"We learned a lot from launching the Huracán," a smiling Maurizio Reggiani tells me. Lamborghini's always-smiling head of research and development and I are standing on pit row at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain, surrounded by no fewer than a dozen multicolored Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloces. Seeing as Lambo is only producing 600 SVs total, my head should be spinning. Also, seeing as I just completed four overcaffeinated laps in a 741-horsepower brute on a track I'd never before thought about, let alone driven, blood should be pouring from my ears. Instead, I'm deep in discussion with Maurizio — who gets my vote for nicest man in the car industry — about the Superveloce's suspension.
The Huracán was the first Lamborghini to come with magnetorheological dampers — the same type of Delphi-developed magnetic fluid-filled shocks you'll find on cars ranging from the Cadillac XTS to the Ferrari 458 Italia. But they didn't work so hot early on with the Huracán. Initial press reaction was tepid, sometimes worse. Here's us: "My excitement quickly turned to disappointment." The problem was the magnetic dampers. They just weren't ready for prime time. On the Huracán they're optional. Fixed dampers come standard, and having driven both I greatly prefer the simpler, less pricey non-magnetic version. The all-new, range-topping Superveloce only comes with magnetorheological shocks, so Maurizio and his team had to get them totally, completely right.
Before I tell you if they did, and if the LP 750-4's $493,095 base price is (on some scale) justifiable, allow me to tell you more about the car itself. Power from the naturally aspirated, 6.5-liter V-12 is up 50 ponies from the regular-flavor Aventador with 691 hp, as well as an additional 31 compared with the super-limited-edition 50th Anniversary Roadster. More power is a given now that the property-devaluing Dodge Hellcat makes 707 hp, and your closest rival — the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta — kicks out 731 screaming horses. While the Superveloce's redline/power peak is raised slightly from 8,350 to 8,500 rpm, torque remains the same: 508 lb-ft at 5,800 rpm.
Lamborghini didn't just add power. It dropped weight — 110 pounds is what the boys are claiming. Seeing as how the name Superveloce translates to "super fast," that makes sense. Good thing, too, because funky door, sexy supercar looks aside, the Aventador is a big girl. The last one we weighed came in at 4,109 pounds. Meaning this Superveloce should be just about two tons even. We'll see. But before they dropped weight, Maurizio's team added some kilos in the form of adaptive steering and the magnetorheological stuff.
The first thing they did was remove all the moving parts. Gone are the Murciélago-style flaps, as well as the active wing. In their place sit fixed carbon-fiber pieces, though the wing can be manually set to one of three positions. The interior has been thoughtfully stripped out, leaving plenty of exposed carbon-fiber tub. My favorite inside piece has to be the floormats — aluminum plates covered with grip tape. Brilliant! The busy, squid-ink-pasta-looking "dianthus" center lock wheels also help reduce heft. I should mention that the front two wheels are skinned in 255/30/20 Pirelli P Zero Corsas. The rears? 355/25/21. Lambo may as well have called this thing the Tumbler.
How is the Aventador Superveloce to drive? Put shortly, it's extremely great. Whatever flaws were present back in 2012 when we first laid our greedy but disappointed mitts on the Aventador are a memory, and a fading one at that. I tell Maurizio that taking velocity and volume out of the equation, the LP 750-4 reminds me of a big Alfa Romeo 4C. Only unlike the little, go-karty Alfa, there's no lag, the redline is gloriously high, and the engine sounds abso-fantastic. But big go-kart. That's my big takeaway. Remember, physics doesn't only care about weight. Give a car enough power and grip and you can accomplish anything. Look at the Chevy Z/28. Or, more appropriately, what the Aventador Superveloce just did around the famously infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife: 6:59.73.
Cracking the 7-minute barrier on the 'Ring is a huge accomplishment. Porsche's more powerful 918 Spyder did the deed about 3 seconds quicker, in 6:57.00. Other than that, there are two quicker times by Radicals, but calling those production cars is a stretch. Every other production car in the world requires more than 7 minutes. Talking with Maurizio, I ask him what was the biggest factor for nailing such a great time. The extra power? The weight reduction? The extra downforce from the outsized wing? Nope, he tells me. It's mostly the magnetic dampers. How much compared with an Aventador with fixed dampers? Twenty seconds. Why so? The vastly improved ride control allowed Lamborghini's driver to go quicker and harder over bad surfaces. Sometimes it's as simple as that.
A lesser but still key piece of the Superveloce puzzle is LDS, also known as Lamborghini Dynamic Steering. First name notwithstanding, I'd be willing to bet that this bit of technology is actually Audi's dynamic steering. I'm sorry; I meant to say Audi's dreaded dynamic steering. But Lamborghini did a really fine job tuning the LDS. The steering ratio is continuously variable and is calculated from a mix of the SV's current speed, wheel angle, and drive mode. I spent my time on the track in Corsa mode(Italian for Track, mate) and the well-behaved, tidy steering behavior was a big part of what made the LP 750-4 so enjoyable to drive. And by drive I mean trying to keep up with the utter maniac Lambo driver in the Aventador in front of me. Seeing 144 mph your first time out on a circuit is … absolutely electrifying!
Even with my hands sawing and feet kicking, I didn't detect any bad behavior from the Superveloce. Understeer has been dialed way back from the "normal" Aventador, and not that I was popping the rear end out (especially on those tires), but I could sense the car wants to wiggle its hips. The massive carbon-ceramic brakes are strong. The engine should be reclassified as a Schedule I narcotic. Even the recalibrated Independent Shifting Rod transmission — a device we sure did not love on the "regular" car — left me smiling when going for broke in Spain. If there is a bad part to the newest Superveloce, it's this: All 600 examples have been sold. I guess you'll have to wait for the Roadster.
The Huracán was the first Lamborghini to come with magnetorheological dampers — the same type of Delphi-developed magnetic fluid-filled shocks you'll find on cars ranging from the Cadillac XTS to the Ferrari 458 Italia. But they didn't work so hot early on with the Huracán. Initial press reaction was tepid, sometimes worse. Here's us: "My excitement quickly turned to disappointment." The problem was the magnetic dampers. They just weren't ready for prime time. On the Huracán they're optional. Fixed dampers come standard, and having driven both I greatly prefer the simpler, less pricey non-magnetic version. The all-new, range-topping Superveloce only comes with magnetorheological shocks, so Maurizio and his team had to get them totally, completely right.
Before I tell you if they did, and if the LP 750-4's $493,095 base price is (on some scale) justifiable, allow me to tell you more about the car itself. Power from the naturally aspirated, 6.5-liter V-12 is up 50 ponies from the regular-flavor Aventador with 691 hp, as well as an additional 31 compared with the super-limited-edition 50th Anniversary Roadster. More power is a given now that the property-devaluing Dodge Hellcat makes 707 hp, and your closest rival — the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta — kicks out 731 screaming horses. While the Superveloce's redline/power peak is raised slightly from 8,350 to 8,500 rpm, torque remains the same: 508 lb-ft at 5,800 rpm.
Lamborghini didn't just add power. It dropped weight — 110 pounds is what the boys are claiming. Seeing as how the name Superveloce translates to "super fast," that makes sense. Good thing, too, because funky door, sexy supercar looks aside, the Aventador is a big girl. The last one we weighed came in at 4,109 pounds. Meaning this Superveloce should be just about two tons even. We'll see. But before they dropped weight, Maurizio's team added some kilos in the form of adaptive steering and the magnetorheological stuff.
The first thing they did was remove all the moving parts. Gone are the Murciélago-style flaps, as well as the active wing. In their place sit fixed carbon-fiber pieces, though the wing can be manually set to one of three positions. The interior has been thoughtfully stripped out, leaving plenty of exposed carbon-fiber tub. My favorite inside piece has to be the floormats — aluminum plates covered with grip tape. Brilliant! The busy, squid-ink-pasta-looking "dianthus" center lock wheels also help reduce heft. I should mention that the front two wheels are skinned in 255/30/20 Pirelli P Zero Corsas. The rears? 355/25/21. Lambo may as well have called this thing the Tumbler.
How is the Aventador Superveloce to drive? Put shortly, it's extremely great. Whatever flaws were present back in 2012 when we first laid our greedy but disappointed mitts on the Aventador are a memory, and a fading one at that. I tell Maurizio that taking velocity and volume out of the equation, the LP 750-4 reminds me of a big Alfa Romeo 4C. Only unlike the little, go-karty Alfa, there's no lag, the redline is gloriously high, and the engine sounds abso-fantastic. But big go-kart. That's my big takeaway. Remember, physics doesn't only care about weight. Give a car enough power and grip and you can accomplish anything. Look at the Chevy Z/28. Or, more appropriately, what the Aventador Superveloce just did around the famously infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife: 6:59.73.
Cracking the 7-minute barrier on the 'Ring is a huge accomplishment. Porsche's more powerful 918 Spyder did the deed about 3 seconds quicker, in 6:57.00. Other than that, there are two quicker times by Radicals, but calling those production cars is a stretch. Every other production car in the world requires more than 7 minutes. Talking with Maurizio, I ask him what was the biggest factor for nailing such a great time. The extra power? The weight reduction? The extra downforce from the outsized wing? Nope, he tells me. It's mostly the magnetic dampers. How much compared with an Aventador with fixed dampers? Twenty seconds. Why so? The vastly improved ride control allowed Lamborghini's driver to go quicker and harder over bad surfaces. Sometimes it's as simple as that.
A lesser but still key piece of the Superveloce puzzle is LDS, also known as Lamborghini Dynamic Steering. First name notwithstanding, I'd be willing to bet that this bit of technology is actually Audi's dynamic steering. I'm sorry; I meant to say Audi's dreaded dynamic steering. But Lamborghini did a really fine job tuning the LDS. The steering ratio is continuously variable and is calculated from a mix of the SV's current speed, wheel angle, and drive mode. I spent my time on the track in Corsa mode(Italian for Track, mate) and the well-behaved, tidy steering behavior was a big part of what made the LP 750-4 so enjoyable to drive. And by drive I mean trying to keep up with the utter maniac Lambo driver in the Aventador in front of me. Seeing 144 mph your first time out on a circuit is … absolutely electrifying!
Even with my hands sawing and feet kicking, I didn't detect any bad behavior from the Superveloce. Understeer has been dialed way back from the "normal" Aventador, and not that I was popping the rear end out (especially on those tires), but I could sense the car wants to wiggle its hips. The massive carbon-ceramic brakes are strong. The engine should be reclassified as a Schedule I narcotic. Even the recalibrated Independent Shifting Rod transmission — a device we sure did not love on the "regular" car — left me smiling when going for broke in Spain. If there is a bad part to the newest Superveloce, it's this: All 600 examples have been sold. I guess you'll have to wait for the Roadster.
2016 Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce
Reviewed by admin
Published :
Rating : 4.5
Published :
Rating : 4.5
No comments:
Post a Comment