2018 Lamborghini Aventador Reviews

Lamborghini's Aventador S is the last link to supercars of old. Wild, bedroom-poster material, gigantic anti-socially loud V12 that actually spits flame. It's an unabashed, head-banging, rock ape.

Too fast, too loud, too crazy, too dangerous, too big. These are all fair criticisms of the new Lamborghini Aventador S, but to drive one, and be frightened, is to want one anyway.

Neil Dowling track tests the Lamborghini Aventador, with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

When Mercedes invited us to the Race the Runway charity event at Edinburgh Airport, we lept at the chance.

The noise hurts. The exhaust note pounds the eardrums and the shockwaves turn my chest into a kettle drum in the hands of some musically-challenged maniac.All I have to do to make that noise -- that vibrating air -- disappear is to turn the console switch from "sport" to "strada" (street). That changes the engine settings, diverting the exhaust gases away from the optional performance-tuned extractors.But I can't. It's addictive not just to me but to the occupants of the cars alongside me at the traffic lights, to the cyclist I just passed a kilometre or two back down the road and to the now slightly-shaken shoppers wandering the narrow city streets. At least I presume they are equally in awe of the music as they are of the sharp-edged, hexagonal-trimmed wedge that is Lamborghini's Aventador Roadster.It is a car that shocks the senses with more than just its sound, with its razor-edged lines that defy the organic lines of contemporary transport and in its disproportionate dimensions that exaggerate its 2.3m width against a tiny 1.1m height.PRICEAnd if all that doesn't get you in, then the entry-level price of $795,000 - incidentally including about $300,000 of government taxes (so who says wealth is obscene) - is a reality check and the $929,000 on-road cost of the test car is just an impossible Monopoly number.Few cars - at least those capable of being licenced in Australia - will make your driveway look as good as this. Remarkably, it will make the driver look fantastic as well and do wonders for the person in the passenger seat.If you're introverted, drive a Pulsar. If you're here to be noticed, it's a Lamborghini and certainly one like the Aventador Roadster - there is also the Gallardo Convertible - that without its roof will make you a sunburnt star.If you've got it, flaunt it! Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916-1993), who started the company, reputedly said once about the high price of his cars: "The engine costs $150,000 - the rest you get for free."DESIGNThe hexagons that make up a large part of the Roadster's shell design - and incidentally are absent in the Aventador coupe - are a tip of the hat by Lamborghini to the element of carbon. Carbon fibre, you see, forms the bulk of the car's bodywork. The rest is jagged euphoria.The test car gets 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels (a $10,350 option) and glass-panelled engine cover ($14,985), a carbon-fibre fillet in the centre of the engine's vee ($4995), and metallic paint ($4875). Signs of parent company Audi are visible in some switchgear - not a bad thing, really.TECHNOLOGYToo much for this space but the engine can cut off six cylinders when coasting and the Aventador has stop-start with a capacitor - same as Mazda6! The AWD system sends power out of the front of the engine, into the gearbox between the seats, then uses one prop shaft to the rear wheels (alongside the right of the engine) and sends the other forward through a Haldex diff to the front wheels. The complexity ranks alongside Nissan GT-R's power transfer.SAFETYIt doesn’t have an Australian crash rating. If you've got $929,000 then buy one of these and give it to ANCAP and they'll crash it for you. Let me know how it fares.DRIVINGSomeone once described the acceleration of this as horizontal bungee jumping. I can't argue. Nothing comes closer to the slingshot immediacy of the Aventador with a claimed 2.9 second blink from rest to 100km/h.The first lesson is: Be very prepared when you play with the accelerator pedal. From start there's a click of the right-side paddle shifter into first gear, then a squeeze on the accelerator pedal. Then more of a squeeze and so on until I believe that the gear hasn't engaged. It has, it's just a few more hundred revs around the dominating, multi-coloured single tachometer dial before the electronic clutch bites.Then 515kW lurches forward. Leave it in "strada" mode for general street use and the exhaust note is tame and the automatic mode of the robotised seven-speed manual is almost domesticated - certainly a far cry from the early "e-gear" box in the first Gallardo that was like trying to appease a grumpy Collingwood supporter after a lost game.Depending on accelerator pressure, the box will either hold the gears back and fling them upward around 3000rpm, or roll up the cogs quickly. The steering is firm, almost heavy, and while visibility to the front is clear, the rear view is little more than a letterbox slit and to the sides - well, forget it.The car isn't hard to drive. It's the fear of failure that grips me. I drive haunted by thoughts of one tiny corner miscalculation resulting in doom in a financial vacuum yet, at the same time, the sheer exhilaration of pedalling a remarkably simple, shatteringly quick piece of hand built Italiana.Change the console-mount button the "sport" and that exhaust note erupts. There is an urgency that doesn't mix well with the lazy mid-week traffic on the coastal route. The "corsa" button keeps the exhaust bark and wail the same but turns off the electronic nanny - a move made by the brave or foolish. It also firms the steering and the gearchanges alter from abrupt to violent.Traffic lights disappear and the road sweeps and flows and traffic reduces, so the car can be moved with less restriction. Here, on the open bitumen, is where the Aventador starts to shine. Sure, it is upset by uneven bitumen that makes the suspension jiggle and the chassis jump and coachwork exhibit the occasional small squeak.But its hunger is insatiable. It eats the road and the faster - academically to speeds even intolerable in northern Italy - it goes, the more it hugs the bitumen and becomes locomotive solid. Roof up, the car is taut and quiet from wind - not road or engine noise, however - but with the two targa-type panels removed and the bevel-edge window glass down, it twirls the wind through the carpet and the leather and my remaining hair.These two targa panels, made of a composite so they're remarkably light at 6kg each, are suitably numbered so amateurs like myself can find how they slot into position beneath the shovel-shaped bonnet. Be warned: Once in place, there is no room for luggage. None. The seats - optional here in a Roadster-exclusive Elegante pack ($4440) with Lamborghini branding (add $2070) - look tiny but are supportive while being easy to access.The scissor doors are made of carbon fibre and perfectly balanced so they open and close as a two-finger exercise, far removed from the heavy hand needed for the Murcielago.VERDICTThe best Lamborghini to date.Lamborghini Aventador RoadsterPrice: from $795,000 ($929,000 on-road as tested)Warranty: 3 years/unlimited km, 3yr roadside assistCapped servicing: NoService interval: 12mths/12,000kmResale: 54%Safety: 8 airbags, ABS, ESC, EBD, TCCrash rating: Not testedEngine: 6.5-litre, V12 petrol; 515kW/690NmTransmission: 7-spd automated manual; AWDThirst: 17.2L/100km; 98RON; 398g/km CO2Dimensions: 4.8m (L), 2.0m (W), 1.1m (H)Weight: 1690kgSpare: None

Supercars. Who needs them? No-one really, and yet they are dream machines around the world.Right at the top today is the outrageous Lamborgini Aventador, which trumpets everything from a carbon fibre chassis to a 350km/h top speed, 2.9-second sprint to 100km/h, and a $745,600 price tag in Australia.Lamborghini only sold 32 cars in here in 2011, despite the global success of the V10-powered Gallardo that goes up against the Ferrari 458, yet there is already a two-year waiting list for the Aventador LP700-4.That could be the styling, or the performance, or just the fact that 2011 brought an all-new Lamborghini V12 flagship with - translating its name - 700 horsepower and all-wheel drive.The first time I drove a V12 Lamborghini, back in the 1980s, it was a disaster. The borrowed Countach was grumpy, awfully uncomfortable, hot and cramped, and then a radiator hose sprung a leak   . . .It was outrageous, and memorable, but not in a good way. So I am interested to see how the Aventador goes, especially as it attracts the attention of the Italian Police - "documents please" - just 30 minutes of legal-speed driving after leaving the Lamborghini factory.VALUEHow do you measure value on a car as costly as the Aventador? It's mostly about the satisfaction it delivers to someone who has a fleet of cars and most likely a giant boat and a couple of houses, together with the bragging rights ability to shut down the owner of a Ferrari 599 or Lexus LF-A. And that's not me.Still, if you consider the Aventador against the Lexus LF-A at $700,00 and the outgoing Ferrari 599, it makes a solid case thanks to the styling, performance and lots of luxury equipment. The Lexus feels pretty ordinary against the Aventador, despite its track-tuned development.The starter button alone in the Lamborghini - it sits in the centre console and has a flip-up red cover like the ones used for missile launches - could be enough to win some people. "The car is already a sellout. Our whole allocation for 2012 is gone," says Martin Roller of Lamborghini."Nationally, we'll probably do 50 cars this year. Last year was down, of course, because we were waiting for the Aventador. But we've got it now and it's a cracker."TECHNOLOGYThe technical presentation from the engineers at Lamborghini headquarters in Sant'Agata goes on for nearly three house, and that's before the visit to the production line and carbon fibre laboratory.The highlights are the full carbon fibre chassis, claimed as the first in the world and displayed with aluminium suspension assemblies bolted to the passenger cell, as well as the high-tech V12 engine, Haldex all-wheel drive and a bank of computers to keep everything talking and pointing in the right direction.There is less attention to the 17.1l/100km fuel economy and CO2 emissions of a naughty 398 grams/kilometre, even though Lamborghini says this is a significant 20 per cent improvement over the car's Murcielago predecessor.DESIGNThe shape of the Aventador, designed in-house after a competitive pitch against Lamborghini's owners at Audi, is just plain outrageous. Lots of car companies say their sports cars are inspired by fighter jets but it's true for Lamborgini, even if the back-end view looks a lot like a scarab beetle.The nose is chiselled in true super sportscar style, the wheels and tyres are huge, and the Aventador has the scissor-lift doors - easy for close-in parking - that have become a V12 Lamborghini signature.Inside, the digital dashboard mimics old-style analogue dials - but with far more information - and there are two comfy and supportive bucks with a giant centre console. But it's hard to find somewhere to put the push-button key that unlocks the car, and the luggage space is - at best - tight.SAFETYNo-one from ANCAP is going to crash an Aventador, but the results of the company's own testing - on display as part of an illustration on repair work - shows the massive strength of the carbon fibre passenger cell. There is also ESP with a variety of driving modes, since some owners will take to racetracks, giant brakes with ABS control, parking radar and a - much needed - reversing camera.DRIVINGTime with the Aventador is theatre. It's also cracking good fun, even sticking religiously to the Italian motorway speed limits behind an Audi pace car and over snow-drenched minor roads.From the first moment that V12 engine fires behind my head, the car has me. The first time I uncork all the power, and feel a kick in the back that makes a V8 Supercar pretty bit tame, I wonder how anyone could possibly use an Aventador on the road every day.But it's surprisingly docile when you leave the robotised manual gearbox in drive, with all the driving assist systems set for manual support. It will dribble easily in traffic, isn't completely impossible to park, and is comfy and cosseting.Get the car cracking through some turns and there is a little reluctance from the nose, but application of power gets things sorted for a neutral balance and it will really hustle along any road at almost any - sane - speed.The best thing about the Aventador is the reaction it gets from other people. Jaws drop, camera phones fire into action, and people just wave and cheer. Even the police eventually smile and send me on my way.In Australia, the Aventador will be just plain outrageous and exotic and desirable. It's not for everyone, and most people will dismiss it as a piece of silly irrelevance, but it's good that cars like the flagship Lamborghini still exist.VERDICTThe Aventador is a silly car and silly money, but so much fun. It's a true dream machine.STAR RATINGLamborghini AventadorPrice: from $754,600Warranty: 3 years/ unlimited kmResale: New modelService interval: 15,000km or 12 monthsSafety: four airbags, ABS, ESP, TC.Crash rating: not testedEnigne: 515W/690Nm 6.5-litre V12Body: 2-door, 2-seatDimensions: 4780mm (L); 2030m (W); 1136mm (H); 2700mm (WB)Weight: 1575kgTransmission: 7-speed robotised manual; all-wheel-driveEconomy: 17.2l/100km; 398g/ CO2

When the cars involved are all from Lamborghini, one of the world's most exotic brands, the whole deal sounds so much sweeter. And it is. But what if I tell you we never get much beyond the posted 130km/h limit, that a metre of snow has created traffic chaos in a string of tiny hilltop towns, and that the highlight of the day is a stand-off with thePolizia over documents for the cars and drivers? Oh, and lunch, of course. But that's all ahead as we roll into Sant' Agata, the home of Lamborghini since it was set up by a humble tractor maker in the 1960s, for a deep-dip day of driving in the latest hero cars for the Italian brand. It's a dream come true, a big tick on the bucket list, and a chance to discover why some people really choose a Lamborghini ahead of a Ferrari - or a perfectly reasonable new apartment.The Lamborghini brand has always been a bit more exotic and mysterious than mainstream Ferrari, which is just up the road and remains the benchmark for any buyer - or brand - looking to tap the supersports dream. These days it picks up the giant benefit of a place in the Volkswagen Group, thanks to its Audi ownership. That means German efficiency with Italian passion, and that's far better than doing things the other way around.Carsguide is in Italy with Lamborghini for the first - yes the very first - official press visit in a generation, covering everything from technical briefings and a walk down the production line to a sneak peek into the carbon fibre research laboratory and a long lingering look at the museum. What emerges is an exotic brand with a sense of style and humour, but a very sharp approach to its cars and customers.The Gallardo changed Lamborghini forever, giving the company the credibility and reliability to put the brand on shopping lists around the world. Now there is the new flagship, the $754,600 Aventador with the V12 engine and 350km/h top speed.But when it's flashing a warning about icy driving, and the day quickly degenerates into a slow-speed tour through some beautifully snowed-in countryside, even the Aventador loses its shine. And literally, too, with so much slush about.But then comes a tunnel and, with a volley of rapid-fire downshifts, the Aventador and the Gallardo Superleggera are howling like banshees and everything is right in the world. I'm smiling, the cars are happy, and it's a great day.AVENTADOR:Ferruccio Lamborghini chose a V12 engine when he set up in opposition to Enzo Ferrari in 1963 and his company has continued down the same road for close to 50 years.The latest V12 flagship is the Aventador, one of the most exotic looking cars on the road in 2012 and one that ticks almost every box for teen-aged dreamers and 50-something magnates. It really is that special.The Aventador is a two-seat supersports car with a 6.5-litre engine that punches out 520 kiloWatts to feed through a high-tech all-wheel drive system. Did someone mention Audi, which owns Lamborghini?The first Aventadors have just reached Australia and already there is a two-year waiting list, even though the bottom line starts at $754,600 without worrying about on-road costs, insurance or a few personal tweaks in colour or trim.Value? It's not really something you can assess without access to James Packer's vault.But there is plenty of technology, starting with the world's first full carbon fibre monocoque. That's the centre of the car, where the people sit, and it is the foundation for the suspension and the rest of the mechanical package that hangs off at either end.The Aventador has a computer-controlled seven-speed robotised manual gearbox that's capable of F1-speedy shifts, but it's also programmed to shift quickly to the high gears to maximise fuel economy - rated at 19.1 litres/100km - and minimise emissions.No-one from ANCAP is intending to crash-test an Aventador, but the car has a super-rigid structure, airbags and the usual ESP and ABS systems to keep its two occupants safe. And anyone driving the car at 110km/h is so far from the danger zone that the real threat is boredom and a micro-sleep.You start the Aventador by lifting a small red flap - like the ones covering the triggers for rockets - after sliding deeply into the car through its signature scissor door. The sound is magic V12 music, although surprisingly muted.Tug a shift paddle and it's time to get moving, with the computer power easing the clutch and shifting gears as well as any of the latest double-clutch packages. The Lamborghini feels very wide, the ride is super-firm, and there are scary thoughts about what could happen if I put my foot on the floor.But there is no chance today, with an Audi Q7 running as the pace car and enforcing a quiet pace on slick and icy roads. A couple of times I get brave and belt it up beyond 8000 revs, enjoying the sort of thrust usually reserved for Formula One drivers.One time, with the speedometer hovering around 120km/h, I give the Aventador its head and the traction control light blinks furiously, the steering tugs and hunts, and I realise the big beast is not happy.Me? Perhaps. It's great to get time in the Aventador but now I cannot wait for the next time, and hopefully some Australian sunshine and a wide-open racetrack with no speed limits and no Q7s.GALLARDO SPYDER:It's easy to stay warm in a droptop Gallardo, even when the outside temperature is barely above freezing.The cabin is set deeply into the middle of the car, there are heated seats, and the shape of the wedgy body keeps the wind flowing smoothly over your head.Of course, there is also the warm glow you get from driving such a rare beast.The Gallardo Spyder is an effective convertible conversion on the V10-powered Lamborghini that pays the bills, and returns a profit to Audi, in the 21st century. The Gallardo has been teased and tweaked in a number of directions, and the Spyder is the one that works for a lot of people.The roof is electric, as you'd expect, but still a canvas job at a time of clamshell hardtops. It works, but it doesn't look as nice as some cars that cost far less than its $515,000.The mechanical package is built up from a 5.2-litre V10 with 343 kiloWatts and a 0-100km/h sprint time o just 4.0 seconds, thanks to all-wheel drive. There is a six-speed e.gear transmission and all-wheel drive, as well as a cabin in typical Lamborghini leather but with switchgear and displays that are more obviously borrowed from Audi than the lineup in the Aventador.The Spyder can easily run with the bulls, especially in a land of speed limits and Polizia, and it does it with a little more panache and excitement than a regular Gallardo.I can feel a little slackness in the chassis, though not a lot, but the Spyder is still a car that can surprise and delight. It's just not for me.GALLARDO SUPERLEGGERA:Now we're talking. This car is a lightweight - in the best possible way.The Lamborghini team created the new pacemaker in the Gallardo lineup with lashings of lightweight carbon fibre to trim the bottom line by 70 kilograms while holding onto 419 kiloWatts of power and all-wheel drive.That means 0-100km/h in a time warping 3.4 seconds, a 325 km/h top speed and a searing $542,500 price tag in Australia. That means it costs more than a Ferrari 458 Italia.But Lamborghini says the Superleggera is a car for people who enjoy cars and driving, and makes the point with kermit green bodywork on the test car at Sant' Agata. It also has ripper sports bucket seats, a suede-wrapped steering wheel, and carbon fibre everything from the door trims to a rear wing that produces real downforce.The Superleggera is the evil member of our little Lamborghini train, always teasing the driver with the promise of instant feedback, a howling soundtrack, and the ability to compress time and space.But it feels edgy and nervous, which is ideal for a racetrack but less encouraging on a cold day with changeable conditions including water, sludge and a little snow and ice.When you strap into this Gallardo you have to pay attention and be prepared for action.That's what makes it so enjoyable, even just squirting away from traffic lights or easing through a couple of right-angled bends.The Superleggera is the car that Lamborghini puts up against Ferrari and also the McLaren MP4-12C, and it makes a powerful statement. It's not for everyone, but for the people who want one it ticks all the boxes. 

I've never been to a bullfight and perhaps that's why something in the logic of Lamborghini's naming policy escapes me.The Aventador, its new supercar, follows previous Lambos by taking the name of a famous fighting bull.The original Aventador went “into battle in October 1993 at the Saragossa Arena, earning the Trofeo de la Pena La Madronera, for its outstanding courage''. Apparently.Courageous, no doubt, but of course, doomed. No amount of horned bravado is going to save it from the bloke in a Lady Gaga outfit with a long shiny blade. I'm pretty sure bulls are on the wrong side of the longest losing streak in history.Humans barracking for bulls have noticed these odds and protested. According to a survey last year, 60 per cent of Spaniards were opposed and as a result Barcelona held its last fight a little while ago after Catalonia implemented a ban.So the Aventador is named after a dead bovine from a spectacle increasingly out of tune with the times. You can't help wondering whether Lamborghini has its branding strategy quite right. Supercars already feel like a threatened species. Are we about to witness their heroic last stand?Thankfully, no. The Aventador doesn't feel like the last of the line; far from it. This is a supercar from the future that's just beamed in, Star Trek-style. It's been designed by Darth Vader and has the latest warp drive. It's boldly going where no supercar has gone before.VALUEThe Aventador has a price as stratospheric as its ability - and an increasing number of rivals, even at this level -- but Lamborghini is emphatically bullish about sales. It has 1500 orders already and no sign of flagging despite the economic storm on the horizon. There's already an 18-month waiting list.DESIGNWith its arrowhead styling the Aventador is a stealth fighter without the stealth; it could probably avoid radar detection but you'll never miss it on the road. The Aventador is the first series production car to employ this design language after it was used for two special editions: the Reventon, a version of the Murcielago, and the Sesto Elemento, a fully carbon fibre version of the Gallardo.Upward opening doors have been a signature of Lamborghini flagships since the Countach and they are reappear here. They swivel up and you limbo-dance in. Ahead are virtual dials from the deck of the Enterprise, a start button under a hinged red cover and lots more angular surfaces. Anyone familiar with top-shelf Audis will know the buttons are not bespoke, but there's nothing off-key.TECHNOLOGYLike almost everything else on the Aventador, the transmission is new and Lamborghini developed its own robotised seven-speed system rather than take existing technology from its Volkswagen parent. It came up with a system it calls Independent Shifting Rod, which is lighter and more compact than the double-clutch transmissions becoming ubiquitous on performance cars. It's also very quick, banging up or down through gears in 50 milliseconds in track mode. Even in strada, response feels instantaneous.The suspension, with double wishbones all round, employs the pushrod design favoured by racing cars. Positioned inboard, it's lighter and more compact than the Murcielago's while delivering better comfort and dynamics, Lamborghini says. Tyres are 19-inch at the front, 20 at the rear and house huge carbon ceramic brakes. At the front they measure 400mm and are gripped by six pistons.They can rein in the Aventador from 100km/h in just 30m, which means they are incredibly effective. It feels like it, too, with short braking zones for some corners and you're playing with fire if you don't brake in a straight line. Like the Murcielago, the Aventador has electronically controlled air intakes that adjust automatically, as well a rear spoiler that rises as speed requires then changes its angle of attack.DRIVINGI've travelled to Sepang racetrack, Malaysia, to sample the car for the first time. There are a lot more motoring journalists here than cars, so it's two laps of the track and heavily shepherded ones at that. A Gallardo, Lamborghini's junior supercar, acts as pace car with a pro driver at the wheel.Seeing an Aventador alongside a Gallardo brings home how extreme it is. Only in this context could a Gallardo look as tall as a people-mover and as intimidating as Play School. The Aventador is Commodore-long but a scant 1.1m high. If it wasn't more than 2m wide you could step over it. There's only time to acquaint myself with bits relevant to piloting the car around 15 corners and 5.5km. It's get in and get going.The acceleration is more linear and less dramatic than expected but utterly relentless. The naturally aspirated 6.5-litre unit behind the cabin is Lambo's first new V12 in decades. The Murcielago, its predecessor, wrung more and more out of the previous engine until there was nothing left to give. This starts beyond that level with 515kW at 8250rpm, which is high revving in anybody's language and spectacular for a V12.It likes to rev, too, and is good for a top speed of 350km/h. On the track, I'm well into triple figures before I realise because it takes just 2.9 seconds to reach 100km/h. Floor it and you're flying into the next corner quicker than you expect. Not that I'm looking at the speedo. There isn't time.Mid-corner grip, with its huge rubber, all-wheel-drive and differentials everywhere, feels off the scale although I'm testing it only when I get something not quite right, such as the line into a corner. As speed rises and falls, surfaces and intakes on the car are responding.Corners are quick too, although with fairly pronounced weight transfer from one side of the car to the other in rapid direction changes. This may be because I made the mistake of obeying instructions and leaving the suspension settings in strada, when sport or track would have been more appropriate. A colleague with a rebellious streak chose sport and said the car's weight evaporated. Not that it's all that heavy anyhow.The Aventador sheds 90kg compared with the Murcielago and it's certainly light for its size. Lamborghini has made the entire passenger cell from carbon fibre -- one of few cars to do so, along with the new McLaren -- and despite its city-block footprint weighs just 1575kg dry. Carbon fibre is stronger and stiffer than equivalent aluminium or steel structures and as a result the Aventador is 1 1/2 times more rigid than the Murcielago.Two laps go in blur of impressions. There's something otherworldly about the Aventador. It transports the driver to a place where ordinary sensations of speed and performance no longer apply. As intimidating as anything you can buy, it takes supercars to the next level and my senses and reflexes haven't had time to adjust. It feels less feral than the Murcielago but has the technology and performance to back its menacing looks.If there's a surprise, it's the relative lack of drama in the way it goes about its business. From pitlane, watching cars race down the straight, it was the Gallardo pace car that made a more appealing sound. I was expecting a bit more fury from the Aventador. A bit more snorting histrionics, a bit more scraping of hooves. What it declares loudly though, is that the supercar has a lot of life in it yet.VERDICTFlagship Lamborghinis come along about once every 10 years, so it will be some time before it needs to find a name for the next one. By then, bullfighting could be history and Lamborghini will be left with a dilemma. But as long as there are still supercars to name, they can call them what they like.LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR LP700-4Price: $754,600 plus on-road costsEngine: 6.5-litre V12Outputs: 515kW at 8250rpm and 690Nm at 5500rpmTransmission: Seven-speed robotised manual, all-wheel driveLAMBORGHINI'S 12 ANGRY CYLINDERS350GT (1964-66), 3.5-litre V12. 160 builtMiura (1966-72), 3.9-litre V12. 764 builtCountach (1974-90), 3.9-litre (later 5.2) V12. 2042 builtDiablo (1991-2001), 5.7-litre V12. 2884 builtMurcielago (2001-10), 6.2-litre V12. 4099 built

When it came time to replace its Murcielago supercar, Lamborghini knew it had its work cut out. As awesome as the big V12 monster was to drive, it could be a handful in the corners, its chromolly tube chassis was dated and its fuel consumption was gargantuan.In Lamborghini president Stephan Winkelmann’s words, the Italian maker needed to leap ahead two full generations if it wanted to position itself at the forefront of the supercar world. Australians will see the results of Lamborghini’s efforts at this week’s Australian International Motor Show when the Aventador LP700-4 is revealed for the first time locally, but Carsguide has already driven the stunning high-performance machine in Europe.The exotically-named Aventador highlights four key technologies, all aimed at delivering raw speed: a sophisticated new electronics system, a clever seven-speed sequential gearbox, a brand-new V12 engine, and an all-carbon chassis.The result is a car that’s fast in a way that’s difficult to comprehend. It nails 0-100km/h in just 2.9 seconds, runs to a top speed of 350km/h and, thanks in part to Australia’s punitive luxury car tax, will cost the better part of a million dollars to drive away.VALUEAny time you get asked to hand over $754,600 for a car as opposed to a mansion, it’s difficult to work out whether it represents value or not, even bearing in mind that taxes account for in excess of $210K of that asking price.But cars like the Aventador sell to a clientele that recognizes and values the exclusivity of such a machine, both in terms of the limited numbers sold, and in its status at the very top of the performance tree. And, to be perfectly honest, there’s nothing out there that’s quite like the Aventador.Ferrari quit the mid-engined supercar business after the TestaRossa and now sells its V12s as front-engined grand tourers (even if the 599 GTO is an awesome machine). Nor does anything else have this level of carbon-fibre technology as its core. The rare as hens-teeth Pagani Zonda and upcoming McLaren MP4-12C both make extensive use of carbon technology, but both cars are a generation behind what Lamborghini is offering.Despite the price, you don’t get limousine-like features inside the cabin, which is best described as comfortably functional. But where the Aventador excels is in developing enormous amounts of power and character, and delivering both brilliantly.TECHNOLOGYFirstly, the Aventador uses not one, but three different carbon-fibre technologies to create a chassis that is not only light, but so stiff that it passes the FIA’s current GT racing roof crush test without a roll cage.The basis of this strength is an in-house technology called ‘RTM Lambo’ that needs a lot less heat and preparation time than other carbon-fibre manufacturing techniques. That’s backed up with tubular, braided carbon that is used to add strength in the windscreen pillars and along the sills, while more traditional carbon is used for the roof and windscreen pillar surfaces.This magical material has resulted in a chassis that weighs just 175kg yet is so strong that it requires 33 tonnes of force on one corner to make it bend a single degree. It’s also been designed with ease of driving and building in mind, so both left- and right-hand drive buyers can sit straight, where the old car made them twist inwards a fraction.But Lamborghini hasn’t stopped at the Aventador’s body. The car also features a race-bred pushrod suspension, with the dampers and springs sitting inboard instead of out by the wheels; an electrical system capable of processing half a billion calculations a second; and a lighter, faster all-wheel drive system.There’s also a clever seven-speed automated-manual gearbox that reshuffles the traditional gear pairings so the computer can disengage one gear as it’s engaging the next one, all in just 0.05 seconds. That’s a touch slower than the fastest twin clutch gearboxes, but few will argue it’s tardy. It’s also brilliantly designed, weighing basically the same as the old ‘box, even with an extra gear.Sadly, the new system heralds the demise of Lamborghini’s classic open-gate manual gearshift.And then, of course, there’s the engine. At 6.5-litres it’s about the same size as the Murcielago’s V12, but the Aventador’s engine is all new and shares not a single screw with the old car. It produces 515kW at 8250rpm and 690Nm at 5500rpm, but the numbers just don’t do it justice…DESIGNIf the Aventador’s look seems a little familiar, it’s probably because Lamborghini admits that’s a what it wanted. The company stretched the bounds of what it could manufacture in low volumes with its Reventon art car, and the Aventador is a little more conservative than that, but still clearly from the same design family. Inside, the story isn’t as convincing as the bodywork.There’s a very high centre console, complete with a flip-up cover for the start button, but many of the standard materials don’t feel like they belong in a car costing this much. Customisation options means you can change them for much classier materials, but that’s an extra cost…SAFETYTestament to the inherent strength of carbon-fibre tubs such as that at the heart of the Aventador is seen from time to time when F1 drivers emerge unscathed from enormous crashes. Lamborghini insists the same strength is part of the Aventador’s DNA, pointing to the first rear crash test, which the car survived so well that engineers effectively replaced some panels and turned the same car around to do the side impact test as well.We’ll probably have to take their word for it, too, because at these prices Australian safety authorities are unlikely to be slamming one into a wall any time soon. Regardless of its crash performance, the Aventador comes with the sort of active safety arsenal – enormous, sticky Pirelli tyres, 400mm carbon-ceramic front brakes and enough grip to hurt the necks of the unwise – that it’s hard to imagine how you’d crash one in the first place. Except through massive over-enthusiasm.DRIVEThat V12 fires up instantly to give you a constant baseline of stomach-rumbling tension, even at idle. Yet, there are no histrionics from it and it will happily burst off the line from cold or just cruise in heavy traffic without tickling the temperature gauge.The beautifully trimmed and snugly supportive sports seats are perfectly aligned in the straight ahead (trust me, it’s unusual in this style of car), though right-hand drive cars do suffer a bit of intrusion into the footwell from the front wheelarch. Blip the throttle and the revs explode skywards, so that anybody somehow oblivious to the stunning exterior shape is instantly aware of the beast’s presence.With a fury of sound and revs and very little wheelspin thanks to its launch control system, the Aventador takes advantage of huge power and light weight (it’s only 1575kg) to explode off the line. You feel like you’ve been pinned to the seat by the hand of a giant. The steering, even in a straight line, comes alive with the action and, before you can comprehend it, the Aventador is demanding second gear.Pull the little alloy paddle back behind the steering wheel and there’s a precise mechanical craaack, accompanied by a faint jolt before you continue, jet-like, towards the horizon.Of course, going fast in a straight line isn’t a particularly difficult. Going around corners at speed is much more challenging, and Lamborghini has it overwhelmingly right. This car is alive in corners and shrinks around you the harder you drive it.It has three driving modes that each change its character subtly. The basic Strada mode is quieter, with a slower shift speed and predictable understeer-at-the-limit handling; Sport gives you faster shifts, more exhaust noise and handling that tends to oversteer at the limit; while Corsa unleashes the Aventador to go at its absolute fastest.Curiously, it also rides stupendously well and handles in a completely different way to the Murcielago. The old car used to frighten people into submission. The Aventador is no less of an event, but feels infinitely more trustworthy, constantly inviting the driver to push harder. Running through fast corners is like being in the ball on the end of the string. There’s nothing it doesn’t do brilliantly.VERDICTIt’s a truly astonishing car, the Aventador LP700-4. It’s clearly the best supercar money can buy today and, with more tweaks to come (magnetic-ride suspension, lighter body panels and direct fuel injection to name just three), it should stay that way for a long time. Lamborghini could have rested on its laurels, safe in the knowledge that nobody else builds this sort of car anymore.It didn’t. It’s a game changer for Lamborghini, pushing the company forward as an industry leader in electronics, in carbon-fibre and gearbox innovation while reinforcing its superfast, supersexy reputation. And it’s brilliant.Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4Price: $754,600 plus on roadsWarranty: 3 years unlimitedResale: N/AService Interval: 15,000kmEngine: 6.5-litre, naturally aspirated V12, all alloy, 48-valvesPower: 515kW at 8250rpm, 690Nm at 5500rpmBody: two-door coupe, carbon-fibre chassisWeight: 1575kgTransmission: seven-speed Independent Shifting Rods (ISR) sequential gearboxThirst: 17.2 L/100km + 398g/km CO2