Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Review

Lamborghini Aventador SVJ 

There are a lot of cars out there that hold a certain presence to them. If say I were stood next to an original 1966 Ford GT40, I would feel in a very special place as it holds esteem in the motoring world. The Lamborghini Aventador is one of those cars. After the Murcielago bowed out in 2010 after the insane LP670 SV, the car world waited for what would be the equally insane replacement. In 2012, Lamborghini announced the Aventador and after many years in production having multiple models and special editions, the Aventador is also to bow out as Lamborghini has decided to move to hybrid-V12s rather than full petrol powered engines. So due to this, Lamborghini had to allow it to bow out in a similarly successful way as the Murcielago.  



And here it is. The SVJ. The name comes from the combination of the 'SV' label, used on previous Aventador models, meaning SuperVeloce (Superfast). The 'J' comes from the genesis of the Lamborghini supercar and from the Miura SVJ. The Miura SVJ was an iteration of the original 1966 Miura which was built in very limited numbers to comply with the old FIA Appendix J racing series. The racing chassis of the Miura SVJ was testing in Brescia when it crashed and burned to the ground. The Miura SVJ is the genesis of the Lamborghini limited series cars and the modern Aventador SVJ lives up to it's grandfather's legacy. 

This particular example was on display by the Yorkshire Supercar Owners Club at Newby Hall during the Sports Cars in the Park this May. It was finished in Rosso Leto with the SVJ logo on the rear section of the car. It is also finished with the 20" bronze rims. The presence it had that day equalled being stood next to a Lamborghini Countach or a Ferrari Enzo. The 6.5l V12 engine mounted in the rear of the car produces 759 bhp and can take the car up to a top speed of 217mph making it one of the fastest cars that Lamborghini has ever made. 0-60mph takes only 2.6 seconds due to the massive weight reduction that the SVJ has gone through, cutting over 100lbs from the base car. This car also holds the current lap record for road legal cars at the fierce Nürburgring Nordschliefe circuit. The Green Hell, as it is also known, is a 12.9 mile car-killing circuit known for being the first place many supercars go for testing. The SVJ completed a lap driven by Marco Mapelli, Lamborghini factory driver, in a staggering 6m 44 secs. To put that into perspective, the previous record held by Porsche was 6m 47 secs and the original 2012 Aventador took 7m 25 secs. 

One reason for this may be the insanely fast test driver, who for a living drives Lamborghini Trofeo GT3 cars. However one of the more logical reasons is the immense aerodynamic features to the SVJ. The key feature is the wing (below) which uses the Lamborghini ALA aero kit first used on the Huracan Performante. This, plus the 4 wheel steer and 4 active suspension, makes this car one of the best track Lamborghinis and a car that can rival a McLaren 600LT around a track. 

In terms of pricing, the SVJ price starts at around £350,000 and with only 700 units, this is a very good deal. There is a Roadster variant coming this year along with the very limited SVJ 63 made to celebrate the birth of Lamborghini with 63 units. A stunning car that certainly lives up to the legacy set by the Miura and a good farewell to the Aventador name.

By Cieran Boyne
Original Photography
Source
http://www.supercarworld.com/cgi-bin/showgeneral.cgi?857

The ALA system to improve downforce (left), a front shot of the most mean Lamborghini for the last few years.