The Lamborghini Aventador SVJ has finally premiered
at the Monterey Car Week and yes, it’s everything we’d been hoping for. The Aventador SVJ is the most hardcore mid-engine Lamborghini ever and pushes
the performance boundaries to heights previously unexplored by the Italian
automaker. In fact, the car set a production car lap record at the Nurburgring
during its development.
Lamborghini has fettled with the
naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine so it now delivers 770 hp and 720 Nm of torque. Consequently, the SVJ can rocket to 100 km/h in a blistering 2.8 seconds, 200 km/h in 8.6 seconds and continue
through to a 350 km/h top speed. While that figure is no greater than
the ‘regular’ Aventador, it is mighty impressive when you consider all the
crazy wings and splitters jutting out of the supercar’s exterior.
Like the Aventador S, the SVJ employs Lamborghini’s
rear-wheel steering system to improve manoeuvrability at low speeds and
stability during high-speed cornering. Power is sent to the ground via the
marque’s ISR seven-speed transmission and bespoke Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires. Now for the most obvious point of
difference between the SVJ and all other Aventadors to come before it; the
exterior.
Lamborghini has outfitted the car with the second
iteration of Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva (ALA). This advanced active
aerodynamic system premiered on the Huracan Performante and has been further
refined to help increase the car’s downforce by 40 per cent while also reducing
drag by one percent.
At the front, the Aventador SVJ sports a pair of
flaps which can be actived in less than 500 milliseconds. When the system is
enabled and the flaps open up, the vehicle’s drag coefficient improves, helping
to boost straight-line performance. At the rear, the flaps close when ALA is
off. However, the real magic at the rear happens when ALA is on as a central
tunnel funnels air through the rear wing and depending on the direction of a
turn, either opens the right or left side flap of the wing, improving downforce
on the side where it is needed most.
Beyond these active aero parts, numerous other
changes adorn the vehicle’s exterior. For example, there’s an entirely new
carbon fiber roof and rear decklid which hides most of the engine bay.
Additionally, Lamborghini has employed a new splitter at the front, bespoke
side skirts and installed a set of custom wheels. The SVJ makes the Aventador
SV look ordinary.
At Pebble Beach, Lamborghini has unveiled the
Aventador SVJ 63. This example pays homage to Lamborghini’s founding year of
1963 and will be limited to just 63 units. It incorporates a bespoke white and
black paint scheme with gold accents and ’63’ stickers.
Production of the regular Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
will be capped at 900 units with prices starting at US$ 517,700 in the United
States.