Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 first drive 2012

Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 first drive 2012

According to Lamborghini, the all-new 691-horsepower Aventador LP 700-4 supercar can blast from 0 to 62 mph in a scant 2.9 seconds. How much time is that? About how long it takes to query, "How long is that?" This, of course, means the burst to 60 will be an even brisker 2.7, or "How long is..." Still better is Lamborghini's projected quarter-mile time of 10.5 seconds, a full tick ahead of the last 638-horse Corvette ZR1 we tested. Wow is right.

Supercars from Sant'Agata have always been known for crazy speed, so in the interest of full disclosure, the Aventador's top clip is an especially ludicrous 217 mph. Also ludicrous: a sticker price starting at $393,695, or over thrice the price of said ZR1. That's a lot of moola, for sure, but given the Aventador's scintillating stats, it begins to look less rip-off Vette and more bargain Bugatti, a car that costs roughly $2 million yet is barely quicker. All that said, when waxing lyrical about his brand's latest achievement, Lamborghini president and CEO Stephan Winklemann isn't as enamored with the Aventador's dynamite acceleration, or stratospheric top speed, or single-family-home price tag as he is with the supercar's handling. Yes, unlike Lambo's previous poster material -- last year's Murcielago, and the Diablo and Countach before that -- the Aventador's number-one development objective was to turn right and left as skillfully as it jets straight ahead.

If you don't believe me, consider the following: Instead of holding the Aventador's press launch at a multi-mile airstrip or high-speed oval, both of which are conducive for accel and Vmax testing, Lamborghini chose the Autodromo di Vallelunga, a tidy, 10-turn track just outside of Rome. This is a venue where the steering wheel rarely resides on-center. Further, the Aventador utilizes numerous high-tech advancements designed for conquering extreme lateral -- more so than longitudinal -- forces: electronically controlled Haldex IV all-wheel drive, a dry-sump oil system, F1-style pushrod and rocker-arm-actuated coil-over shock suspension, and a 150-percent-stiffer 325-pound carbon-fiber monocoque structure that helps reduce the body-in-white to 506 pounds, about 30 percent lighter than the Murcielago's. Ferrari flagships have always been superior track stars, a fact the Aventador is out to change.