It’s been a long journey for the Aventador. Lamborghini’s flagship has never looked less than a million bucks - but there was a time when it has been less than stellar to drive. Anyone who jumped on the bandwagon early will likely recall with dismay that the car did a good job of mimicking an actual bandwagon. It was large and loud and stuttering and about as subtle as a double-neck neon guitar to the groin. Lamborghini had delivered a Jagger-grade engine in a spaceship, but it rode and cornered with a jagged lack of compromise.
Fast forward a decade and the Aventador that marks the end of production is an entirely different animal. Well, not entirely different - the tantalising 6.5-litre V12 is still very much at its core - but the supercar around it has been filtered through multiple variants and additional development work, and boy does it show. Aside from its head-lulling automatic, the endgame Aventador is a pleasure to drive on the public road. You almost don’t need to push on in it to enjoy it, except, of course, you absolutely will because rarely has 780hp seemed so multifaceted or more usable.
Then there is the finality of it all. Lamborghini has assured us that a V12 engine will remain a core feature of its future models. But the fact that it will be supplemented with a future-proof hybrid system means its character will be fundamentally altered. The Ultimae then is not just the ultimate expression of the Aventador (a description that could be credibly applied to a number of recent variants) but a final, fabulous example of what it actually meant to be a hot-blooded Lamborghini in the combustion era. Hence the reason for putting it in front of Harry’s video camera one last time. Enjoy.
