It still looks sensational doesn’t it?
The Lamborghini Aventador, even after 6 years
it still looks amazing on the road. It’s
taken Lamborghini those 6 years to update
it with this, the Aventador S. The numbers
are impressive, 740 horsepower, 509lb ft of
torque, a top speed of 217mph and 0-62 in
just 2.9 seconds. The list price is around
£270,000 but most will roll out of showrooms
at £300,000+. It’s much more expensive
than the McLaren 720S or the Ferrari 488 GTB.
In terms of price it’s a closer rival for
the other Italian V12 supercar, the Ferrari
812 superfast. Let’s have a proper walk
around the car, I want to show you the bits
that are new, and also remind you that this
car is dripping with really high-end supercar
equipment lots of bits and pieces that elevate
it above some of the other supercars. This
exhaust is new, the kind of 3 element exhaust,
it’s also 20% lighter than the old item.
We’ve also got four wheel steering which
is such an important point on this car, we’ll
come back to that later on. Lamborghini have
re-profiled the rear arch so it now has this
sort of Countache shape, which I think is
really nice detail. The tyres, by the way,
are bespoke Pirelli PZero’s, developed specifically
for this car. This car’s got the optional
carbon pack and of course it's still got Lamborghini
doors, you’ve got to love Lamborghini doors.
Let’s have a look underneath the engine
cover. There it is look, the heart of the
Aventador, that’s what this car's about
really, the 6.5 litre normally aspirated V12,
now revs to 8500 rpm. It’s got 40 horsepower
more now so it’s up to 740 horsepower. The
car’s built around a carbon tub of course
and it's also got super trick racecar style
inboard suspension with push rods; you don’t
get that on a 488. The ceramic brakes are
standard fit on the Aventador and this front
splitter is new as well, it’s more prominent
than before and Lamborghini claims 130% more
downforce which sounds pretty good. They’re
not actually quoting any numbers though so
for all we know, it’s gone from 5 kg of
downforce to 11 or 12 kg of downforce but
that’s not important really. What is important
is that the car still looks sensational from
that front three quarter angle. So low and
so wide. The cabin hasn’t really changed
much, it’s still designed to look like the
cockpit of a fighter jet. These toggle switches
here, the flap above the engine start button.
The steering wheel comes all the way out to
your chest, I really, really like that but
there are some problems in here. There just
isn’t much storage space and the seats,
Lamborghini just doesn’t seem to do good
seats, these ones just don’t have very much
support, you seem to roll around in them too
much and in their lowest position I just don’t
have much headroom. This whole infotainment
system, it feels a couple of generations old
now, it is a couple of generations old, although
it does work. But the most important thing
in this cabin is the new ego mode. Ego it
sounds strange in english doesn’t it as
though it’s going to sit at a zebra crossing
with the throttle pinned wide open but in
Italian it just means me or I, it’s the
individual mode and it finally means that
you can configure the car how you want it.
It’s a cool place to sit this, it’s a
really, really evocative cabin. There are
lots and lots of niggles in here though but
all that really matters about a Lamborghini
is that it’s exciting to drive. The key
differences, the two key differences over
the previous car are the four wheel steering
and this new ego mode. The four wheel steering
is important because it should make the car
feel much more agile at lower speeds but the
other big thing is that it’s allowed Lamborghini
to send more torque to the rear axle because
the rear end is just so much more stable now,
that should make the car feel much more agile.
It’s also meant that they can retune the
steering so that it’s more direct, it’s
sharper, it’s more responsive. That should
help to overcome so of the criticisms we had
of the previous car, it should make the car
more agile, livelier and much more nimble
and then there’s the ego mode. I’m in
ego mode now and I’ve got it set just how
I like it with the suspension and the steering
in strada mode so soft pliant suspension and
the lightest steering. That’s when the steering
is at its best, you don’t need anymore weight
in it at all and I’ve got the drivetrain
in sport mode so we’ve got a sharp throttle,
we’ve got snappy gear changes. This, for
the road, is exactly how you want the Aventador
S. It makes such a difference being able to
turn the drivetrain up and still have pliant,
nicely cushioned suspension. In the old car
I’d be skipping along this road, which is
a relatively bumpy road, leaping out my seat,
scared that the car was going to jump straight
off the road. It’s actually coping with
this very bumpy road really, really nicely.
The Aventador has always been about that crazy
V12 engine and it still is, it remains the
centrepiece of the car. It’s wonderful,
I must say, imagine a 6.5 litre engine that
revs to 8500 rpm, or don’t imagine just
listen. Wow, I don’t ever want to drive
another turbo car after driving this thing,
it’s just the most amazing engine, it pulls
so hard, it’s got the most beautiful soundtrack
whaling away. 740 horsepower, that’s a massive
number but because this car’s normally aspirated
rather than turbocharged, you don’t get
that thump in the back that you get from a
488 or any McLaren. Do you know what I just
don’t mind that, it doesn’t feel instantly
explosive so what you have to do is keep your
foot in, chase that red line and then the
rate of acceleration just builds and builds
and builds. Between 6000 and 8000 rpm it just
feels bonkers fast. Overall, this engine is
so much more satisfying than a turbo unit
would be. The gearbox is still the Aventador’s
biggest weakness, it’s an automated manual
rather than a twin clutch or a traditional
auto box. It’s lurchy and decisive in auto
mode and shunty in manual mode. It just feels
outdated now, Lamborghini could get away with
this transmission in 2011 when the Aventador
was new but not in 2017. Let’s think about
how this car handles, now it’s still 1700kg
thereabouts with me and some fuel on board
so it’s a chunky thing and it’s still
really big as well, it takes up a lot of road,
that’s always been true of the Aventador
but with the revised steering and with the
new four wheel steer system it feels more
agile, more nimble, sharper than ever. You
can start to get on top of the car, you can
start to impose yourself a little bit on it
and you can really start driving it hard on
a tricky road whereas before, all you really
wanted to do was use all the performance in
a straight line and then just sort of potter
around the corners but in this thing you do
start leaning on it and getting right on top
of it and using as much of the grip as you
can. When you stick it into a tighter corner,
it’s got really good balance, it doesn’t
feel understeery at all, it feels very, very
positive on the way in. Four wheel drive system
so we’ve got all the traction in the world,
I’ve driven this car as aggressively as
I can today and there’s just no way you’re
going to get the thing sliding or moving about,
certainly not at road speeds. The four wheel
steering and the new ego mode really do make
a difference, this is the best and most enjoyable
Aventador to date but the car still weighs
more than 1700kg and it still feels huge on
the road. These are fundamental problems that
can not be disguised by trick technologies.
It may be better than ever but it still isn’t
as engaging as the best in class. There’s
so much to adore about the Aventador S, the
soundtrack, the styling, the wonderful V12
and the sense of theatre, but as a driving
device, it’s still second best.
