Lamborghini Aventador S

                                              Lamborghini Aventador S

If the new Aventador S has a job to do - over and above the usual one of providing the most dramatic and attention seeking way of getting from A to B - it's to prove to the world that Lamborghini's 'super sports car' can be as much about substance as it is style.

The original Aventador LP700-4 remains a spectacular looking supercar, underpinned with a genuinely impressive push-rod suspended all-carbon chassis and a thumping 690bhp naturally-aspirated 6.5-litre V12. No mistake, the Aventador is the 'proper' Lamborghini for those who consider the Huracan merely an Audi R8in Italian designer clothes.

But for all the rebellious, hairy-chested tradition drawn from the Miura, Countach, Diablo and Murcielago the Aventador has been accused of being somewhat dumbed down in the driving stakes. Sure, it was fast, noisy and bold. But also heavy, blunt and with a handling balance tipped more toward 'safety' understeer than white knuckle thrills.

The limited production SV version launched in 2015 proved that with a few dynamic tweaks and a little extra power there was potential in the Aventador to ruffle a few feathers in the supercar establishment, exactly as the brand has since its founding in 1963. By stripping out 50kg, increasing the power from 690bhp to 740bhp, adding the controversial variable ratio EPAS Dynamic Steering and improving the car's aero Lamborghini was able to get within a whisker of the Porsche 918 Spyder's Nurburgring lap time. Not bad for a car relying on good old fashioned V12 grunt over hybrid gimmickry and with a list price about a third of Porsche's technical tour de force. 

For the new Aventador S Lamborghini has carried over some of what it learned from the SV - Dynamic Steering included - while increasing power to 730bhp. It's also added that latest supercar must-have - four-wheel steering - and thoroughly reworked the suspension, aero and control systems. Impressively it's done all this without adding to the baseline kerbweight, which remains at 1,575kg by Lamborghini's preferred 'dry' figure. To put that into context a Huracan is 1,422kg by the same measure. 

Specifications:

Location: Spain

Price: £225,955+VAT 

Engine: V12, 6498cc, petrol

Power: 730bhp at 8400rpm

Torque: 509lb ft at 5000rpm

Gearbox: 7-spd automated manual

Kerb weight: 1575kg

0-62mph:  2.9sec

Top speed: 219mph

Economy: 16.7mpg

Rivals Ferrari F12, Noble M600

                                                                                               

Features:

The Lamborghini Aventador S was revealed on 19 December 2016.The 6.5 litre V12 engine now produces 740 PS (544 kW; 730 hp) at 8,400 rpm (40 PS (39 hp; 29 kW) more than the standard Aventador) and 690 N⋅m (509 lb⋅ft) at 5,500 rpm. The performance figures remain the same as the standard Aventador.

The S received four wheel steering, permanent four wheel drive and a slightly updated suspension. The suspension is controlled by the ‘Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Attiva’ (LDVA) control unit. The LDVA has four selectable modes – Sport, Strada (Street), Corsa (Track) and Ego (i.e. individual). Carbon ceramic brakes are standard (front: 400 mm, rear: 380 mm).The nose was redesigned with a bigger front splitter and two new air ducts in the front bumper. At the rear it has a new black rear diffuser with fins, and three single exit exhausts tips. It has 130 percent more front downforce than the standard Aventador.

The Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 S has a power to weight ratio of 2.34 kg (5.16 lb) per horsepower.