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Lamborghini Says No To RWD Aventador, Water Is Still Wet

The Gallardo got its fair share of rear-wheel-drive with the LP 550-2, and the Huracan followed in the predecessor’s footsteps with the LP 580-2. Even Audi converted the R8 V10 to rear-wheel-drive, but Lamborghini can’t make a case for this layout for the Aventador. The reasoning, as expected, is somewhat cringey.
2018 Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster 15 photos
Photo: Lamborghini
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Speaking to Drive, the head of research and development at the Raging Bull of Sant’Agata Bolognese explained that “the four-wheel-drive system is the most safe and performance-focused we can have,” adding that RWD is “something we don’t want to have.” On top of this obtuse point of view, Maurizio Reggiani added that “the traction control would be so invasive,” which is nonsensical.

Pardon my French, but how come McLaren and Ferrari manage 700-plus, even 800 horsepower in rear-wheel-drive models such as the Senna and 812 Superfast? Adding insult to injury, Macca and Fezza are small, independent automakers, whereas Lamborghini has access to the Volkswagen Group’s development funds.

Volkswagen took a liking to the Italian automaker’s viscous center differential in the Diablo VT (1993), and after the Germans took over Lamborghini in 1998, the V12-AWD combo was set in stone. Another reason Reggiani can’t make a case for rear-wheel-drive is acceleration, which would be worse without all four wheels gripping the tarmac as hard as possible when you mash the ;oud pedal from a standstill, launch control activated and guns blazing.

It’s all a numbers game for Lamborghini, and in addition to the harsh realities of the supersport segment, there’s this sense the Raging Bull is making its flagship safer to drive to please the butterfingered drivers from its customer pool. Read what you will into that, but people in the market for safe cars turn to Volvo, not Lamborghini.

Last, but certainly not least, take the Huracan LP 580-2 and LP 610-4 as an example of what happens when Lamborghini converts an all-wheel-drive supercar to rear-wheel-drive. You lose valuable ponies, and for some customers, that also means the loss of a bragging right.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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