Recapping the era of the Aventador

28 February 2011. Lamborghini releases the next generation of their flagship V12 raging bull, the Aventador LP700-4.

7 July 2021. Lamborghini announces the final iteration of the Aventador, the Ultimae Roadster LP780-4. As we bid farewell to one of the most iconic cars of the 2010s, I reckoned it would be fair to recap some of the highlights of the Aventador's decade-long reign.

Named after an Aragonian fighting bull, the Aventador's sharp lines and OTT styling instantly tugged on the heartstrings of all petrolheads alike when it was initially revealed. A true, big boy Lamborghini that had the important job of filling the Murcielago's shoes, the Aventador made history as the first raging bull to ditch the 50 year old V12 that dated back to the Miura and instead used an all-new 6.5 litre V12 developing 691 Italian stallions. That's right. During a time of turbocharging and downsizing, Lamborghini stuck to their guns and made sure that their flagship supercar is equipped with a soulful naturally aspirated V12. Moreover, for the first time in history, Lamborghini prioritised handling over raw straight-line speed for the Aventador after 50 years of reviewers describing the handling of previous V12 Lambos as, no other word for it, terrifying. To do this, they used sophisticated F1 style pushrod suspension, intelligent AWD, and a carbonfibre monocoque to keep the weight down. However, all this focus on handling didn't mean the Aventador moved at a snail's pace. The mid-mounted 691 hp engine propelled the mad bull from rest to 100kph in 2.9s, and if you could gather the courage to keep the throttle pinned to the floor, a top speed of 349kph, all while the V12 sings its characteristic high-pitched song. Being under Audi, this also meant that Lamborghini finally equipped the Aventador with a quality interior with functional electronics as opposed to earlier models which could be described as dismal and unreliable at best. The best part about the interior was the F16 cockpit-inspired layout, right from the angular centre console to the flip-up cover for the start button. The Aventador oozed charisma from every angle and was truly shaping up to be the best V12 powered Lamborghini ever, and when it launched in 2012 it captivated the hearts of reviewers, fans, and owners altogether. Every bit as terrifying in a straight line as previous Lambos, yet surprisingly forgiving in the corners. Lamborghini had a winner on their hands. The Aventador was the perfect supercar, with the only point of contention being the single-clutch gearbox which functionally had the same mechanism as the AMT in a Suzuki Celerio. Blazing fast shifts at high speeds, but clunky as hell in slow-moving traffic. It was the only chink in the Aventador's armour, but then again it is Italian, so it's impossible for it to not have flaws.

A year and a half after the launch of the Aventador, Lamborghini announced an open-top Roadster version which somehow managed to look even more gorgeous than the coupe. In typical Lamborghini fashion though, you can't just open the roof whenever you want without inconveniencing yourself. The Roadster has two 6 kg panels that make up the roof which slide off and can be stored in the boot. That means the driver has to stop the car, loosen the roof clips, get out, take off the panels one by one, and store them in the boot. Seems like an awfully tedious process just to enjoy some open-top driving, but then again it's Italian. User convenience doesn't rank very high. Mechanically, the Roadster was exactly the same as the coupe, apart from a 50kg bump up in weight, bringing it to a total of 1625kg.

In 2015, Lamborghini announced the first souped-up and stripped-down edition of the Aventador, the SuperVeloce. Every V12 Lambo before the Aventador received an SV iteration, usually as a swansong before the next generation released. However, in the case of the Aventador that wasn't true. In fact, the SV released less than halfway into the Aventador's life. For the 600 unit limited-run SV, Lamborghini fitted the Aventador with all-new aero and beautiful bodywork, reduced the weight by 50kg, improved the steering and handling, and uprated the power output to 740 hp which resulted in a 0-100 time of 2.8s. The SV's aero was one of its USPs, boasting a 180% increase in downforce over the standard coupe. And just like the standard coupe, a much more gorgeous Roadster variant of the SV was also announced shortly after. It used the same tedious roof mechanism as the standard Roadster and was mechanically identical to the SuperVeloce coupe, just with 50 extra kilos.

In March 2016, Lamborghini announced that the Aventador had shifted 5000 units in 5 years which made it the fastest selling V12 Lamborghini ever. This was the Aventador's first official production milestone but it was quite odd, because the Aventador was initially slated to have a production limit of 4000 vehicles. However, the overwhelming (by Lambo standards) demand must've convinced the higher-ups to keep production going and I couldn't have been happier with this decision.

December of 2016 fell and the Aventador finally got its first model revision, the Aventador S. It featured reworked styling, improved aero (130% more downforce), four wheel steering, standard carbon ceramic brakes, and the same power output as the SuperVeloce. This was the first model of the Aventador to be styled by Lamborghini's current head of design, Mitja Börkert and he did a stellar job. The Aventador S managed to look modern without losing much of the aggressive charm of the previous model. However, there was one change on the new model which I dislike. The pop-up vents on the C-pillars were ditched in favour of regular vents, which in my opinion was a criminal move. Watching those vents pop open to cool the engine at high speeds really added to the jet fighter aesthetic of the Aventador.

Although, it's two fewer electronics that could go wrong so I imagine it's a relief for S owners. And in true Aventador tradition, of course there was a Roadster variant which released a year after the coupe. Fans were curious whether or not the model revision meant a new roof mechanism for the S Roadster which would replace the inconvenient manual labour required for the previous models. The short and sweet answer was no. As stated before, it's an Italian car. Convenience ranks low on the priority scale. Speaking of inconvenient things that should've been changed, the gearbox was still the same clunky single clutch AMT from the previous model, with some adjustments to make shifts smoother that apparently made no difference.

At the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Lamborghini revealed the Aventador SuperVeloce Jota. This is the big one and I'm sure most people reading this know why. It broke the production car lap record at the Nürburgring! Coming in at 6:44.97 with Marco Mapelli behind the wheel, the SVJ beat out the Porsche 911 GT2 RS by almost 3 seconds and took the throne of the fastest production car around the Nürburgring. The SVJ managed to achieve this incredible feat courtesy of it's highly advanced active aero, 760hp V12, extensive weight-saving measures, and reworked suspension. Most of the credit goes to the active aero or as Lamborghini termed it, Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva (ALA for short). It used a plethora of auto-adjustable vents and flaps on the front splitter, bonnet, rear wing, diffuser, and underbody to deliver a whopping 40% increase in downforce over the Aventador SV and a 1% decrease in drag. The ALA system was first implemented in the Huracan Performante in 2016 and surprise, surprise, it broke the same Nürburgring lap record back then too. ALA is without a question, an absolutely fantastic and extremely efficient aero implementation. The gearbox also deserves a quick mention here. Dim-witted and clunky in traffic, but lightning fast while zipping through the Nürburgring, the AMT boasts 100 millisecond shift times at high speed, weighs much less than a dual clutch setup, and is much more compact as well. This single clutch monstrosity was built to work at high speeds only and breaking the Nürburgring record really elevated it in my eyes. Of course, an SVJ Roadster was revealed in 2019. Same internals, same inconvenient roof. Moving on.

2021 approached, marking 10 years since the Aventador first went on sale. Inevitably, Lamborghini announced the Aventador Ultimae, the actual swansong for the V12 raging bull of the 2010s. The Ultimae will only see a limited production run of 600 units (350 for the coupe, 250 for the roadster). It has exquisite bodywork and the engine from the SVJ, but that's not important anymore. Lamborghini confirmed that they will be stopping the Aventador's production by end of 2021, thus signifying the end of an era. The Aventador's successor will arrive in 2023 and thankfully retain the glorious naturally aspirated V12, along with some electric motors to form a hybrid powertrain. That all sounds great to me, but let's keep the focus on the Aventador for now.

Lamborghinis were always viewed as the unhinged beasts of the automotive world. Zero creature comforts, zero convenience, and laughable reliability, with the sole promise of sheer driving fun. No other car used to be more thrilling and exhilarating to drive than a Lamborghini. The brutal straight-line speed, the ear-damaging wail from the engine, and the unpredictable handling meant that only the best of drivers could fully exploit the limits of these supercars. With the Aventador, things changed. The animal ferocity was slightly toned down in favour of necessities like air conditioning and seat padding, but the Aventador was still as thrilling as every raging bull before it and suffice to say, it has fulfilled the Lamborghini tradition of being the de facto bedroom wall poster car for every young petrolhead currently out there. And it goes without saying that at the end of this year, all of us will be misty-eyed as we bid goodbye to the greatest and most successful V12 Lamborghini ever. Arrivederci, Aventador.