2017 Lamborghini Aventador S—Can a Bull Rage in a Land Without Curves?

MotorTrend

On this episode of Ignition presented by Tire Rack

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:10 There are certain cities where style doesn't matter,

00:13 places where how you dress and what you drive are immaterial.

00:17 Miami is not such a city.

00:20 Miami thumps.

00:22 This is evident to anyone who's ever spent any time there.

00:26 In a city as electric and animated as Miami,

00:28 one should drive a car that is amplified and extroverted.

00:33 The latest V12-powered supercar from Lamborghini

00:36 is just what the doctor ordered.

00:38 [ENGINE REVVING]

00:40 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:50 This Grigio and Terry's painted beast

00:52 is the latest and greatest scissor-dorged stunner

00:55 from the good, though slightly crazed folks at St. Agnes.

00:58 Behind the driver and underneath glass louvers

01:01 sits its heart, a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated

01:05 V12 that unleashes 730 manic horsepower,

01:09 an increase from the 690 ponies the original Aventador

01:13 produced.

01:14 The seven-speed, single-clutched,

01:16 independent shifting rod transmission

01:18 remains, as do the mule kicks it produces.

01:22 The last time we tested an Aventador,

01:24 it crushed 60 miles an hour in 2.9 seconds

01:27 and beat up the quarter mile in just 10.8 seconds.

01:31 Crazier still was the 740-horsepower Aventador

01:35 Superveloce, which smashes 60 miles an hour in just 2.4

01:39 seconds and claims the quarter in a crazy quick 10.4 seconds.

01:44 The Aventador S is 100 pounds heavier and 10 horsepower

01:48 weaker than the SV.

01:50 Not that it matters.

01:52 Also improved on the new S is the handling,

01:55 thanks largely to the addition of four-wheel steering.

01:57 When all four wheels turn in the same direction at speed,

02:01 it has the effect of virtually lengthening the car's wheelbase,

02:04 increasing stability.

02:06 At lower speeds, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction

02:09 to the front, making the wide-body supercar shockingly

02:13 easy to park.

02:14 The suspension is stiffer than before,

02:16 and the magnetic shocks have been reprogrammed

02:18 with better handling in mind.

02:20 Even the big, sticky Pirellis are new,

02:22 specifically developed for all-wheel drive machines.

02:27 The weird part is that I've taken this sportier, much

02:30 sharper-handling Aventador to a city in a state that

02:32 is totally devoid of curves.

02:35 Florida is straight and flat, and Miami,

02:38 its cultural and artistic center,

02:40 is pretty much the same.

02:42 So why?

02:43 Why would I?

02:45 To illustrate that there's more to cars like the Aventador S

02:48 than handling and performance.

02:50 In a word, the car is special.

02:53 In a few more, can you think of a better car

02:55 to drive through Miami?

02:56 Maybe the Aventador S Roadster, but it

02:59 hasn't been invented yet.

03:01 Soon, but not yet.

03:02 [ENGINE REVVING]

03:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]

03:08 In Miami, you never know who you'll run into.

03:16 Athletes and entertainers from all over the world

03:18 call the nexus of Cuban culture in America home.

03:21 Artists and business people, too.

03:23 I happened to run into a couple of my buddies

03:25 who came rolling up in more Lamborghinis.

03:28 For good measure, there was a second Aventador S

03:30 painted in a more Miami-appropriate shade

03:33 of white.

03:34 Perhaps my favorite Lamborghini of them all was there,

03:37 the aforementioned Aventador Superveloce.

03:39 The SV Roadster is painted in a sparkly green called Verde

03:43 Sing, a colored Lamborghini named after its owner, Chris

03:47 Sing.

03:48 They did so most likely because Chris purchased one of the three

03:52 Veneno coupes available.

03:54 Built to celebrate the brand's 50th anniversary,

03:57 at the time, the $4.5 million spaceship

04:00 was the most expensive new car in the world.

04:03 Chris daily drives his, often in the rain.

04:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]

04:16 When you're in a V12 Lamborghini,

04:17 people stop and point smartphones at you.

04:22 That is, unless you're in an Aventador S

04:24 and there's a Veneno on your six.

04:28 I'm not even sure anyone saw me.

04:29 [MUSIC PLAYING]

04:33 [ENGINE REVVING]

04:34 [MUSIC PLAYING]

04:38 Miami done, it was time to head south, way south,

04:49 across long, straight bridges on my way

04:51 to the southernmost point in the United States, Key West.

04:55 Sitting just 90 miles north of Cuba,

04:58 I like to think of Key West as my own private New Orleans.

05:01 The historic Caribbean spice former pirate hangout

05:05 sports a population of less than 75,000,

05:08 much smaller than the 400,000 souls

05:10 who call the Big Easy home.

05:11 Sure, the food in Louisiana is better,

05:14 but hey, I'm a sucker for key lime pie.

05:17 On the 165-mile drive south, I had time

05:21 to ponder not just the Aventador S, but V12 Lamborghinis

05:24 in general.

05:26 See, there aren't very many mid-engine V12 Lamborghinis.

05:30 Miura, Countach, Diablo, Murcielago, and Aventador

05:34 makes just five, just five.

05:37 And talk about icons.

05:39 Has there ever been a more coveted car than the Countach?

05:43 Sure, LJK Set Right coined the term supercar

05:46 while looking at the Miura, but it

05:48 is the angular, triagonal, impossibly raked, yet still

05:51 curvy Countach that has forever defined

05:54 both the term and the brand.

05:57 I've long maintained that the Countach is the only reason

06:00 Lamborghini even exists.

06:02 Think about it.

06:03 What other reason is there for a small boutique Italian

06:07 manufacturer to survive bankruptcy and five changes

06:11 of ownership in just 20 years?

06:13 The only answer I can think of is the Countach

06:16 and the psycho-automotive space it alone occupies.

06:20 I remember the first time I saw a Countach in the wild

06:23 with my own eyes.

06:24 I was 12 in the old part of Montreal,

06:27 and there was an orange example parked

06:28 on the gray cobblestones.

06:30 I must have stood and stared for half an hour.

06:33 Magic.

06:34 Years and years later, I finally drove a Countach.

06:37 It was perhaps the worst car I've ever driven.

06:40 Everything, including the seemingly 300-pound clutch,

06:44 was just awful.

06:45 To this day, however, the Countach

06:47 is still my favorite supercar.

06:49 Why?

06:50 Just look at it.

06:54 Conversely, the Aventador S is the best Lamborghini

06:57 I've ever driven.

06:59 Comfortable, easygoing, and despite its lack

07:01 of luggage capacity, an excellent road trip machine.

07:05 Though, if I'm being honest, one that is in desperate need

07:07 of cruise control.

07:09 Unlike the Aventador that came before,

07:11 the S sports Magna rheological dampers

07:13 that, when in starter mode, are pretty compliant.

07:16 Trouble is, the single-clutch transmission in starter mode

07:19 is still no bueno, making the Aventador lurch around

07:22 at low to moderate speeds.

07:24 The solution has long been just to drive around in sport mode.

07:28 But forget that.

07:29 With a straight face, the Aventador S

07:31 introduces ego mode, where you can put the transmission

07:35 and engine in sport, or even Corsa if you like,

07:38 and leave the suspension and traction control in street.

07:41 Problem solved.

07:43 Speaking of solving problems, it's

07:45 high time this Lamborghini stopped driving so slow.

07:49 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:52 [ENGINE REVVING]

07:56 Launching a big Lambo is relatively straightforward.

08:21 Make sure you're in Corsa mode, and then pull the ESC switch

08:24 once.

08:25 Depress the brake pedal with your left foot

08:27 until you see the words "thrust mode possible"

08:30 appear below the tachometer.

08:32 Then bury the throttle with your right foot.

08:35 You will see the revs jump to about 5,000 RPM.

08:38 All that's left for you to do is release the brake and hold on.

08:43 The mechanical violence unleashed by that brutal V12

08:47 and that nail gun of a transmission is intoxicating.

08:50 There's a small, tiny moment of not quite calm,

08:53 but a split second when you're not rocketing forward.

08:56 See, the tires and the traction control computer

08:58 are both scrambling for grip.

09:00 A hundredth of a breath later, and you're gone, baby, gone.

09:04 I've been behind the wheel of a few cars that are quicker.

09:07 Not by much, but they're quicker.

09:09 But never anything is violent.

09:11 The Aventador S is a bomb with four wheels, an explosion

09:15 you can point down the road.

09:18 Lamborghini claims that this car can hit a top speed

09:20 of around 217 miles per hour.

09:23 We're going to have to take their word for it,

09:25 because the best I could manage was an indicated 177 miles

09:29 per hour, 40 short of V-max.

09:33 I can live with that.

09:34 One day somewhere, I'll find a wider road

09:37 with smoother pavement, though probably not in the Keys.

09:41 Which leads us back to supercars in South Florida.

09:45 They don't make a lick of sense.

09:46 Sure, some people in and around Miami

09:49 drive a smidge over the speed limit on I-95.

09:52 But there are just as many people, if not more,

09:54 going slower.

09:56 All of that massive power is essentially wasted.

09:59 There are no curves, no winding roads, no great big canyons.

10:03 At first glance, the pairing makes no sense.

10:08 Upon closer inspection, however, Miami and supercars work.

10:13 Miami is one of Lamborghini's largest markets.

10:16 And after experiencing the new Aventador S for myself,

10:19 I get it.

10:20 I'm not saying there's a logic to it,

10:22 but I get why the two work.

10:25 There's a culture down here that celebrates

10:27 the crazed, the excessive, the larger than life.

10:30 After all, what is a Lamborghini for, if not exactly that?

10:44 Right here, Southern Midpoint.

10:46 Yeah.

10:46 Give me your phone.

10:50 I'll do it.

10:50 Hey, ciao.

10:52 (whooshing)

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