The supercar challenger
Just look at it! Tail down, nose up,
powering through the corner like a ground-hugging supersonic weapon of speed
and virility.
The front-engined Ferrari and Aston Martin
can’t possibly match the LP700-4 for all-out pace and drama, can they? There’s
nothing on earth like a Lamborghini, and there’s no supercar like an Aventador,
so the F12 and Vanquish will have to be extraordinary to out-thrill the
matt-black car from Sant’Agata.
Matt
black paint and angular styling screams supercar
As you may have guessed, we’re fans of the
Aventador. We love that its character is so transparent – it cannot be any
other car but a Lamborghini. We love that the engine, the first all-new Lambo
V12 in 50 years, retains the characteristic high-rev charge and the signature
bellow of Lamborghinis of old. And we love that you can access its performance
without fear of sudden, unexpected loss of traction/license/life.
6.5-liter
V12 sits in the middle
We also love that despite this, you still
need discipline, confidence and skill to operate it at ten tenths. If the F12
is a Formula 1 car from the future, then the Aventador is an F1 car form an era
where drivers had big forearms, bigger moustaches, and colossal…you get the
idea.
In this test, the Lamborghini will have to
draw on all its reserves of character to challenge the Ferrari in particular.
The 6.5-litre V12 engine matches the 6.3-litre motor of the F12 for torque, but
is 40bhp down on maximum power. Theoretically, the Aventador’s four-wheel-drive
system will deliver a traction advantage over the rear-wheel-drive Ferrari, but
the F12 has arguably the most sophisticated diff, traction and stability
control systems of any car. Ever.
The
6.5-litre V12 engine matches the 6.3-litre motor of the F12 for torque, but is
40bhp down on maximum power
And the Aston? As arguably the ultimate GT,
the Vanquish puts forwards an entirely different manifesto to the Lambo.
However, Evo has driven thousands of miles in Aventadors and they are extremely
useable providing your everyday commute doesn’t involve multi-storey car parks
or single-track roads. We know of one owner who drives his every day and
everywhere. And he adores it.
So there you have it. Three V12s. Two days
in Italy.
Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 technical
specs
·
Basic price: $370,500
·
Engine: V12, 6498cc
·
Power: 690bhp @ 8250rpm
·
Torque: 509lb ft @ 5500rpm
·
Transmission: seven-speed ISR automated manual,
four-wheel drive, ESP
·
Front suspension: Double wishbones, inboard coil
springs and dampers, anti-roll bar
·
Rear suspension: Double wishbones, inboard coil
springs and dampers, anti-roll bar
·
Brakes: ventilated carbon-ceramic discs, 400mm
fr, 380mm rear, ABS, EBD
·
Wheels: 9 x 19in front, 12 x 20in rear
·
Tires: 255/35/ZR19 front, 315/30 ZR20 rear
·
Weight (kerb): 1575kg
·
Power-to-weight: 455bhp/ton
·
0-62mph: 2.8sec (claimed)
·
Top speed: 217mph (claimed)
The reckoning
Blue flames. That’s what I will always
remember about our first afternoon with these three cars.
Sitting in the quilted leather driver’s
seat of the Aston, I can’t help but be mesmerized by the huge exhaust pipe of
the charging Aventador in front behaving like a Bunsen burner with its air hole
open. On downshifts, upshifts and at one point along the entire length of a
straight, it spits cerulean fire.
Ferrari
F12 Berlinetta
To be fair, even when it isn’t carrying
around its own large pilot light, the Lamborghini seems to be stealing the
limelight from everything, including the stunning view of the snow-capped
mountains above Sestola. It’s typified when two elderly men turn up in a Punto,
get out and start walking stiffly towards the Aston and Ferrari. Then they
simultaneously clock the matt-black wedge parked on the other side of the road
and practically run across to it with cries of ‘bella macchina!’ As Jethro
Bovindon says: ‘when there’s an Aventador around it seems nothing else exists.’
F12’s
center console buttons engage reverse, automatic and launch control
Most of the first afternoon is spent
driving for the cameras and formation flying for the all-important cover shot
(not the work of a moment), but there’s just enough charging up and down
getting dizzy through hairpins to form a few initial impressions. These include
the fact that the Aston’s steering square, although odd to look at, it actually
a really lovely thing to hold and use. Curiously, though, this Vanquish doesn’t
feel as stiff as the last DB9 we drove and you need to keep the dampers in
their Sport setting permanently to ensure acceptable levels of body control.
And what editor Nick Trott perceptively describes as ‘school uniform red’ isn’t
the best color for the otherwise-gorgeous carbon fiber-wrought curves, either.
The overwhelming comments from people
clambering out of the Ferrari center around the fact that, without question, it
has the best drivetrain of any road car on sale today. The way its dozen
cylinders rev with apparently no inertia is insane and the twin-clutch gearbox
not only keeps up, but actually enhances the experience. It’s so sensational
that Nick even dares to mention the engine in the same breath as the Rosche V12
in the McLaren F1.
F12
throttle always feels especially keen
Meanwhile, perhaps unexpectedly, it’s the
Lambo with its heavier steering that is actually the easiest car to get
comfortable with. Its brakes are also the most reassuring to lean on right up
to the ABS trigger point, although admittedly the initially damp roads do favor
its four-wheel drive and winter tires. The Aventador’s single-clutch gearbox
has also improved since we last drove one, but its drivetrain, although organic
and characterful, feels merely ‘current’ when compared to the Ferrari’s ‘next
generation’. Perhaps a Veneno-spec upgrade to the engine would help…
Stunning it may be, but leading the way
home in the Aventador in the dark at the end of the day proves that it’s
definitely not going to rival the Aston in the GT stakes. It’s more useable
than a Diablo or a Countach, but as I feel my way gingerly along the unfamiliar
roads, struggling to see past the A-pillars and getting blinded by oncoming
lights, it feels about as practical as keeping a blind bull in a Royal Doulton
warehouse.
That evening we agree that the cars need a
bigger road, so we can really get under their respective skins. We schedule an
early start for tomorrow.
Ferrari F12 Berlinetta technical specs
·
Basic price: $359,604
·
Engine: V12, 6262cc
·
Power: 730bhp @ 8250rpm
·
Torque: 509lb ft @ 6000rpm
·
Transmission: seven-speed DCT, rear-wheel drive,
E-Diff, F1-Trac, ESP
·
Front suspension: Double wishbones, coil
springs, adaptive dampers, anti-roll bar
·
Rear suspension: Multi-link, coil springs,
adaptive dampers, anti-roll bar
·
Brakes: ventilated carbon-ceramic discs, 398mm
front, 360mm rear, ABS, EBD
·
Wheels: 9.5 x 20in front, 11.5 x 20in rear
·
Tires: 255/35/ZR20 front, 315/35 ZR20 rear
·
Weight (kerb): 1630kg
·
Power-to-weight: 455bhp/ton
·
0-62mph: 3.1sec (claimed)
·
Top speed: 211mph+ (claimed)
