Lamborghini has always packed a punch worthy of K.O. territory, so when the company prepared to introduce its new heavyweight fighter, the Aventador, it knew that this had to prove something about the entire brand.
The supercar arena is the home of spectacular fights by definition, but recent times have turned it into a full-fury battlefield. Competition has evolved to such an extent that each fresh arrival not only has to score more points than its predecessor, but it must deliver at least one characteristic blow that makes it special on the ring.
These are just two reasons for which Lamborghini didn't waste time with unimportant goals such as being the fastest or the most outrageous when training its V12 fighter for the match.
Sant'Agata Bolonese had one simple target in mind - the Aventador had to be the best. They planned to release a creation that would sit above all other mainstream supercars (read: machines that do not cross the half-a-million dollar line).
The public was expected to be hypnotized, with the coach watching this world-wide theater act from the comfort of its armchair in Ingolstadt. This is how it was planned and no expense was to great to turn the first Lambo entirely conceived under Audi ownership into a heart, and cheque winner.
It all started with a clean sheet o paper and the name of the bravest bull they could think of. Aventador may have died fighting in an arena in Zaragoza back in 1993, but the bull was such a respectable adversary that he received a trophy for its courage.
While the bovine probably didn't understand too much of the award ceremony, especially due to its post-mortem nature, the designers and engineers had to make sure that they pass its spirit on to the car.
Each and every V12 Lamborghini model released from the company's inception in 1963, including the Murcielago, uses the original V12 engine designed by Giotto Bizzarrini as a starting point, albeit with modifications ranging from major to extreme.
New makeup wasn't going to cut it for the Aventador, so an all-new heart was built for this car. And since they were there, they also threw in a new transmission.
Ferrari and almost everybody else in this league use aluminum for the body construction, so nothing less than carbon fiber could do for the mega-project. Lamborghini had been experimenting with full carbon fiber body construction ever since the Countach, but only separate body parts made it into production. This meant that the Aventador was the perfect occasion to finally make this happen.
Big Lambos of the past had the bad habit of showing you that their connection to the world of bull fighting is not just a marketing scheme, usually with painful consequences. However, the aforementioned market conditions mean that all these impressive parts of the car had to be included into a whole that would also have to be more usable.
The Aventador has landed and we can't deny the torero-scaring performance figures or the looks that turn heads with the same force the moon causes tides. Nevertheless, we recently set out to see how those numbers are translated in the real world and what the car feels like when you're not blinded by its appearance.
Like we said, the Aventador is also about the Lamborghini brand altogether. This company was born from a mix of automotive passion and ego-fueled emotions. Even its first engine, the V12 that lived on for more than half a century, came to the world in a controversial way. Ferruccio Lamborghini couldn't agree on the final details of the powerplant with Giotto Bizzarrini, the man who designed it, and wouldn't pay him for the job until he was legally forced to.
Just like a girl whose wild beauty is only matched by her caprices, Lamborghini needed someone to manhandle it and eventually help it settle down a bit, all with the aim of becoming an even better company. But the secret lies within the balance between the two sides and we are now sitting in front of it's four-wheeled incarnation.
All these thoughts rush into our minds as we step over the wide seals that scream out the car's name. The access is easier than we expected and the smell of fresh leather is telling us it's time to uncover that jet fighter engine start button and drive away.
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