On this episode of Ignition presented by Tire Rack
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:10 There are certain cities where style doesn't matter,
00:13 places where how you dress and what you drive are immaterial.
00:17 Miami is not such a city.
00:20 Miami thumps.
00:22 This is evident to anyone who's ever spent any time there.
00:26 In a city as electric and animated as Miami,
00:28 one should drive a car that is amplified and extroverted.
00:33 The latest V12-powered supercar from Lamborghini
00:36 is just what the doctor ordered.
00:38 [ENGINE REVVING]
00:40 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:50 This Grigio and Terry's painted beast
00:52 is the latest and greatest scissor-dorged stunner
00:55 from the good, though slightly crazed folks at St. Agnes.
00:58 Behind the driver and underneath glass louvers
01:01 sits its heart, a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated
01:05 V12 that unleashes 730 manic horsepower,
01:09 an increase from the 690 ponies the original Aventador
01:13 produced.
01:14 The seven-speed, single-clutched,
01:16 independent shifting rod transmission
01:18 remains, as do the mule kicks it produces.
01:22 The last time we tested an Aventador,
01:24 it crushed 60 miles an hour in 2.9 seconds
01:27 and beat up the quarter mile in just 10.8 seconds.
01:31 Crazier still was the 740-horsepower Aventador
01:35 Superveloce, which smashes 60 miles an hour in just 2.4
01:39 seconds and claims the quarter in a crazy quick 10.4 seconds.
01:44 The Aventador S is 100 pounds heavier and 10 horsepower
01:48 weaker than the SV.
01:50 Not that it matters.
01:52 Also improved on the new S is the handling,
01:55 thanks largely to the addition of four-wheel steering.
01:57 When all four wheels turn in the same direction at speed,
02:01 it has the effect of virtually lengthening the car's wheelbase,
02:04 increasing stability.
02:06 At lower speeds, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction
02:09 to the front, making the wide-body supercar shockingly
02:13 easy to park.
02:14 The suspension is stiffer than before,
02:16 and the magnetic shocks have been reprogrammed
02:18 with better handling in mind.
02:20 Even the big, sticky Pirellis are new,
02:22 specifically developed for all-wheel drive machines.
02:27 The weird part is that I've taken this sportier, much
02:30 sharper-handling Aventador to a city in a state that
02:32 is totally devoid of curves.
02:35 Florida is straight and flat, and Miami,
02:38 its cultural and artistic center,
02:40 is pretty much the same.
02:42 So why?
02:43 Why would I?
02:45 To illustrate that there's more to cars like the Aventador S
02:48 than handling and performance.
02:50 In a word, the car is special.
02:53 In a few more, can you think of a better car
02:55 to drive through Miami?
02:56 Maybe the Aventador S Roadster, but it
02:59 hasn't been invented yet.
03:01 Soon, but not yet.
03:02 [ENGINE REVVING]
03:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:08 In Miami, you never know who you'll run into.
03:16 Athletes and entertainers from all over the world
03:18 call the nexus of Cuban culture in America home.
03:21 Artists and business people, too.
03:23 I happened to run into a couple of my buddies
03:25 who came rolling up in more Lamborghinis.
03:28 For good measure, there was a second Aventador S
03:30 painted in a more Miami-appropriate shade
03:33 of white.
03:34 Perhaps my favorite Lamborghini of them all was there,
03:37 the aforementioned Aventador Superveloce.
03:39 The SV Roadster is painted in a sparkly green called Verde
03:43 Sing, a colored Lamborghini named after its owner, Chris
03:47 Sing.
03:48 They did so most likely because Chris purchased one of the three
03:52 Veneno coupes available.
03:54 Built to celebrate the brand's 50th anniversary,
03:57 at the time, the $4.5 million spaceship
04:00 was the most expensive new car in the world.
04:03 Chris daily drives his, often in the rain.
04:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:16 When you're in a V12 Lamborghini,
04:17 people stop and point smartphones at you.
04:22 That is, unless you're in an Aventador S
04:24 and there's a Veneno on your six.
04:28 I'm not even sure anyone saw me.
04:29 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:33 [ENGINE REVVING]
04:34 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:38 Miami done, it was time to head south, way south,
04:49 across long, straight bridges on my way
04:51 to the southernmost point in the United States, Key West.
04:55 Sitting just 90 miles north of Cuba,
04:58 I like to think of Key West as my own private New Orleans.
05:01 The historic Caribbean spice former pirate hangout
05:05 sports a population of less than 75,000,
05:08 much smaller than the 400,000 souls
05:10 who call the Big Easy home.
05:11 Sure, the food in Louisiana is better,
05:14 but hey, I'm a sucker for key lime pie.
05:17 On the 165-mile drive south, I had time
05:21 to ponder not just the Aventador S, but V12 Lamborghinis
05:24 in general.
05:26 See, there aren't very many mid-engine V12 Lamborghinis.
05:30 Miura, Countach, Diablo, Murcielago, and Aventador
05:34 makes just five, just five.
05:37 And talk about icons.
05:39 Has there ever been a more coveted car than the Countach?
05:43 Sure, LJK Set Right coined the term supercar
05:46 while looking at the Miura, but it
05:48 is the angular, triagonal, impossibly raked, yet still
05:51 curvy Countach that has forever defined
05:54 both the term and the brand.
05:57 I've long maintained that the Countach is the only reason
06:00 Lamborghini even exists.
06:02 Think about it.
06:03 What other reason is there for a small boutique Italian
06:07 manufacturer to survive bankruptcy and five changes
06:11 of ownership in just 20 years?
06:13 The only answer I can think of is the Countach
06:16 and the psycho-automotive space it alone occupies.
06:20 I remember the first time I saw a Countach in the wild
06:23 with my own eyes.
06:24 I was 12 in the old part of Montreal,
06:27 and there was an orange example parked
06:28 on the gray cobblestones.
06:30 I must have stood and stared for half an hour.
06:33 Magic.
06:34 Years and years later, I finally drove a Countach.
06:37 It was perhaps the worst car I've ever driven.
06:40 Everything, including the seemingly 300-pound clutch,
06:44 was just awful.
06:45 To this day, however, the Countach
06:47 is still my favorite supercar.
06:49 Why?
06:50 Just look at it.
06:54 Conversely, the Aventador S is the best Lamborghini
06:57 I've ever driven.
06:59 Comfortable, easygoing, and despite its lack
07:01 of luggage capacity, an excellent road trip machine.
07:05 Though, if I'm being honest, one that is in desperate need
07:07 of cruise control.
07:09 Unlike the Aventador that came before,
07:11 the S sports Magna rheological dampers
07:13 that, when in starter mode, are pretty compliant.
07:16 Trouble is, the single-clutch transmission in starter mode
07:19 is still no bueno, making the Aventador lurch around
07:22 at low to moderate speeds.
07:24 The solution has long been just to drive around in sport mode.
07:28 But forget that.
07:29 With a straight face, the Aventador S
07:31 introduces ego mode, where you can put the transmission
07:35 and engine in sport, or even Corsa if you like,
07:38 and leave the suspension and traction control in street.
07:41 Problem solved.
07:43 Speaking of solving problems, it's
07:45 high time this Lamborghini stopped driving so slow.
07:49 [MUSIC PLAYING]
07:52 [ENGINE REVVING]
07:56 Launching a big Lambo is relatively straightforward.
08:21 Make sure you're in Corsa mode, and then pull the ESC switch
08:24 once.
08:25 Depress the brake pedal with your left foot
08:27 until you see the words "thrust mode possible"
08:30 appear below the tachometer.
08:32 Then bury the throttle with your right foot.
08:35 You will see the revs jump to about 5,000 RPM.
08:38 All that's left for you to do is release the brake and hold on.
08:43 The mechanical violence unleashed by that brutal V12
08:47 and that nail gun of a transmission is intoxicating.
08:50 There's a small, tiny moment of not quite calm,
08:53 but a split second when you're not rocketing forward.
08:56 See, the tires and the traction control computer
08:58 are both scrambling for grip.
09:00 A hundredth of a breath later, and you're gone, baby, gone.
09:04 I've been behind the wheel of a few cars that are quicker.
09:07 Not by much, but they're quicker.
09:09 But never anything is violent.
09:11 The Aventador S is a bomb with four wheels, an explosion
09:15 you can point down the road.
09:18 Lamborghini claims that this car can hit a top speed
09:20 of around 217 miles per hour.
09:23 We're going to have to take their word for it,
09:25 because the best I could manage was an indicated 177 miles
09:29 per hour, 40 short of V-max.
09:33 I can live with that.
09:34 One day somewhere, I'll find a wider road
09:37 with smoother pavement, though probably not in the Keys.
09:41 Which leads us back to supercars in South Florida.
09:45 They don't make a lick of sense.
09:46 Sure, some people in and around Miami
09:49 drive a smidge over the speed limit on I-95.
09:52 But there are just as many people, if not more,
09:54 going slower.
09:56 All of that massive power is essentially wasted.
09:59 There are no curves, no winding roads, no great big canyons.
10:03 At first glance, the pairing makes no sense.
10:08 Upon closer inspection, however, Miami and supercars work.
10:13 Miami is one of Lamborghini's largest markets.
10:16 And after experiencing the new Aventador S for myself,
10:19 I get it.
10:20 I'm not saying there's a logic to it,
10:22 but I get why the two work.
10:25 There's a culture down here that celebrates
10:27 the crazed, the excessive, the larger than life.
10:30 After all, what is a Lamborghini for, if not exactly that?
10:44 Right here, Southern Midpoint.
10:46 Yeah.
10:46 Give me your phone.
10:50 I'll do it.
10:50 Hey, ciao.
10:52 (whooshing)