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Lamborghini Aventador SVJ First Drive Review | Worth its weight in carbon fiber

Relentless. If we were to define Lamborghini in 2018, this is the word we'd choose. Led by the indefatigable head of research and development, Maurizio Reggiani, the engineering team at Sant'Agata Bolognese are constantly iterating current models — futzing, enhancing, testing. Give them a problem and they'll hammer away at it. The Aventador has been one of those problems. The V12 flagship was released in 2011 and shone far more for its sharp-edged Lambo-tastic design than its sharp handling. If we were looking for a word to describe that first iteration, we'd say ... wanting. Which brings us to the Autodromo do Estoril in Portugal on a sunny day in September. We're here to drive the new Aventador SVJ, first shown this year at Pebble Beach. It is the fourth major non-roadster model, following the SV and the S. Lamborghini promises that the SVJ is the ultimate Aventador. The fixed Aventador. Or mostly, says Reggiani. "I'm not that arrogant to say that everything is perfect. There's always something that could be better." He shrugs, then smiles. "But our goal is to synchronize all the improvements and create something unique, something special." The SVJ's naturally breathing V12 makes 759 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque. Top speed is 217 mph, and 62 mph arrives in 2.8 seconds. The price, without taxes or extra bits of carbon fiber or seats in novel shades of purple, starts at $517,770. Reggiani and friends have come to the conclusion that the obvious formula of shedding weight while adding power can only take you so far. (That's what they did with the SV and it's only middling.) Hence the SVJ gets every new trick that the company has engineered as of late, including aero vectoring, rear-wheel-steer and all-wheel-drive. And it's already netted results. The SVJ snatched the production-car 'Ring record from the Porsche 911 GT2 RS with a time of 6:44.97. The track surface at Estoril was resurfaced only weeks ago, and oils from the asphalt are weeping out onto the surface. This has caused great consternation among the Lamborghini camp, as grip is closer to driving on glass than nice stubbly tarmac. On my first set of laps, a pro driver suggests that I leave the car in sport mode, which sends more power to the rear wheels. "Easier to turn in," he suggests, as the front wheels are having trouble gaining traction on the slick surface.

See $1M-worth of Lamborghinis dangle high above New York

Lamborghinis certainly fly on the road, but for an event in New York City on January 30, they showed that they can hover, too. Lamborghini arranged to have a white 2014 Aventador Roadster and a Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradra Corse lifted by crane to the roof of a 12-story venue for the $1,000-per-ticket Big Game Big Give Super Bowl charity party hosted by comedian Alec Baldwin on Friday, January 31.
The cars arrived at the Tribeca Rooftop on Wednesday night and were lifted by crane up to the venue in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Autoblog friend Ethan Stupp was there and received permission to photograph and film the cars being delivered.
Scroll down to watch a video of the Lamborghinis being lifted into the heavens for the party.

Artist gives Lamborghini Huracan fierce rattle-can paint job

It is nearly impossible to make a car as flashy as a Lamborghini even more so, but Miami-based artist and car customizer Rich B Caliente did just that. Caliente recently unveiled a piece where he painted an Imperial stormtrooper helmet from Star Wars in a striking mixture of matte blues, silvers, and golds. Not long after, Caliente was contacted by an artist known only as ZEVIGG who saw the customized stormtrooper helmet and wanted the same treatment for his Lamborghini Huracan. "I asked him to give me a day to think about this project since it involved major amounts of time and effort, on top of that it had never been done before as far as color blending an entire car. After some careful thought, I felt confident that I could knock it out of the box even though it was a $200,000-dollar car I'd be using as my canvas," Caliente told DUB Magazine. Dubbed "Project Inspire", the work took place over the course of three days in a paint booth at Exclusive Motoring, a high-end customization shop in Miami. Using nothing but spray paint cans, Caliente hand painted the Lamborghini like a grafitti artist spraying an underpass. The mixture of paints gave the car a rich patina and provided a base on which the car's owner added his own personal artistic touches. The car's look was capped off by Vossen Precision Series wheels, which were painted to match the car, and a set of grippy Toyo Proxes to keep the powerful Lambo planted. Soon after completion, the car was driven at the Miami leg of the Bullrun Rally. It now resides with its owner in New York City, where ZEVIGG parades it around as a rolling piece of art. Related Video: News Source: Motor Trend, DUB Magazine, @raymondneice Weird Car News Lamborghini Ownership Coupe Supercars Videos paint huracan street art