No competitor for this car!
When Lamborghini began work on their new model the Aventador four years ago the chairman had declared that the new model should be so advanced that it would have no competitor. The launch in Delhi last week was the third in the world after its announcement in Italy a few months ago. Despite its huge price (of `3.69 crores in India) over 1,500 global customers put their money down for this car whose deliveries have only just begun. Today, there is a waiting period of 18 months. No other 12-cylinder engined car has ever had such phenomenal response.
What one notices is that it has a long, low and very racy look with its unique gull wing doors that pivot upwards and not outwards. Viewers may not immediately notice that it is the world’s first monocoque body shell made entirely of carbon fibre that dramatically reduces the car’s weight for an unmatched power — to weight ratio and ground hugging traction. The 6,500 cc engine delivers 700 hp comparable to a Formula One car. When it starts up with a muted roar, the ground shakes, leaves fall off trees, birds fly up and drivers seem to expect that pretty girls will fall at their feet. It can go to a maximum (electronically limited) speed of 350 kmph and shoot from 0– 100 kmph in an unprecedented 2.9 seconds.
To handle this awesome power is a unique new multi gear steering mounted paddle shift that is almost as quick as a Formula One car that transmits the power to all four wheels for unsurpassed traction. The unique pushrod suspension ensures perfect ride and handling. But the critics who believe that this car cannot be driven on India’s roads will be disappointed that the low slung mean machine is also capable of handling India’s bad roads as the suspension can be raised by up to 10 cms at the push of a button when necessary. Buyers of expensive cars expect every luxury too and these are all lavished on the interiors. The Lamboghini Diablo and Murcielago were phenomenal cars but the Aventador is a generation ahead of any other car ever made. It is quite amazing that Ferrucio Lamborghini who began life as a poor mechanic making small farm tractors out of war surplus spare parts in Bologna should have been able to create such an iconic brand. The Aventador is much more than a car it is a tribute to human genius that can make something so sophisticated and beautiful.
The writer is an automotive expert and the former editor of a national magazine
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