Living with a Lamborghini Aventador
Driving a Lamborghini is hard work. And that remark isn't made to make you feel sorry for their well-heeled, often smug owners, or to say that Lamborghinis are not great cars. They are.
The point is that there are certain consequences in driving one of the car maker's brash and ostentatious numbers on everyday Australian roads.
When Drive set out to road-test the V12-powered Lamborghini Aventador this week, restricted to a maximum 400km drive route, our presence piqued the curiosity of nearly every passer-by on the street. Heads were turned, smartphones were quickly whipped from pockets and snide remarks were shared (presumably about the vehicle compensating for parts of the male anatomy).
So we undertook a social experiment, driving through Sydney's busy inner-city roads to Kings Cross and out to the western suburbs, where a delectable ribbon of smooth tarmac lay, uninterrupted. These are our findings:
People will stare at you
The Lamborghini Aventador is a no-compromise car, both in terms of design and performance. It is automotive nirvana reserved only for those who can afford it, or in the case of your humble correspondent, those granted a rare opportunity to write about it.
To everyone else, the Aventador is like a unicorn. Seeing one out in the flesh seems to defy belief and the common response follows a similar pattern: this week, spotting our Rosso Mars red Aventador (an optional $20,000 paint scheme) was treated as an opportunity to ogle at it, take photos of it or to drag race it. The car had an uncanny ability to stop people walking dead in their tracks on the street, while fellow motorists wound down their windows to try to obtain a sound grab.
As the driver you feel a certain duty to fulfil their wishes. But a quick scan of well-watched YouTube crash compilations is a stern reminder that doing so is fraught with danger.
Other motorists will race you
And not just fellow supercar drivers. A Toyota HiAce van, Hyundai Elantra, a Ford Laser and even an Iveco truck were among those that took it upon themselves to drag the Aventador at the traffic lights. The temptation was resisted, of course.
It also paid to be extra vigilant on multi-lane highways due to motorists driving up alongside you (often on the inside lane) to catch a glimpse and a quick frame on their smartphone. Keep that oversized pair of mirror-lensed sunglasses close by.
Driving a Lamborghini is nerve-racking
Not surprisingly, buying a Lamborghini requires quite a lot of expendable wealth.
The Aventador tested this week came with a purchase price of $761,500 plus on-road costs. Then there was a further $78,400 in options, such as the $9600 reverse camera and parking sensors or $13,800 Dione forged wheels. So $839,900 plus on-roads, which equates to about $1 million in the traffic. And you thought inner-city real estate was expensive!
Then there are insurance and ownership costs. Most insurance companies won't do up a quote online or over the phone, but instead insist on a "tailor-made" policy which properly reflects an owner's overall assets, driving history and the like.
One insurance insider told us the Aventador would require a five-figure sum to insure annually.
Speed cameras are wicked things
Speed kills, or so the government tells us. We are not ones to encourage speeding, but a car like the Aventador can easily land you in hot water – or better still, jail – without doing anything too outrageous. Some governments in Australia will fine you for travelling 1km/h over the speed limit, after all.
With an official 0-100km/h time of 2.9 seconds and top speed of 350km/h, barely breathing on the accelerator of the Aventador is enough to exceed speed limit postings in Australia.
Its 6.5-litre V12 engine, commonly referred to as a fighter jet engine, can be tempered somewhat with three different driving modes – Strada (Street), Sport or Corsa (Track). Squeeze the accelerator with any hint of indiscretion and the response is the same across all three driving modes: the big Lambo launches forward like a rocket ship, making full use of its mesmerising 515kW and 690Nm outputs. It is also prone to the accelerator hanging up momentarily after a big burst of gas, giving the feeling you are still gaining pace without the accelerator pedal depressed.
Lucky there are massive carbon-ceramic brakes to wrest the Aventador's digital speedometer back to appropriate levels.
Inner-city traffic is a real foe
Revered globally as the Raging Bull, the Aventador feels more like a caged animal in the daily grind.
That aforementioned V12 is paired with a lightweight seven-speed single-clutch ISR (integrated shifting rod) transmission that is indecisive when asked to change ratios itself. The end result is quite a bit of low-speed shudder and less-than-smooth gear changes.
The Aventador tries to comply with emission standards with a automatic stop-start function and cylinder deactivation technology, though owners are hardly going to be fussed about saving fuel.
Overall vision is restricted at best, thanks to the Aventador's low-slung roofline and its extremely low ground clearance is a constant consideration. The saving grace is a high-ride suspension mode which raises the nose of the car by four centimetres for speed humps and driveways. You can also forget quick U-turns with a 12.5-metre turning circle.
Inside though, the Aventador is fitted out like an everyday road car in its switchgear and dashboard layout. Leather seats, climate control and a cracking stereo are all present and correct. The driver's feet are skewed slightly to the left to make way for those huge front wheel arches.
There's just no logical space for your phone, wallet or keys ...
Open road is the Aventador's best friend
If you're lucky enough to be in the market for an Aventador, put aside everything that has just been mentioned. The money, the long list of options and the everyday compromises are all dwarfed by the sheer dynamics of the Aventador on a nice piece of road.
Reaching our twisting section of country bitumen, everything suddenly makes sense. The engine relishes any kind of speed above 80km/h, the transmission settles and the low-speed bobble is ironed out ever so slightly.
Even the lack of vision and the low ground clearance enrich the performance experience, shrinking the Aventador's 2.26-metre wide width around the driver and making for one of the most exhilarating drive experiences you'll ever encounter. An Italian Esperienza.
The Aventador's carbon-fibre monocoque and pushrod suspension are sublime in fast driving. They deliver a tautness that is well matched to fast, flat corners, allowing the car's staggered Pirelli tyres (255mm-wide, 19-inch front and 335mm-wide, 20-inch rear) to ply on tenaciously through apexes. Swift incisions through a set of S-bends belie the Aventador's circa 1700kg kerb weight and 4.78-metre length.
The steering is light to begin with yet the accuracy and feel of the system is sweetly judged. The only potential sticking point is that sharper corners require quite a bit of input from the driver.
The hairy-chested V12 engine is the real star of the show. It commands respect, but thanks to all-wheel drive traction, can begin to be exploited on a country road.
It delights/scares/astonishes with Corsa mode engaged, evoking a beguiling high-pitch shriek as the seven-speed hammers (quite literally) through its ratios. Revving it through to its 8500rpm redline enlightens every sense in the automotive vocabulary.
That said, the best chance to thoroughly put the Aventador through its paces is reserved purely for a racetrack.
And that, really, is what Lamborghini's jet-fighter flagship all about. It is a consummate driver's car, uncompromised in both style and performance, at a time when most manufacturers are succumbing to more conservative standards.
That the Aventador sacrifices day-to-day comfort in doing so really is a moot point.
2015 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4
On sale: Now
Price: from $761,500 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 6.5-litre V12 petrol
Power: 515kW at 8250rpm
Torque: 690Nm at 5500rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed ISR automatic
Performance: 2.9 sec (0-100km/h), 350km/h (top speed)