2012 Lamborghini Aventador Unleashed on the Nardo Ring! - Ignition Episode 1
On the premiere episode of Ignition
Transcript
00:00 This week on Ignition, we go to Italy to find out what you can do with a Lamborghini in
00:06 24 hours.
00:23 We're at the Nardo Ring, which is one of the fastest test circuits in the world.
00:27 And we happen to have an Aventador, which is the fastest and most powerful Lamborghini
00:30 ever produced.
00:31 We only have 24 hours to drive it.
00:33 I wonder where we should start.
00:35 That is fantastic.
00:38 Let's start with acceleration.
00:46 So here's how you do an acceleration run in a Lamborghini Aventador.
00:49 You select course on the dash here, toggle stability control so it's off, left foot on
00:54 the brake, right foot slams the gas, and you let go of the brake.
00:58 Those shifts are fantastic.
01:02 60, 2.8 seconds.
01:04 They just knock you in the back.
01:07 The quarter mile, 10.6 seconds at 133 miles an hour.
01:14 It'll keep pulling all the way to 217, but unfortunately, Lamborghini won't allow us
01:19 to do that here at Nardo.
01:21 All right, now we're cruising at 60 miles an hour.
01:24 We're going to find out how well this thing stops.
01:30 Quite well.
01:31 100 feet from 60 is our best stop.
01:35 So with acceleration and braking done, let's find out how well this thing handles.
01:38 We're on a 150 meter skid pad and doing about 120 kilometers an hour.
01:45 And oh, wow, this thing is so controllable.
01:48 I never thought I'd drive a V12 mid-engine Lamborghini and be able to countersteer it
01:53 around a skid pad.
01:54 This is fun.
01:55 You can control the angle of the car through the steering or the throttle.
02:01 It just does whatever you want it to.
02:08 So we got the test data, but that clock is still ticking.
02:10 We have the entire southern peninsula of Italy to explore.
02:13 Let's cause some mayhem.
02:19 Lamborghinis aren't just cars.
02:21 They're experiences.
02:22 Even getting into one is pure theater.
02:25 Starting one, it's like firing an intercontinental ballistic missile.
02:30 And driving one, life changing.
02:40 The Aventador is a car of extremes.
02:43 It has 3.5 feet width worth of rubber and 691 horsepower to drive them through.
02:49 The resulting acceleration is staggering.
02:51 This car is as fast as 60 miles an hour as a Bugatti Veyron.
02:56 The crazy thing is Lamborghini didn't even do that on purpose.
03:01 Acceleration wasn't even their main priority.
03:03 Instead, accessibility was.
03:04 They tried to make this the most accessible V12 mid-engine Lamborghini ever.
03:08 I think they've accomplished that.
03:10 They've also adapted new technologies.
03:12 The passenger tub, the roof, carbon fiber.
03:15 Way more lightweight than the outgoing Murcielago.
03:19 And on the inside, in the interior, you get pieces from Volkswagen Audi.
03:22 The infotainment system is actually based on Audi's MMI software.
03:26 Now some people will complain about that.
03:28 I won't because I know it'll work every time.
03:31 For as advanced as the Aventador seems, there's still some old-school technology.
03:35 The seven-speed automatic isn't a dual-clutch.
03:37 It's an automated manual.
03:39 And though it's lighter than a dual-clutch, it's a little bit clunky at low speeds and
03:42 around town.
03:43 Of course, it smooths way out at high speeds.
03:48 Suspension is relatively simple, too.
03:49 It's just Olin shocks at all four corners, actuated by pushrods.
03:53 They're completely non-adjustable.
03:55 But fortunately, Lamborghini has chosen a pretty good setting.
03:58 But enough about the details.
04:00 How is the Aventador to drive on a curvy Italian road?
04:03 Wonderful.
04:04 The steering is precise.
04:06 Tells you exactly what you need to know about the road.
04:09 There's just an immense amount of grip through these super wide tires.
04:12 And the best bit is that 691 horsepower V12 behind your back.
04:16 At any moment, it's just full speed ahead.
04:19 I love that.
04:22 When I was a little kid, I had a poster of the Countach on my wall.
04:38 It was a magnificent thing.
04:39 A concoction of extravagance, stupidity, and power.
04:43 It was an aspiration, a concept.
04:46 Something that existed only at the end of a rainbow.
04:48 The Aventador is that car realized.
04:50 It makes me carry the same lust.
04:52 When I'm driving it, I want to get out and look at it.
04:54 And when I'm looking at it, I want to get back in and drive it more.
04:58 This is the car that deserves to be on your kid's wall.
05:00 This is the car that should be on all of our walls.
05:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:31 (bells chiming)