What's the news?
Lamborghini has given its atomic-doorstop flagship, the Aventador, a thorough going-over for the 2017 model year and the result is the Aventador S, a 740hp aria to the art of the V12 engine.
Exterior
It doesn't look a lot different to the outgoing Aventador, but Lamborghini points out that there is a new front air intake, with new ducts and redirected airflow, a new rear diffuser with the engine's three exhaust pipes sticking out through it, an active, three-position rear wing and re-profiled rear wheel arches that are supposed to be reminiscent of the classic Lamborghini Countach.
More importantly, greater aero efficiency has been found, with front downforce improved by more than 130 per cent over the previous Aventador coupé. When the wing is in its optimum position the overall efficiency at high downforce is improved by over 50 per cent, and in low drag by more than 400 per cent compared to the previous model.
Mechanicals
The engine is still a whopping 6.5-litre V12 unit, but has seen its power increase to a staggering 740hp with 690Nm of torque. Lamborghini puts the increase down to improvements in the variable valve timing as well as an increase in maximum revs to 8,500rpm. The 0-100km/h sprint is claimed to come up in just 2.9 seconds, while the top speed is more than 350km/h. Quick, then, although Lamborghini is also paying some attention to the car's environmental performance, apparently - the engine has a power-on-demand setting that shuts down one bank of cylinders on light throttle openings to save fuel.
The Aventador S fires all that power at all four wheels through a seven-speed paddle shift gearbox, and it also now has four-wheel steering. Reacting in just five milliseconds, the rear wheels steer in the opposite direction to the fronts at low speed, making the Aventador more manoeuvrable in town, while at higher speeds they turn the same way, making the car more stable and precise, says Lamborghini. The pushrod suspension, with its magnetically adjustable dampers, has been retuned for the four-wheel steering, while the stability control system recognises when you're having fun and sends more power to the rear wheels than the fronts, allowing some potentially lurid tail-slides.
Finally, there are the brakes and wheels, which are covered in specially developed Pirelli P Zero tyres. The brakes are perforated carbon ceramic discs, a huge 400mm at the front and 380mm at the rear, that can stop the Aventador dead in just 31 metres from 100km/h.
Anything else?
There's also a way to massage your ego. No, not that, but the EGO electronic control system that allows you to choose between Strada mode (everyday comfort), Sport (what is says on the tin), Corsa (lunatic mode for the track) and now EGO, which allows a driver to individually set up the system to their personal taste. Changing the mode also alters the way the big TFT instrument display tells you exactly how big an accident you're about to have. Sorry, we mean tells you what's happening with speed, revs and ancillary systems.
"This is the next generation Aventador as well as the expression of new technological and performance milestones in super sports car development," says Automobili Lamborghini Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stefano Domenicali. "The Aventador S is visionary design, cutting-edge technology and driving dynamics in pure harmony, and elevates the concept of super sports cars to a new level."
The price of all this Italian magnificence? €281,000 in Europe, which probably means more like €500,000 should you wish to personally import one here.