Wednesday 20th May 2015

Raging Bull: PH Blog

Another 'ring lap claimed but this one matters, or so says Dan

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With SEAT claiming 'fastest front-drive hot hatch derived estate car' as a bona fide Nurburgring record the sense that Nordschleife times have jumped the shark is hard to ignore. Many thought as much long ago, both in the media and among manufacturers.

Fastest Golf derivative record in the bag...

When even someone like Porsche's Andreas Preuninger sighs and says 'ring times are more about the bravery of the driver than the quality of the car you know something's up. From hypercars to hybrids everyone now seems to need to validate their existence with a tenuous lap time of sorts.

I can take or leave stuff like the SEAT or Prius but this sub-seven time by the Lamborghini Aventador SV is something actually significant I think.

Why? Certainly for Lamborghini because, seemingly from out of nowhere, it's done what it has always done best. Which is to basically flick vees at the more high-minded members of the supercar community and demonstrate the rebellious spirit the brand has always stood for. This is hardwired into the company legend of course; the snubbed tractor builder so angered at Enzo's arrogance that he decided to build a better car himself and all that.

Yep, it's a 'ring lap record holder too!

Lamborghini could never rival Ferrari's racing pedigree or road car lineage of course. So it just built the most outrageous looking cars it could. Wisely it's maintained this philosophy to this day. McLaren can take its (historic, if not current) F1 rivalry out into the car park and give Ferrari road cars a run for their money. All a Lambo has to do is rock up and be louder, more extrovert and have a bigger wing/engine/exhaust and, for the target audience, it's job done. Do they care about the lack of motorsport pedigree or the fact that, ultimately, Lamborghinis aren't always that good to drive? Do they heck. They just want to see the pumped-up bodybuilder kicking sand in the face of the geeks every now and then. Evidenced by the online commentator to my Huracan onboard video so outraged by my 'chicken arms' he had to deploy the classic 'bro, u even lift?' as if this is a prerequisite for driving a Huracan.

And just as Lamborghini had seemingly accepted the inevitable business case for making its cars more suited to posers than hardcore drivers it sends its big beast out and proves it can - after all - mix it in the big boys' playground. And match their fancy hybrid drivetrains, star racing driver pilots and mega budget development strategies by simply being badass.

The Aventador SV, by modern standards, is crude. It's a big old bus with big normally aspirated V12, Haldex four-wheel drive, a single-clutch automated gearbox, sticky tyres and a load of aero. It has no claims to be a racing car or even related to one. I rode shotgun in a standard Aventador with Lambo's chief hotshoe round a wet Silverstone and it clearly handled like a dog in those conditions. In this context it's just eff-off fast courtesy of having loads of power and an anonymous driver with a set steely enough to pedal it round to a sub-seven time. As evidenced by the smooth and controlled first half of the lap and then realisation he's going to have to get a wriggle on and push a bit harder to achieve his goal. If he wasn't puckering slightly at Brunnchen he really wasn't human...

Job done though. And excitement raised a notch or two ahead of our drive in it at the weekend.

Dan

 

[redroadster]

The main thing is it looks like a super car and sounds like one you can make a car faster than this like the McCLaren but it's not got the same drama ,if you want to drive on a race track buy a racing car it will be faster and better suited to the job for the road a Lamborghini is more than enough.

[J4CKO]

Sounds like a special edition Double Cab pickup the title of this thread "Raging Bull"

[J45ON]

What i love (other than the fact this is two VERY large fingers to just about everyone) is that now when one of these turns up at a Hypercar track day, all the boys in the big three (P1, LaFerrari and 918) aren't going to be quiet so sure they've got the Lambo licked.

That, and the noise. Good God the noise is glorious.

[Gandahar]

Agree Dan. It's sort of like come out of nowhere, gone in amongst the hybrid Mayweathers of this world and thrown a good right hook. Or more realistically, Henry Cooper flooring Ali. Where did that come from?

Hats off to them for doing this rather than Mclaren who did it their way with the P1 and has ended up being rather flat because they did not release the time.

Ironically Lamborghini just had a black swan moment

[zerovira]

Ok, so this is 4th Lambo worth it since the beginning of times.

Updated list:

- Miura (best lambo ever, and top 3 of all time best cars)
- Countach (all of them. Damn! look at it! the father of all friggin' modern lambos!)
- Diablo SV (Personal choice for childhood reasons, not really worth it).
- Aventador SV

Why? because NOW THIS IS LAMBO and not the pathetic veneno. I am more inclined towards ferrari (although my wallet is more inclined towards second-hand dacias) but I can see the spirit of Ferruccio Lamborghini laughing hard in his grave.

It is just as it should be to be a perfect lambo: outrageous, excessive, it has too much of everything that has to be had and not a fkin' bit of more subtle things like hybridization, downsizing or just moderation.

It is big, has a stupidly big engine, with an enormous number of cylinders, an enormously enormous wing, looks like it is gonna kill you at any moment and has insane amounts of "I don't give a fk" attitude. I can even accept four wheel drive given the brutality

And even with all that, it is able to shame both McLaren and Ferrari efforts by going to the ring, publishing the time without bullst and then go home. If I were working at Ferrari/McLaren I would feel ashamed.

Nurburgring times are not important, except when you use them to spit right in the eye of your competitors. Hats off Lamborghini, this time you really made it.

[JohnGoodridge]

Lambo, so old skool cool. Gotta love it.

[graeme4130]

I love that Lambo have done this
After all the publicity surrounding the big hybrid three and all the technology development that's gone into them to differentiate them from older tech, non Hybrid super cars, it's great that an old school N/A V12 can get within a cats whisker of their times at a fraction of the price & probably sounds twice as good
Hats off to Lamborghini

[Guvernator]

Pretty much exactly the same thoughts I posted in the original article about the SV's ring time. I'm not one of these people who hate the idea of hybrid sportscars, the world is forcing manufacturers and those who like cars to conform to their view of what is and isn't acceptable and the big 3 saw hybrid's as the only way to keep playing the game. However I can't help but think that in doing so, they have admitted defeat and in doing so, sold a little of their souls to the devil.

This SV is a rude V12 fingers up at the absurdity of the need for a hybrid supercar and is all the better for it IMO.

[Krikkit]

zerovira said:

Ok, so this is 4th Lambo worth it since the beginning of times.

Updated list:

- Miura (best lambo ever, and top 3 of all time best cars)
- Countach (all of them. Damn! look at it! the father of all friggin' modern lambos!)
- Diablo SV (Personal choice for childhood reasons, not really worth it).
- Aventador SV

I'd have to add the Sesto Elemento and an Espada to that as well. The former because it's a genuine mega-lightweight supercar (by comparison to its road-going equivalents, not just the Superleggera style) and the Espada because it's a very cool super saloon.

[EricE]

When I think of modern day Lamborghinis I think of early 20s trust fond kids in London revving the nuts off their poseur cars at 10 mph, not a supercar beating the hyped technology orgy that is the P1 around the Nordschleife at a third of the price. A refreshing surprise.

[zerovira]

Krikkit said:

I'd have to add the Sesto Elemento and an Espada to that as well. The former because it's a genuine mega-lightweight supercar (by comparison to its road-going equivalents, not just the Superleggera style) and the Espada because it's a very cool super saloon.

I thought the sesto elemento was a concept car. Well, V10 and weight under a ton: do I have to say anything else?

In fact, I will swap the diablo sv for the sesto elemento. Way more logic.

The espada is an awesome car, but most lambos are. Is above average, but not enough to make the cut.


So updated again list:

Miura
Countach
Sesto elemento
Aventador SV


Well, it is awesome for lambo to be able to create 50% of their legendary car production in four years

In fact, for me the sesto elemento is almost at miura level of desirability. Less than a ton in a new supercar after 2010 is admirable.

[iloveboost]

I don't think Nordscheliefe times have 'jumped the shark', but they aren't relevant to road driving. We had the big surprise that started all of this, and that was when Nissan actually built a no-gentlemans agreement GT-T to beat a Porsche Turbo for about half the price. It's been less interesting since then, but we can still watch a good onboard video from time to time.
I am surprised that the Aventador SV is only three seconds slower than a 918. On the ring that's probably the difference between a robot sent from the future, like Kimi Raikkonen, and Marco Mapelli. Or a slight wind that day, or if the driver had slight wind that day.

[Gecko1978]

For me the lambo list would be
Diablo SE30 in violet
Gallardo super legerea in that bright green
an now the aventador sv.

The elemento, veneo, reventon are all just a bit meh compared to the purity of the others. But what do i know I have a zafira

[dandare]

Sorry Dan, but I disagree.
It's obviously a very fast car, that sounds wonderful, but it's a bit of a failure. It's not hindered by the hybrid (heavy) junk that McLaren etc. has had to use, and can only just compete with them.

Poor show, Lambo, even if the car is cheaper than it's competitors.

[Guvernator]

dandare said:

Sorry Dan, but I disagree.
It's obviously a very fast car, that sounds wonderful, but it's a bit of a failure. It's not hindered by the hybrid (heavy) junk that McLaren etc. has had to use, and can only just compete with them.

Poor show, Lambo, even if the car is cheaper than it's competitors.

Firstly the McLaren hasn't posted a ring time so you don't know if it's faster or slower. Secondly you do realise it's about 200bhp down on power compared to the other hypercars from the big 3 and at a place like the Nurburgring, outright power is a lot more important then weight. Even with that huge power deficit, the fact that it's only 2 seconds off the pace of the 918 is quite telling IMO

[jason61c]

dandare said:

Sorry Dan, but I disagree.
It's obviously a very fast car, that sounds wonderful, but it's a bit of a failure. It's not hindered by the hybrid (heavy) junk that McLaren etc. has had to use, and can only just compete with them.

Poor show, Lambo, even if the car is cheaper than it's competitors.

Not sure why its a failure....

Its fast
It sounds amazing
It Looks involving to drive
Its half the price
It looks great
It sounds amazing
Its sounds really amazing.

It looses a second or two. Big wow.