic feel of the road.
But, miracle ahoy, Lambo has cracked that. The wheel rim nibbles and goes light as the front tyres wash into slight understeer. It weights and unweights over cresting corners. It guides you to get the best from the tyres and scolds you when you don't.
There's still a good old hydraulically assisted rack, and your hands have a direct link to it. That's the good news.
Less convincing is the system that interposes itself to change the steering ratio. It moves the rack to add to, or subtract from, your input. And it's unpredictable in your first miles. Its map changes with speed, but not only with speed.
Also with - deep breath - steering angle, rate of steering angle change, inputs from the ESP sensors about cornering load and slip, and the position of the three-way strada-sport-corsa (road-sport-race) switch.
Its main job is to greatly reduce steering input in tight bends, as well as to make the car more stable at big speed. It does, but it made me feel uncomfortable.
And because it's so direct in tight bends, the car's dartiness was amplified by my hands' nerves.
Still, eventually I settled into it, stopped trying to second-guess it, and started to revel in the sense of agility it brings. But I was never quite convinced of the need. The SV is in any case the most agile Aventador ever.
How so?
Less weight, less understeer, more grip everywhere. There is still a little early understeer, but that's right and proper for a road car as it makes you feel secure. The tiniest lift or momentary unwinding of steering lock will cancel it.
Then the SV's gumballs build massive grip, and in fast corners there's aero to help you. We refer the jury once again to that 'Ring video. The SV's big yellow instrument cluster actually includes a g-meter, bigger than the (tiny) speedo. But you've got to be pretty sure of your cornering lines before you pay it much study during a fast lap.
Thing is, you don't need a g-meter. The whole car is telling you what it's up to. You feel the front tyres working, the weight of the engine when you lift, the bulging effort of the rear wheels as you lean on them out of a corner. It all feeds back to you.
And it does it well before you hit the grip limit. This - and not just its sheer theatrical presence and towering poke - was always what made the Aventador so captivating on the road as well as the track.
Even the SV's test drivers and engineers told me it's best to stay inside the limits because when this thing goes, it really goes. So I kept the ESP on. In corsa mode it lets the car squirm a fair bit anyway.
And on the road?
Good question. Today its minders wouldn't let it out of the captivity of the circuit. It'll be noisy on the street, that's for certain-sure. Not just from the new four-pipe exhaust, either.
Absent much of the cabin insulation, there's more (good) engine thrash from behind and more (bad) gravel rattle and tyre hum from below. But I don't fear for the SV's ride. The springs have been only marginally stiffened over the regular Aventador and the new adaptive dampers are, in their relaxed mode, more supple.
The rocket-capsule cockpit architecture is inherited from the standard car, but one-piece shell seats, new instruments and a view of the carbon bones of the car make it more special.
Does it look as bonkers in the flesh?
Cast your eye over all those blades of newly crafted carbon fibre around the periphery of the car, not to mention the acreage of voids set into them to admit and exhale and direct gales of air.
See too the cartoon-size wheels. But then the rest of it, the faceted body and radically raked glass and scissor doors and immense girth and snake-hip height, that's all inherited from the standard Aventador.
Makes the standard Aventador look a bit tame, right?
I'm not so sure. Yes, the SV is extraordinary, and yes, in the hands of a banzai expert it can pelt round a track at a hypercar rate. But if I'm honest, on today's (albeit brief) experience with the SV, I'm left with one abiding impression. Which is what a life-changing event it is to be exposed to an Aventador. Any Aventador...
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/first-drive-review-lamborghini-aventador-sv-2015-05-24
First drive: Lamborghini Aventador SV
The quite mad V12 supercar gets more power, more wing and more mad. Paul Horrell reports
What's this, then?
The Super Veloce, or ‘super speed', is a faster version of the Aventador. Which means it's faster than a very fast thing. Faster in every respect, too: more power, less weight, much more downforce.
So it goes, stops, and grips more than the car that has already put on some pretty insane performances on the occasions we've had it on a track.
How insane?
Well, there's that very bonkers video of it on the Nurburgring Nordschleife at the hands of a Pirelli test driver who was in its development team. He comes home (just) in under seven minutes (just). A 'normal' Aventador is reckoned to be at least 20 sec slower.
How did they do that?
It's up to a headbanging 750bhp, and the V12's rev limit is now 8500, with a loud new exhaust so everyone knows it. But the extra horses are only a part of it. Some 50kg has been carved out.
And once you're above 60mph or so, there's a truly significant amount of downforce. The tyres are specially developed super-sticky Pirellis on bigger rims. How does 355/25 21 strike you for a set of garden rollers?
The pushrod suspension now has adaptive dampers, the superior magneto-rheological kind. And most controversially of all, there's active steering.
Any more details?
Here are the pass notes from the car's launch at this year's Geneva Show.
How does it feel?
Mad. Crazy fast. Lamborghini's V12 really is one of the wonders of the mechanical universe. Its epic hunger for speed is utterly naked. Its connection with you is nerve-meltingly vivid, going as it does without the bubble-wrap of turbos or electrical enhancement or a torque converter transmission, or even in this case much sound deadening.
Every twitch of your toe gets action - big action, right now. So think through the consequences before you ask.
Six-and-a-half litres is enough to bring massive mid-rev torque, so you can tackle corners a gear higher than you first expect. Then as the dial goes clockwise, the thrust amplifies even more. There's no sudden peak or kick-point: it just goes and goes, excitement rising but precision and proportionality intact.
I'm at the Barcelona F1 circuit. Any track like that usually makes a road car feel meek. But the Lambo manages to stamp its impression even here. You're never at full throttle for long. Even the pit straight is consumed as a series of quick chattering bites through third-fourth-fifth.
And yes, the V12 sound echoing off the grandstands really does tingle like the heyday of F1 power.
How does it compare to the regular Aventador?
You know what? I never drove the standard car and came away thinking, 'What this slug needs is more poke'.
A 10 per cent increase in high-rev power-to-weight ratio and a 3 per cent improvement in torque-to-weight, with the same gearing, was never going to be transformative. But hey, I'm not complaining. Anyway, other changes are much more significant.
Which ones?
The chassis, and in particular the steering. I really was sceptical about this. Every active steering system ever built has robbed you of any realistic feel of the road.
But, miracle ahoy, Lambo has cracked that. The wheel rim nibbles and goes light as the front tyres wash into slight understeer. It weights and unweights over cresting corners. It guides you to get the best from the tyres and scolds you when you don't.
There's still a good old hydraulically assisted rack, and your hands have a direct link to it. That's the good news.
Less convincing is the system that interposes itself to change the steering ratio. It moves the rack to add to, or subtract from, your input. And it's unpredictable in your first miles. Its map changes with speed, but not only with speed.
Also with - deep breath - steering angle, rate of steering angle change, inputs from the ESP sensors about cornering load and slip, and the position of the three-way strada-sport-corsa (road-sport-race) switch.
Its main job is to greatly reduce steering input in tight bends, as well as to make the car more stable at big speed. It does, but it made me feel uncomfortable.
And because it's so direct in tight bends, the car's dartiness was amplified by my hands' nerves.
Still, eventually I settled into it, stopped trying to second-guess it, and started to revel in the sense of agility it brings. But I was never quite convinced of the need. The SV is in any case the most agile Aventador ever.
How so?
Less weight, less understeer, more grip everywhere. There is still a little early understeer, but that's right and proper for a road car as it makes you feel secure. The tiniest lift or momentary unwinding of steering lock will cancel it.
Then the SV's gumballs build massive grip, and in fast corners there's aero to help you. We refer the jury once again to that 'Ring video. The SV's big yellow instrument cluster actually includes a g-meter, bigger than the (tiny) speedo. But you've got to be pretty sure of your cornering lines before you pay it much study during a fast lap.
Thing is, you don't need a g-meter. The whole car is telling you what it's up to. You feel the front tyres working, the weight of the engine when you lift, the bulging effort of the rear wheels as you lean on them out of a corner. It all feeds back to you.
And it does it well before you hit the grip limit. This - and not just its sheer theatrical presence and towering poke - was always what made the Aventador so captivating on the road as well as the track.
Even the SV's test drivers and engineers told me it's best to stay inside the limits because when this thing goes, it really goes. So I kept the ESP on. In corsa mode it lets the car squirm a fair bit anyway.
And on the road?
Good question. Today its minders wouldn't let it out of the captivity of the circuit. It'll be noisy on the street, that's for certain-sure. Not just from the new four-pipe exhaust, either.
Absent much of the cabin insulation, there's more (good) engine thrash from behind and more (bad) gravel rattle and tyre hum from below. But I don't fear for the SV's ride. The springs have been only marginally stiffened over the regular Aventador and the new adaptive dampers are, in their relaxed mode, more supple.
The rocket-capsule cockpit architecture is inherited from the standard car, but one-piece shell seats, new instruments and a view of the carbon bones of the car make it more special.
Does it look as bonkers in the flesh?
Cast your eye over all those blades of newly crafted carbon fibre around the periphery of the car, not to mention the acreage of voids set into them to admit and exhale and direct gales of air.
See too the cartoon-size wheels. But then the rest of it, the faceted body and radically raked glass and scissor doors and immense girth and snake-hip height, that's all inherited from the standard Aventador.
Makes the standard Aventador look a bit tame, right?
I'm not so sure. Yes, the SV is extraordinary, and yes, in the hands of a banzai expert it can pelt round a track at a hypercar rate. But if I'm honest, on today's (albeit brief) experience with the SV, I'm left with one abiding impression. Which is what a life-changing event it is to be exposed to an Aventador. Any Aventador...
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/first-drive-review-lamborghini-aventador-sv-2015-05-24
JHF
Driving Dynamics Pro
2016 Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV
Even Lamborghini thinks it's crazy.
“Crazy acceleration.”
That’s what we were promised by, of all things, a PowerPoint slide during the presentation of the new 2016 Lamborghini Aventador SV as we geared up for some lap time at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It’s not often we see “crazy,” with all it implies, during a press presentation, especially by a company hocking its own product, but there it was.
Lamborghini wasn’t calling the whole car crazy, only the acceleration, but it might as well have been. First off, the SV (which stands for “Superveloce,” or “superfast”) packs the same tune for its V-12 as did the hyperexpensive, only-three-were-sold-to-the-public Veneno. It’s Lambo’s most powerful V-12, and it leverages optimized variable valve timing, a new exhaust system, and a higher redline (now 8500 rpm, up from 8350) to raise output to 740 horsepower at 8400 rpm. Torque remains at the same level as in the non-SV Aventador: 509 lb-ft at 5500 rpm. But while the dorsal-finned Veneno’s calling card was its crazy styling, the Superveloce is intended solely to circle a racetrack as quickly as possible. Which it does, having just lapped the Nürburgring in less than seven minutes. Only a “crazy” car can do that.
Helping matters is the claimed weight loss of 110 pounds. That comes courtesy of composite rear fenders and rocker panels, as well as a manually adjustable carbon-fiber wing and fixed C-pillar aero scoops in place of the electronically actuated wing and scoops on the standardAventador. There’s also much less sound insulation and carpeting (leaving the sexy carbon-fiber structure largely exposed), plus thinly padded fixed-back carbon-fiber racing seats. Other consequential changes include the fitment of lightweight (and gorgeous) new wheels, lateral strut-type magnetic shocks (a production-car first, says Lamborghini), and variable-ratio steering that reduces lock-to-lock motion, particularly with the drive systems in the most aggressive mode, Corsa.
During our laps on the circuit, the first thing we noticed was the sound, carefully engineered to let in the harmonics of the engine but not the less-desirable transmission chatter. The result is a raw, wicked wail thateasily drowned out the directions we were being given over an in-car radio issued by Lamborghini.
Lamborghini test pilota Marco Passerini led us around the track, and he wasn’t shy as a driver (or a person), quickly establishing a rapid pace through Catalunya’s 16 corners. Thanks to the SV’s brilliant Haldex-based all-wheel-drive system and bespoke Pirelli rubber—10 inches wide up front, 14 (!) out back—we didn’t feel the need to be shy, either. Grip is everywhere, and, yes, acceleration is absolutely ballistic. Connecting the turns with full-throttle bursts, we were pinned to the seats; by taking each gear all the way to redline, we regularly saw speeds just below 170 mph at the end of the front straight, usually lifting before the braking point lest we get too up close and personal with Passerini’s (slightly) slower, regular-grade Aventador.
Such explosive acceleration means that corners come up, ahem, super fast. More than once we found ourselves charging into a corner so rapidly we felt sure we were toast, but standing on the massive carbon-ceramic brakes yanked the car down reliably so we could hit our turn-in marks and carve across the apex.
Some credit for the stupefying abilities demonstrated by the car can be issued to the astounding high-speed downforce—up by 170 percent, says Lamborghini—which helps keep those fat Pirellis adhered to the pavement during such pucker-inducing braking. As if to prove the point, we watched the rear of Passerini’s car dance around under full brakes while the rear of our car stayed put.
It took a few corners, however, to get used to the new variable-ratio steering. Between the right-now braking, the proactive magnetic dampers keeping things flat, and the extremely quick steering in Corsa mode, turn-in is so immediate that our first laps included making many minor midcorner corrections. We also toggled between Sport and Corsa modes, finding Sport to be amazing in its own right, but we liked the latter even more once we became acclimated to the steering. Corsa also offers hyperspeed shift times and a more textured ride quality than do the slightly softer Sport and softer-still Strada modes.
Back in the pits, we exited the car with a sort of wonder and appreciation for the world—the violence and rawness of the experience had us feeling like we’d had multiple near-death experiences in the span of 10 minutes. Even after multiple sessions, our internal dialogue remained the same: First: “I’m alive.” Second: “What an awesome car.” Third: “My brain might explode, that was so incredible.”
As is the case with most sports cars, lower mass means better performance. Lower mass also usually means more money, and in Lamborghini terms, the cost is precisely $88,400 more than the non-SV model. Bespoke treatments will jack up the price even more, and only 600 SVs will be built. According to several Lamborghini officials present—including CEO Stephan Winkelmann—a future Aventador SV roadster is “possible.” Wink. Nod. Grin. Got it. Figure on a price point about $50K higher, and about 100 pounds of weight added back in. Might that make it slower? It could. Would it still be crazy? You’re damn skippy.
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE:mid-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe
BASE PRICE:$493,095
ENGINE TYPEOHC 48-valve V-12, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection
DISPLACEMENT:397 cu in, 6498 cc
Power: 740 hp @ 8400 rpm
Torque: 509 lb-ft @ 5500 rpm
TRANSMISSION:7-speed automated manual
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 106.3 in
Length: 190.4 in
Width: 79.9 in Height:44.7 in
Curb weight (C/D est):4000 lb
PERFROMANCE (C/DEST):
Zero to 60 mph: 2.7 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 6.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 10.7 sec
Top speed: 220 mph
FUEL ECONOMY (C/DEST):
EPA city/highway: 10/18 mpg
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2016-lamborghini-aventador-lp750-4-sv-first-drive-review
Even Lamborghini thinks it's crazy.
“Crazy acceleration.”
That’s what we were promised by, of all things, a PowerPoint slide during the presentation of the new 2016 Lamborghini Aventador SV as we geared up for some lap time at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It’s not often we see “crazy,” with all it implies, during a press presentation, especially by a company hocking its own product, but there it was.
Lamborghini wasn’t calling the whole car crazy, only the acceleration, but it might as well have been. First off, the SV (which stands for “Superveloce,” or “superfast”) packs the same tune for its V-12 as did the hyperexpensive, only-three-were-sold-to-the-public Veneno. It’s Lambo’s most powerful V-12, and it leverages optimized variable valve timing, a new exhaust system, and a higher redline (now 8500 rpm, up from 8350) to raise output to 740 horsepower at 8400 rpm. Torque remains at the same level as in the non-SV Aventador: 509 lb-ft at 5500 rpm. But while the dorsal-finned Veneno’s calling card was its crazy styling, the Superveloce is intended solely to circle a racetrack as quickly as possible. Which it does, having just lapped the Nürburgring in less than seven minutes. Only a “crazy” car can do that.
Helping matters is the claimed weight loss of 110 pounds. That comes courtesy of composite rear fenders and rocker panels, as well as a manually adjustable carbon-fiber wing and fixed C-pillar aero scoops in place of the electronically actuated wing and scoops on the standardAventador. There’s also much less sound insulation and carpeting (leaving the sexy carbon-fiber structure largely exposed), plus thinly padded fixed-back carbon-fiber racing seats. Other consequential changes include the fitment of lightweight (and gorgeous) new wheels, lateral strut-type magnetic shocks (a production-car first, says Lamborghini), and variable-ratio steering that reduces lock-to-lock motion, particularly with the drive systems in the most aggressive mode, Corsa.
During our laps on the circuit, the first thing we noticed was the sound, carefully engineered to let in the harmonics of the engine but not the less-desirable transmission chatter. The result is a raw, wicked wail thateasily drowned out the directions we were being given over an in-car radio issued by Lamborghini.
Lamborghini test pilota Marco Passerini led us around the track, and he wasn’t shy as a driver (or a person), quickly establishing a rapid pace through Catalunya’s 16 corners. Thanks to the SV’s brilliant Haldex-based all-wheel-drive system and bespoke Pirelli rubber—10 inches wide up front, 14 (!) out back—we didn’t feel the need to be shy, either. Grip is everywhere, and, yes, acceleration is absolutely ballistic. Connecting the turns with full-throttle bursts, we were pinned to the seats; by taking each gear all the way to redline, we regularly saw speeds just below 170 mph at the end of the front straight, usually lifting before the braking point lest we get too up close and personal with Passerini’s (slightly) slower, regular-grade Aventador.
Such explosive acceleration means that corners come up, ahem, super fast. More than once we found ourselves charging into a corner so rapidly we felt sure we were toast, but standing on the massive carbon-ceramic brakes yanked the car down reliably so we could hit our turn-in marks and carve across the apex.
Some credit for the stupefying abilities demonstrated by the car can be issued to the astounding high-speed downforce—up by 170 percent, says Lamborghini—which helps keep those fat Pirellis adhered to the pavement during such pucker-inducing braking. As if to prove the point, we watched the rear of Passerini’s car dance around under full brakes while the rear of our car stayed put.
It took a few corners, however, to get used to the new variable-ratio steering. Between the right-now braking, the proactive magnetic dampers keeping things flat, and the extremely quick steering in Corsa mode, turn-in is so immediate that our first laps included making many minor midcorner corrections. We also toggled between Sport and Corsa modes, finding Sport to be amazing in its own right, but we liked the latter even more once we became acclimated to the steering. Corsa also offers hyperspeed shift times and a more textured ride quality than do the slightly softer Sport and softer-still Strada modes.
Back in the pits, we exited the car with a sort of wonder and appreciation for the world—the violence and rawness of the experience had us feeling like we’d had multiple near-death experiences in the span of 10 minutes. Even after multiple sessions, our internal dialogue remained the same: First: “I’m alive.” Second: “What an awesome car.” Third: “My brain might explode, that was so incredible.”
As is the case with most sports cars, lower mass means better performance. Lower mass also usually means more money, and in Lamborghini terms, the cost is precisely $88,400 more than the non-SV model. Bespoke treatments will jack up the price even more, and only 600 SVs will be built. According to several Lamborghini officials present—including CEO Stephan Winkelmann—a future Aventador SV roadster is “possible.” Wink. Nod. Grin. Got it. Figure on a price point about $50K higher, and about 100 pounds of weight added back in. Might that make it slower? It could. Would it still be crazy? You’re damn skippy.
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE:mid-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe
BASE PRICE:$493,095
ENGINE TYPE
OHC 48-valve V-12, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injectionDISPLACEMENT:397 cu in, 6498 cc
Power: 740 hp @ 8400 rpm
Torque: 509 lb-ft @ 5500 rpm
TRANSMISSION:7-speed automated manual
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 106.3 in
Length: 190.4 in
Width: 79.9 in Height:44.7 in
Curb weight (C/D est):4000 lb
PERFROMANCE (C/DEST):
Zero to 60 mph: 2.7 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 6.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 10.7 sec
Top speed: 220 mph
FUEL ECONOMY (C/DEST):
EPA city/highway: 10/18 mpg
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2016-lamborghini-aventador-lp750-4-sv-first-drive-review
JHF
Driving Dynamics Pro
Lamborghini Aventador SV (2015) review
► Lighter, more powerful Aventador
► 740bhp, 217mph, 0-62mph in 2.8sec
► 500 cars will be built, at £320k each
Regular Aventador not fast, powerful or manly enough for you? Lamborghini’s spectacular new SV version has already ripped a 6.59 at the Nurburgring on its first go and bosses reckon the Porsche 918’s 6.57 is easy meat.
Let’s recap: what’s the lowdown on the standard Aventador, and what’s CAR’s take?
On paper the £286k Aventador LP700-4 seems to tick every supercar ‘box. It’s got a carbon chassis, pushrod suspension, is lower than a daschund’s beer gut and packs a storming 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 kicking out the best part of 700bhp. But it’s also rides horribly, feels disappointingly understeery on track and the single-clutch gearbox is slower than human evolution. In short, it’s an epic experience, but can’t hold a candle to Ferrari’s F12.
And what’s new for the SV?
It’s a tried and tested package of less weight (by 50kg, for a 1625kg total), more aero (up 170%, largely due to that manually adjustable three-position wing), and an engine optimised to hit harder at the top end, where it delivers 740bhp. Zero to 62mph takes 2.8sec and the top speed is electronically limited to 217mph (350kmh).
The tyres are bespoke sticky Pirellis wrapped around centre-lock wheels, the pushrod suspension gets adaptive dampers for the first time and there’s twirl-reducing electrically-assisted variable-ratio Dynamic Steering as standard. Inside, there’s exposed carbon, grippy racing buckets and flashes of the special carbon upholstery lightweight leather alternative Lamborghini first showed on the Aventador J concept a couple of years back.
Dynamic steering? Isn’t that the same steering that’s not very good in the Huracan?
It’s way better in this application, feeling entirely natural, accurate and full of feel. This is still a big car. Get on the gas too early, and too clumsily, and you can still understeer wide of your apex. But treat them right and the bespoke Pirelli tyres offer huge grip, and the promise of sustaining that grip lap after lap.
Refreshingly though, this car isn’t just about the front end, but the back too. And we’re not talking about its ability to pull of huge smokey slides, though that seems entirely possible, but about the way you can set the car up for each corner to ever-so-slightly oversteer, understeer or stay plain neutral as you wish. You can even change tack mid corner, using the right pedal to trim your line, although throttle sensitivity in Corsa mode makes that harder than it should be. In short, this is the most fun we’ve had in a Lambo in years because it feels like Lamborghini has engineered it to give even ordinary drivers the feeling that they’re tapping into the good stuff. Why can’t the Huracan feel a bit more like this?
Anything not to like?
Gearchanges in Corsa mode are brutally uncomfortable and those huge arching A-pillars aren’t great for visibility. It’s like driving the Sydney Harbour Bridge. And while the new full-width digital display looks incredibly cool, its a little bit disappointing that it can’t be configured in different ways like the regular car’s, or the Huracan’s.
What about that Nurburgring lap time - pretty incredible stuff!
Lambo’s own computations estimated it would do a 7min 10sec run and they were pretty pleased with that, so the eventual 6.59.73 sent them crazy. Exclusive time at the ’Ring is so expensive that the actual time was achieved with just one flying lap. R&D boss Reggiani reckons that you can see the test driver making a couple of errors during the lap and that a clean run could cleave another three or four seconds off the total. That would make it quicker than a 918 Spyder, and I can't see that going down well at sister company Porsche.
So how much, and how many?
You’ll pay £321,723 for one of the 500 SVs, which, in the lost-all-grip-on-reality world of supercar prices, isn’t that horrific. The £35k premium over a regular Aventador buys a much better car, with little loss of usability (the standard car’s got nothing to lose, let’s face it). The junior supercars a rung below aren’t much cheaper these days, and far less exclusive, while you’ll need to double your money to step up to something like a Koenigsegg or Pagani, never mind a £1m+ McLaren P1.
Verdict
This is the best Lamborghini we’ve driven for ages, quite possibly the best ever. Not because it’s the fastest, or the most powerful, but because it’s so inclusive (if you’ve got £321k, at least). It’s a scary old-school supercar that’s actually happy to open up to anybody, no matter what level of driver they are.
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/lamborghini/lamborghini-aventador-sv-2015-review/
► Lighter, more powerful Aventador
► 740bhp, 217mph, 0-62mph in 2.8sec
► 500 cars will be built, at £320k each
Regular Aventador not fast, powerful or manly enough for you? Lamborghini’s spectacular new SV version has already ripped a 6.59 at the Nurburgring on its first go and bosses reckon the Porsche 918’s 6.57 is easy meat.
Let’s recap: what’s the lowdown on the standard Aventador, and what’s CAR’s take?
On paper the £286k Aventador LP700-4 seems to tick every supercar ‘box. It’s got a carbon chassis, pushrod suspension, is lower than a daschund’s beer gut and packs a storming 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 kicking out the best part of 700bhp. But it’s also rides horribly, feels disappointingly understeery on track and the single-clutch gearbox is slower than human evolution. In short, it’s an epic experience, but can’t hold a candle to Ferrari’s F12.
And what’s new for the SV?
It’s a tried and tested package of less weight (by 50kg, for a 1625kg total), more aero (up 170%, largely due to that manually adjustable three-position wing), and an engine optimised to hit harder at the top end, where it delivers 740bhp. Zero to 62mph takes 2.8sec and the top speed is electronically limited to 217mph (350kmh).
The tyres are bespoke sticky Pirellis wrapped around centre-lock wheels, the pushrod suspension gets adaptive dampers for the first time and there’s twirl-reducing electrically-assisted variable-ratio Dynamic Steering as standard. Inside, there’s exposed carbon, grippy racing buckets and flashes of the special carbon upholstery lightweight leather alternative Lamborghini first showed on the Aventador J concept a couple of years back.
Dynamic steering? Isn’t that the same steering that’s not very good in the Huracan?
It’s way better in this application, feeling entirely natural, accurate and full of feel. This is still a big car. Get on the gas too early, and too clumsily, and you can still understeer wide of your apex. But treat them right and the bespoke Pirelli tyres offer huge grip, and the promise of sustaining that grip lap after lap.
Refreshingly though, this car isn’t just about the front end, but the back too. And we’re not talking about its ability to pull of huge smokey slides, though that seems entirely possible, but about the way you can set the car up for each corner to ever-so-slightly oversteer, understeer or stay plain neutral as you wish. You can even change tack mid corner, using the right pedal to trim your line, although throttle sensitivity in Corsa mode makes that harder than it should be. In short, this is the most fun we’ve had in a Lambo in years because it feels like Lamborghini has engineered it to give even ordinary drivers the feeling that they’re tapping into the good stuff. Why can’t the Huracan feel a bit more like this?
Anything not to like?
Gearchanges in Corsa mode are brutally uncomfortable and those huge arching A-pillars aren’t great for visibility. It’s like driving the Sydney Harbour Bridge. And while the new full-width digital display looks incredibly cool, its a little bit disappointing that it can’t be configured in different ways like the regular car’s, or the Huracan’s.
What about that Nurburgring lap time - pretty incredible stuff!
Lambo’s own computations estimated it would do a 7min 10sec run and they were pretty pleased with that, so the eventual 6.59.73 sent them crazy. Exclusive time at the ’Ring is so expensive that the actual time was achieved with just one flying lap. R&D boss Reggiani reckons that you can see the test driver making a couple of errors during the lap and that a clean run could cleave another three or four seconds off the total. That would make it quicker than a 918 Spyder, and I can't see that going down well at sister company Porsche.
So how much, and how many?
You’ll pay £321,723 for one of the 500 SVs, which, in the lost-all-grip-on-reality world of supercar prices, isn’t that horrific. The £35k premium over a regular Aventador buys a much better car, with little loss of usability (the standard car’s got nothing to lose, let’s face it). The junior supercars a rung below aren’t much cheaper these days, and far less exclusive, while you’ll need to double your money to step up to something like a Koenigsegg or Pagani, never mind a £1m+ McLaren P1.
Verdict
This is the best Lamborghini we’ve driven for ages, quite possibly the best ever. Not because it’s the fastest, or the most powerful, but because it’s so inclusive (if you’ve got £321k, at least). It’s a scary old-school supercar that’s actually happy to open up to anybody, no matter what level of driver they are.
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/lamborghini/lamborghini-aventador-sv-2015-review/
JHF
Driving Dynamics Pro
DRIVEN: 2016 Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce Review
BARCELONA, Spain -- It wasn’t that long ago when a Lamborghini launch consisted of showing up at the factory, downing a nuclear-strength espresso while you waited for the car to be ready (it was never ready), and then a salutary slap on the back from a test driver just before you climbed in and roared off into the hills. There was no media kit, no press conference -- just a little chaos and a lot of infectious enthusiasm.
This relaxed and brilliantly spontaneous preamble was a metaphor for the cars, too: chaotic, absurd, sometimes frustrating, but always deeply, madly loveable. Compared to the red team across town, the Lamborghini crew and the cars they created seemed to take themselves a lot less seriously. No need to pay lip service to any F1 baggage or Le Mans history, so why not just have a bit of fun and make something loud, fast, and riotously outrageous to behold?
Lamborghini isn’t that Lamborghini anymore, though. Sure, there’s still a genuine sense of fun about the team, respect for its own unique history of mad, bad wedges and styling that appeals to the 8-year-old in all of us. But the substance beneath the slashes, strakes, intakes, and wings is at an all-new level. The Audi-influenced Murcielago and Gallardo showed flashes of brilliance buried beneath some pretty apparent flaws. The Aventador moved the game on in terms of construction and execution but still wasn’t quite the finished article. But the recent Huracan is polished enough to stand toe to toe with Ferrari and McLaren and just about crazy enough to still cut it as a true blue product of Sant'Agata Bolognese.
And now this, the Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce. Just say the name out loud and tell me you don’t want one? It sounds old-school Lambo. It looks old-school Lambo dialed up to 12. But this press launch is rooted in the new era. We stay in a pristine hotel in Barcelona, the bus to Circuit de Catalunya leaves on time, we see graphs detailing downforce figures, discussing variable-ratio steering racks and magnetorheological constantly variable dampers. We hear about the factory’s expansion and how it will soon be certified carbon neutral (cue much snickering) and then we see that video. You know the one. It involves a gnarly old track in Germany, a bloke with unfeasibly large testes and a lap time of 6:59.73. Maybe this car will be the perfect marriage of Lamborghini’s gloriously nutty past and a future rooted in engineering as well as theater.
It passes the first test. When you see the Lamborghini Aventador SV, your stomach flips and your heart thumps just a little bit faster. The aero addenda might be there for genuine performance gains, but it also looks, well, cool. Then one of the instructors starts up the 6.5-liter V-12, and a big, dirty noise erupts from the four exhaust exits. I’m that 8-year-old again. But before I disappear into a gleeful monologue about the shattering noise and hilarious performance, let’s delve a little into the technical details.
The 750-4 Superveloce retains the Aventador’s basic structure and layout. It has a carbon monocoque with aluminium front and rear subframes. Weight has been shed thanks to new carbon-fiber rear fenders, lightweight seats, by stripping carpets and sound deadening materials and replacing heavy trim with simple and gorgeous carbon weave wherever possible. The result is a claimed weight savings of 110 pounds over the base Aventador, down to 3,362 pounds.
Suspension is double wishbones and pushrods with inboard springs and dampers to reduce unsprung weight. What’s new is that fixed-rate dampers are gone and replaced by magnetic units, which Lambo says offer greater body and wheel control, a wider spectrum of performance, and apparently greater ride comfort. (If you’ve ever driven an Aventador you’ll know that’s not going to be tough.) The hydraulic power steering is also replaced by Lamborghini Dynamic Steering, an electric variable ratio system we’ve seen on the Huracan and various Audis. Usually it’s pretty hideous as it can make the car feel as if it responds differently every time you turn the wheel, but the engineers claim this system is radically improved and offers more control and agility and requires less steering angle for any given corner. The SV retains the Aventador’s Haldex IV all-wheel drive system, albeit tweaked for this even more extreme application.
All good stuff, but what about the engine? Revisions to the variable valve timing and variable intake system ensure the dry-sumped, 6.5-liter V-12 is mightier than ever and it now revs to 8,500 rpm. Maximum power is 740 hp at 8,400 rpm and 509 lb-ft at 5,500 rpm. Lamborghini claims a 0-62 mph time of around 2.8 seconds, 0-124 mph in 8.6 seconds and 0-186 mph in 24 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 217 mph plus “a little tolerance,” and it’ll hit that number even in the highest of the three downforce settings available for the SV’s massive rear wing. So configured the SV produces roughly 480 pounds of downforce at 174 mph thanks to a new front splitter, optimized underbody panel, a funky new rear diffuser, and that big carbon plank. The lightweight seven-speed single clutch with dual shifting rod gearbox remains.
Our first taste of the car is exclusively on track and behind a pace car that appears to be on a qualifying lap, so the subtleties of ride quality, low rev response, and the finesse of the controls at low speeds will have to wait. But instantly the Lamborghini Aventador SV feels like a very different animal than the standard Aventador. Faster? Absolutely. But then again we’re in to the law of diminishing returns here. More importantly that SV feels lighter, more agile, and much more in tune with the driver’s inputs.
The standard Lamborghini Aventador is by no means inert (although early cars did understeer too much), but the SV takes the Lambo flagship to new heights. Turn-in response is much faster, and the front-end can live with the speed of that Dynamic Steering and hold its line beautifully. That creates an immediacy that runs through the whole experience: Lift off the throttle mid-corner and the V-12 behind starts to swing wide. It feels edgy at first, but soon you learn that it’s not about to spin you off into the Mediterranean. Instead, it’s ensuring you scribe the neatest, fastest line around any given corner. Once it’s taken this mildly tail-led stance you can really get into the torque and find a nice neutral phase mid-corner and a deliciously thrilling wiggle of oversteer as you exit out over the curbs.
There are three driving modes that configure steering, damping, drivetrain response, the ESC settings and the all-wheel drive system’s behavior. Forgive us for bypassing the softest Strada setting and heading straight to Sport and then Corsa. The latter offers brutal, almost painful gearshift speed (50-milliseconds and a haymaker engagement) unless you’re right on the limiter when it is much smoother. So why not have this quality on every shift? The SV’s all-wheel-drive system sends more power to the front wheels more quickly in order to cut lap times. Even so, you drive the SV on the outside rear tire as soon as the nose has bitten and you can feel the tail edging wide ever so slightly all the time. It’s a fantastic sensation -- at once teetering on the edge and offering eye-popping traction.
Throttle response is unbelievably sharp, too. In fact, in Corsa the accelerator can at times feel a bit like an on/off switch, but with practice you tune in to its immediacy and can play that big engine any way you like. It is an incredible engine too, serving up massive mid-range torque and a rush towards the limiter that is simply furious. It remains the beating heart of the car and the central tenet of the experience. However, this new agility and keenness to react accurately to the driver’s demands means that the chassis plays a hell of a supporting role. The brakes -- 15.7-inch front and 15-inch rear ceramic rotors -- cope well with the onslaught. The initial pedal feel is a little soft, but in terms of stopping power they’re tremendous and only exhibit a slight lengthening of the pedal after a series of fast, four-lap stints.
There really is substance behind the razzmatazz with the SV, and it feels transformed from the standard car. There’s greater precision, more grip, and a feeling of genuine nimbleness -- on a wide F1-spec track, at least. Even the previously deeply hateful Dynamic Steering works very well in this environment and feels much more natural than ever before. What’s more pleasing to me is that the old Lamborghini magic is still there. Very little can create the all-enveloping, sensory overload delivered by the Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce, and nothing has quite the same mix of brutal response, thunderous noise, and that odd feeling of relief when you’ve finished your time behind the wheel and survived despite trying to exploit all it has to give. It has an engineered sheen of civility, but the SV is still a proper monster at heart.
When I nip into the gleaming hospitality area set up in a pit garage, Lamborghini’s research and development director Maurizio Reggiani is grabbing one of those nuclear-strength espressos. “What do you think?” he asks with a broad smile. “It’s insane,” I reply. He gives me slap on the back and laughs. Long live the new, old, timeless Lamborghini.
http://www.automobilemag.com/review...rghini-aventador-lp-750-4-superveloce-review/
BARCELONA, Spain -- It wasn’t that long ago when a Lamborghini launch consisted of showing up at the factory, downing a nuclear-strength espresso while you waited for the car to be ready (it was never ready), and then a salutary slap on the back from a test driver just before you climbed in and roared off into the hills. There was no media kit, no press conference -- just a little chaos and a lot of infectious enthusiasm.
This relaxed and brilliantly spontaneous preamble was a metaphor for the cars, too: chaotic, absurd, sometimes frustrating, but always deeply, madly loveable. Compared to the red team across town, the Lamborghini crew and the cars they created seemed to take themselves a lot less seriously. No need to pay lip service to any F1 baggage or Le Mans history, so why not just have a bit of fun and make something loud, fast, and riotously outrageous to behold?
Lamborghini isn’t that Lamborghini anymore, though. Sure, there’s still a genuine sense of fun about the team, respect for its own unique history of mad, bad wedges and styling that appeals to the 8-year-old in all of us. But the substance beneath the slashes, strakes, intakes, and wings is at an all-new level. The Audi-influenced Murcielago and Gallardo showed flashes of brilliance buried beneath some pretty apparent flaws. The Aventador moved the game on in terms of construction and execution but still wasn’t quite the finished article. But the recent Huracan is polished enough to stand toe to toe with Ferrari and McLaren and just about crazy enough to still cut it as a true blue product of Sant'Agata Bolognese.
And now this, the Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce. Just say the name out loud and tell me you don’t want one? It sounds old-school Lambo. It looks old-school Lambo dialed up to 12. But this press launch is rooted in the new era. We stay in a pristine hotel in Barcelona, the bus to Circuit de Catalunya leaves on time, we see graphs detailing downforce figures, discussing variable-ratio steering racks and magnetorheological constantly variable dampers. We hear about the factory’s expansion and how it will soon be certified carbon neutral (cue much snickering) and then we see that video. You know the one. It involves a gnarly old track in Germany, a bloke with unfeasibly large testes and a lap time of 6:59.73. Maybe this car will be the perfect marriage of Lamborghini’s gloriously nutty past and a future rooted in engineering as well as theater.
It passes the first test. When you see the Lamborghini Aventador SV, your stomach flips and your heart thumps just a little bit faster. The aero addenda might be there for genuine performance gains, but it also looks, well, cool. Then one of the instructors starts up the 6.5-liter V-12, and a big, dirty noise erupts from the four exhaust exits. I’m that 8-year-old again. But before I disappear into a gleeful monologue about the shattering noise and hilarious performance, let’s delve a little into the technical details.
The 750-4 Superveloce retains the Aventador’s basic structure and layout. It has a carbon monocoque with aluminium front and rear subframes. Weight has been shed thanks to new carbon-fiber rear fenders, lightweight seats, by stripping carpets and sound deadening materials and replacing heavy trim with simple and gorgeous carbon weave wherever possible. The result is a claimed weight savings of 110 pounds over the base Aventador, down to 3,362 pounds.
Suspension is double wishbones and pushrods with inboard springs and dampers to reduce unsprung weight. What’s new is that fixed-rate dampers are gone and replaced by magnetic units, which Lambo says offer greater body and wheel control, a wider spectrum of performance, and apparently greater ride comfort. (If you’ve ever driven an Aventador you’ll know that’s not going to be tough.) The hydraulic power steering is also replaced by Lamborghini Dynamic Steering, an electric variable ratio system we’ve seen on the Huracan and various Audis. Usually it’s pretty hideous as it can make the car feel as if it responds differently every time you turn the wheel, but the engineers claim this system is radically improved and offers more control and agility and requires less steering angle for any given corner. The SV retains the Aventador’s Haldex IV all-wheel drive system, albeit tweaked for this even more extreme application.
All good stuff, but what about the engine? Revisions to the variable valve timing and variable intake system ensure the dry-sumped, 6.5-liter V-12 is mightier than ever and it now revs to 8,500 rpm. Maximum power is 740 hp at 8,400 rpm and 509 lb-ft at 5,500 rpm. Lamborghini claims a 0-62 mph time of around 2.8 seconds, 0-124 mph in 8.6 seconds and 0-186 mph in 24 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 217 mph plus “a little tolerance,” and it’ll hit that number even in the highest of the three downforce settings available for the SV’s massive rear wing. So configured the SV produces roughly 480 pounds of downforce at 174 mph thanks to a new front splitter, optimized underbody panel, a funky new rear diffuser, and that big carbon plank. The lightweight seven-speed single clutch with dual shifting rod gearbox remains.
Our first taste of the car is exclusively on track and behind a pace car that appears to be on a qualifying lap, so the subtleties of ride quality, low rev response, and the finesse of the controls at low speeds will have to wait. But instantly the Lamborghini Aventador SV feels like a very different animal than the standard Aventador. Faster? Absolutely. But then again we’re in to the law of diminishing returns here. More importantly that SV feels lighter, more agile, and much more in tune with the driver’s inputs.
The standard Lamborghini Aventador is by no means inert (although early cars did understeer too much), but the SV takes the Lambo flagship to new heights. Turn-in response is much faster, and the front-end can live with the speed of that Dynamic Steering and hold its line beautifully. That creates an immediacy that runs through the whole experience: Lift off the throttle mid-corner and the V-12 behind starts to swing wide. It feels edgy at first, but soon you learn that it’s not about to spin you off into the Mediterranean. Instead, it’s ensuring you scribe the neatest, fastest line around any given corner. Once it’s taken this mildly tail-led stance you can really get into the torque and find a nice neutral phase mid-corner and a deliciously thrilling wiggle of oversteer as you exit out over the curbs.
There are three driving modes that configure steering, damping, drivetrain response, the ESC settings and the all-wheel drive system’s behavior. Forgive us for bypassing the softest Strada setting and heading straight to Sport and then Corsa. The latter offers brutal, almost painful gearshift speed (50-milliseconds and a haymaker engagement) unless you’re right on the limiter when it is much smoother. So why not have this quality on every shift? The SV’s all-wheel-drive system sends more power to the front wheels more quickly in order to cut lap times. Even so, you drive the SV on the outside rear tire as soon as the nose has bitten and you can feel the tail edging wide ever so slightly all the time. It’s a fantastic sensation -- at once teetering on the edge and offering eye-popping traction.
Throttle response is unbelievably sharp, too. In fact, in Corsa the accelerator can at times feel a bit like an on/off switch, but with practice you tune in to its immediacy and can play that big engine any way you like. It is an incredible engine too, serving up massive mid-range torque and a rush towards the limiter that is simply furious. It remains the beating heart of the car and the central tenet of the experience. However, this new agility and keenness to react accurately to the driver’s demands means that the chassis plays a hell of a supporting role. The brakes -- 15.7-inch front and 15-inch rear ceramic rotors -- cope well with the onslaught. The initial pedal feel is a little soft, but in terms of stopping power they’re tremendous and only exhibit a slight lengthening of the pedal after a series of fast, four-lap stints.
There really is substance behind the razzmatazz with the SV, and it feels transformed from the standard car. There’s greater precision, more grip, and a feeling of genuine nimbleness -- on a wide F1-spec track, at least. Even the previously deeply hateful Dynamic Steering works very well in this environment and feels much more natural than ever before. What’s more pleasing to me is that the old Lamborghini magic is still there. Very little can create the all-enveloping, sensory overload delivered by the Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce, and nothing has quite the same mix of brutal response, thunderous noise, and that odd feeling of relief when you’ve finished your time behind the wheel and survived despite trying to exploit all it has to give. It has an engineered sheen of civility, but the SV is still a proper monster at heart.
When I nip into the gleaming hospitality area set up in a pit garage, Lamborghini’s research and development director Maurizio Reggiani is grabbing one of those nuclear-strength espressos. “What do you think?” he asks with a broad smile. “It’s insane,” I reply. He gives me slap on the back and laughs. Long live the new, old, timeless Lamborghini.
http://www.automobilemag.com/review...rghini-aventador-lp-750-4-superveloce-review/
kingjr9000
Das Beste Enthusiast
Soup, you have been busy today haven't you?
tristatez28lt1
Tire Trailblazer
Similar threads
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports
cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. It was founded in 1963 by Ferruccio
Lamborghini (1916-1993) to compete with Ferrari. The company is owned by the
Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi.
Official website: Lamborghini
Official website: Lamborghini
