Driven: Lamborghini Aventador SV

Make no mistake, it’s a monster of a supercar! The Aventador SV (which stands for Superveloce – Italian for super fast) lives up to its outlandish appearance. With a cockpit like that of a fighter aircraft, and a top speed of more than 350km/h, it gives you as authentic a supercar experience as you’ll ever get.

The stats and tech specs are mindboggling. But then what else would you expect from Lamborghini? A 6.5-litre, 750bhp, 12-cylinder engine with 690Nm of torque, rockets the Aventador SV from a standstill to 100km/h in just two seconds – and the car reaches 200km/h in just eight seconds. It puts the driver under 1g of force up to 100km/h, and then falls progressively to 0.4g’s by the time it crosses the 200km/h mark – but it still leaves you literally nailed to the backrest.

The Aventador SV costs a king’s ransom at almost half-a-million dollars, and only 500 of these cars will be made!

Another Dimension

It’s an outrageous car that defies rules and logic. Once you’re behind the wheel of this supercar, you look at the world with a different perspective.

It looks spectacular, even when parked – with its upward opening iconic doors. The magic pencil of Lamborghini’s design boss Filippo Perini has given shape to the aerodynamic requirements demanded by the technical team in the best way possible. The SV goes way beyond simply being merely a tweaked Aventador.

And so the Aventador SV comes with an aggressive, sculpted look, vast rear wing and contrasting styling elements that ensure attention both on the track and off it.

It’s the most extreme and powerful Lamborghini ever. Once you drop into the cockpit – the car is just one metre and 14 centimetres high – you find yourself in a truly unique environment. To reduce weight, all unnecessary items have been removed. As you’d expect, carbon or lightweight materials have been extensively used. For example, the upholstery and the roof lining are in carbon – a special patented fabric that weighs less than half of the traditional leather everybody else uses. Compared to the ‘standard’ Aventador, the SV weighs 100 pounds less.

The driving position is unusual – you sit very low in a seat that’s not very comfortable. The steering wheel, widely adjustable, is distinguished by two very large paddle shifters. The racing-inspired instrumentation gives prime importance to the digital rpm gauge.

The two seats are separated by an almost horizontal console on which you find the secondary controls – particularly those buttons that allow you to select the three available setups (Street, Sport and Race modes) and the multimedia system. The space is limited, but enough to be comfortable. As for luggage space... forget it!

In the Cockpit

Firing the 12-cylinder engine is almost a ritual. The engine comes alive with a ferocious, bellowing exhaust note that’s guaranteed to draw attention. The V12 is an extraordinary engine that produces 50bhp more than the previous model.

The engine pulls very well at the mid-range, but it’s between 5,000rpm and 8,400rpm that it really breaks free with a linearity that only a few (and very sophisticated) engines can deliver. In Sant’ Agata, they’ve worked very hard to give it a race car flavour. The new front valence, the floor, the extractor, and the large wing (adjustable to three different positions) create extra downforce, and that lays the foundation for the sense of security the SV gives you when it enters its ‘comfort’ zone – which is in the vicinity of 200km/h.

Handling is stable and precise with the front end staying utterly faithful to wherever you point it. It also goes very well on a tight track, because the new front geometry and the steering makes it much more direct than in the original Aventador. Mass just seems to fade away as this Lambo juggles tight corners and chicanes with élan.

At the Limit

Despite the phenomenal grip of the P-Zero tyres, there are times when the rear wheels begin to spin – unable to withstand the fury of 740 horsepower when you floor the accelerator. But it’s not worrisome, as the torque flows to the front wheels with not only determination, but also with a lot of progression. And so attacking a bend is not an issue, and neither is exiting onto the next straight.

You only have to be careful to find the perfect time to change gear, because the mono-clutch is so brutal that it can actually upset the balance. So either you do it before the limit of cornering grip – using the torque of the V12 to exit a corner, or later on by using the rev range to its fullest.

The braking system deserves a totally separate chapter – carbon-ceramic brakes, of course, and unusually large (the front rotors are 400mm in diameter). They do their duty remarkably well. and remain as sharp as ever. The ABS takes care of the rest.

To reduce weight, the seats, door panels, cockpit instrumentation, and many other details are made of carbon. The roof lining is also made of a special carbon fibre. The racing-inspired instrumentation is specific to this model

THE VAIRANO RING

On the Vairano circuit, the Aventador SV comes in third – behind an unattainable Porsche 918 Spyder, and just a breath away (four hundredths of a second) from its sibling, the Huracán. The result wasn’t really that surprising, given the fact that the Huracán is smaller and weighs less. Plus, it took advantage of its optional Pirelli Trophy R tyres – which are more track focused than the Pirelli P-Zero’s with which the SV was shod.

The SV was still faster than the McLaren 650 S (1:12.29) and the Ferrari 458 Speciale (1:12.45). In the fastest section of the track, where it can take advantage of its excellent aerodynamic balance, the SV is just sensational. The SV’s all-wheel drive also makes exits from tight corners very effective. The carbon-ceramic brakes on the SV are also exceptional.

What’s Good

Performance: When it comes to the acceleration, the numbers say it all – it’s a real missile.
Driving Dynamics: It’s easy to drive within certain limits, and extremely effective.

What’s Not

Gearshift: In Race mode, it’s fast but too abrupt.
Comfort: The SV is not a comfortable car, but there isn’t any real need for it to be!

Summary

Very often I wonder whether it still makes sense to make cars like these. Obviously it does for several reasons! And for the few carmakers that have the legacy of pushing the boundaries, and also have the know-how to build them, almost have a responsibility to do so. After all, the handful of lucky people who can afford an Aventador SV will end up driving an object quite extraordinary and unique – a piece of automotive history in fact. Excessive? Yes, the SV it is certainly excessive, but it’s in Lamborghini’s DNA to pull out all the stops in the quest for perfection.

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