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Anything but subtle | 2017 Lamborghini Aventador S First Drive

It's just past dawn and I'm running on a thin supply of caffeine and adrenaline, but the 2017 Lamborghini Aventador S I'm chasing around Circuit Ricardo Tormo just made me crack a grin: faint blue flames are simmering deep within the leader's three exhaust pipes, pulsing almost imperceptibly as it whips around the track. Few things about the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 (including its alphanumeric name) were subtle, but the boys in Sant'Agata Bolognese have gone full-bore at refining the famously unwieldy flagship enough to make it drive as capably as it looks. This updated version has been rechristened with an S at the end of its name, and yes, in the twisted microcosm of earthbound fighter jets, flames coming out of hindquarters qualify as subtle. Of course the Aventador S produces more power – to the tune of 729 horsepower, a 38-hp climb from before, with torque only increasing by one, to 509 pound-feet – and the extra grunt affects neither its 0-to-62-mph time of 2.9 seconds nor its terminal velocity of 217 mph. But version 2.0's most notable improvements apply to the big Lamborghini's chassis, which now uses a four-wheel-steering system to countersteer the rear wheels below around 75 mph, and turn them in phase with the fronts for stability at higher speeds. The system responds in 5 milliseconds, and has the virtual effect of shortening the wheelbase by up to 20 inches or lengthening it by 27 inches. In case you're keeping tabs, the extra 13 pounds of the steering hardware are offset by a new titanium exhaust system, essentially rendering the curb weight unchanged. If you've ever tried to toss a boomerang through a maze, you've got a basic idea of what it took to carry an original Aventador through a high-speed corner. The act required some patience to allow the front wheels to dig in and take hold, and even more resolve to wait for the perfect moment to squeeze the right pedal and power out of the apex. Accelerate too early, and you'd suffer terminal understeer until you allowed the weight to shift, likely triggering traction control as you goosed the throttle on the way out. At the Spanish track, the new Aventador manages something the first one couldn't: though it still retains some understeer, it also dances and turns more willingly, snaking its way through each corner with a gratifying combination of weight transfer and grip. Oh happy, fire-breathing day.

Harry Metcalfe shows off his Lamborghini Countach

Harry Metcalfe may no longer be editing the Evo magazine he founded, but that doesn't mean he doesn't still have octane pumping through his veins – or that he isn't still producing world-class automotive content. In this latest video released on his YouTube channel Harry's Garage, Metcalfe shows off is 1987 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole. The precursor of today's Aventador, the Countach was Sant'Agata's longest-serving mid-engined twelve-cylinder supercar, remaining in production from 1974 (after the Miura was discontinued) until 1990 (when the Diablo replaced it), and earned its place of prominence on the walls of so many childhood bedrooms. Metcalfe's was a later model from 1987 – the London Motor Show car from that year, in fact – packing the enlarged 5.2-liter V12 with the four-valve heads, those fantastical air vents and that giant rear wing. Harry even had the legendary Valentino Balboni to sign the interior. The video is a full half-hour long, but even if you've only got a few minutes, it's worth watching just the beginning to hear it starting up.

Lamborghini gets to work on Huracan LP610-4 Super Trofeo

We all know the story of how Automobili Lamborghini got its start. The short of it is that Ferruccio, who had already started a successful tractor business, wanted to stick it to Enzo Ferrari, so he started making sports cars of his own. Lamborghini, however, never embraced motorsports to the same degree that Ferrari has - dabbling in Formula One engines in the early '90s and the occasional foray into GT racing - but these days the Raging Bull marque is getting more serious about racing. It partners with Reiter Engineering to field competition versions of its road-going supercars, and organizes its own one-make series with individual championships around the world.
That's where the new Huracán comes in. While the Ferrari Challenge has progressed from the 348 to the 355, 360, 430 and now the 458, the Lamborghini Super Trofeo has always been centered around the Gallardo. That's because the series only kicked off in 2009, and the Gallardo had been in production since 2003. But now that the Gallardo has been replaced by the Huracán, the Squadra Corse team is hard at work on their new Super Trofeo racer.
To that end, Lamborghini has recruited racing drivers Fabio Babini and Adrian Zaugg to conduct development work on the Huracán LP 610-4 Super Trofeo. Babini is a GT racing veteran who took a class win at Le Mans in 2001, while Zaugg came up the formula racing ladder, competing on A1GP and GP2 before signing on as a Lamborghini factory driver.