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Lamborghini Aventador SVJ unveiled

Ganesh Murthy

The new king of the ‘Ring

Last month, the internet was rife with pictures of a camouflaged Lamborghini which claimed to break the lap record for production cars at the Nurburgring, a record that was earlier held by the Porsche 911 GT2 RS with a time of 6:47:03 minutes. Now, the company has revealed its flagship V12 powered supercar – the Aventador SVJ. In the age of turbocharging, this is one of the rare cars to stick to a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine, which cranks out 759bhp at 8,500rpm and an earth twisting 720Nm at 6,750rpm. The car races to 100kmph from standstill in just 2.8 seconds, while 200kmph arrives in 8.6 seconds on its way to going north of 350kmph. The braking distance from 100kmph to a complete stop is just 30 metres, says the company. The supercar tips the scales at just 1,525kg.

Design of the Aventador SVJ

In terms of design, the Aventador SVJ features enhanced aero changes compared to the Aventador S and follows the ‘Y’ theme. The car is wider in the front, it gets a new front bumper with integrated side fins that have new air intakes. The two air outlets on the hood in the front are introduced to improve the airflow and increase downforce, says Lamborghini. Overall, the changes made to the upper body contribute to 70 per cent of the total downforce on the SVJ.

The bigger air intakes contribute to a reduced drag co-efficient and improved cooling. The chaps at Lamborghini have also tweaked the underbody with vortex generators for better aerodynamics and introduced a new rear diffuser with divergent fins to improve downforce. The twin exhaust units are mounted on the bumper. The rear wing is made of carbon fibre and is integrated to the ALA system. Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva (ALA) is what the company calls its suite of  aerodynamic technologies. The ALA was first seen on the Huracán Performante. The SVJ gets the ALA 2.0, which new air inlets and redesigned air channels. Another bit of  electronic trickery is the Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Attiva 2.0 (LDVA 2.0) which keeps a tab on the car’s electronics in real time.

Mechanicals

The car features a new titanium intake valve, modified intake cylinder head and a light weight exhaust system which reduces back pressure and produces a more ‘emotive sound’. The suspension has also been tweaked for better handling. Lamborghini says that the anti-roll bar stiffness has been improved by 50 per cent over its SV cousin. The rear-wheel steering has also been reworked for better stability at high speeds, provide more stability and reduce braking distance during high speed cornering. The ESC has also been worked to make its intervention less apparent to better deliver the Thrill of Driving. Pirelli has worked closely with Lamborghini to develop the P Zero Corsa tyres, which are designed to withstand the high downforce and provide high grip levels. Optional Pirelli P Zero Trofeo tyres are also available for track use.

You also get hordes of customisation options for the interiors. An optional telemetery system also allows you to record laptimes if you end up on a racetrack. The car gets a TFT infotainment system with Apple Car Play (free of charge, says Lamborghini) and navigation.

A special edition car christened Aventador SVJ 63 was showcased at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance recently. The number 63 has pays homage to the founding year of the company, 1963. The special edition car will be limited to just 63 units worldwide. With special paint jobs and graphics with ‘63’ emblazoned on the car, expect the car to be priced at a premium as compared to the regular SVJ.