spec check

LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR LP700-4

■ Price: Rs 3.69 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi)

■ 0-100kph: 2.9 seconds (est)

■ L/W/H: 4940/2075/1416mm

■ Engine: 12 cyls in-vee, 6498cc/ mid, longitudinal, all-wheel-drive

■ Power: 690bhp at 8250rpm

■ Torque: 70.36kgm at 5500rpm

■ Gearbox: 7-speed, single-clutch, auto

■ Brakes (F/R): Carbon ceramic vented discs

You’ve read the spec sheets and committed the performance figures to memory. You expect Richter-scale levels of brutality, but nothing prepares you for the moment a Lamborghini Aventador calls upon all of its 690bhp. When it does, it’ll leave your stomach at the start line and your mouth making weird gurgling noises.

You won’t hear the noises you’re making though — inches behind your right ear are 12 glorious cylinders. Your brain won’t be able to cope either because you’re already at 100kph while you’re thinking of kneading the throttle. Give the Aventador the space to run wild and it’ll do 347kph, leaving destruction in its wake. At least it feels like it will.

I was at the Sepang F1 circuit in Malaysia, with enough time for three precious laps in the Aventador. I wasn’t sure what the insides were like — except that the seats are low, the car feels wide from the driver’s seat, and that you flip up a red cover to thumb the starter button. Once you do that, you’ll hear the starter motor scream; an outrageous eruption of revs will take over as 6.5 litres of V12 comes to life.

However, if you work up the courage to prod the throttle, you’ll discover that it doesn’t bite your head off. Instead, you’ll amble out of the pit lane — as docile as docile can be. Still, in this car, you work your way up to using all 690bhp rather than nail the throttle at the first sight of a decent stretch. You’ll discover how astounding throttle response is, and how the gearshift, in its most extreme ‘Corsa’ mode, gives you an almighty thump in the back at every gearshift. According to Lamborghini, this robotised gearbox makes for a more emotional gearshift as opposed to the smoother shifts of a twin-clutch system.

Emotion is what I experienced the first time I nailed the throttle. Even Sepang’s pitlane straight can only handle a bit more than full throttle in third gear, by which time you have to brake hard for the first right-hander. The brakes are powerful when you lean on them and brilliant, so it doesn’t feel as shifty as a Murciélago under hard braking. Then it was monstrous acceleration to the next left-hander followed by more hard braking because I was still coming to terms with the way it blows its way through straights.

You need to pick your line early because if you don’t, you’ll find irritating understeer. The best way, I think, is to brake early, turn-in, feed in as much throttle as you dare and unwind steering-lock as you run towards the outside kerb and the next hit of adrenaline.

Once you get used to the Aventador, it’s suprisingly easy to drive. The steering is light yet precise, the handling is well resolved, and as long as you respect how rapidly it accelerates, you can take a few liberties with it.

But key to the way it behaves is its light weight. The Aventador uses a carbon-fibre monocoque chassis and aluminium doors, bumpers and bonnet, resulting in a lighter, stiffer body. At 1575kg, it’s 190kg lighter than a Murciélago LP640. And it’s got an F1-style pushrod suspension. Sadly, before I could fully acquaint myself with the car or the track, my time was up.

The Aventador is a tamer version of the old Murciélago, but in a good way. It’s unbelievably quick, phenomenally entertaining, sounds like the world is coming to an end and, despite all its cutting-edge tech, manages to retain some of the charm of an Old-School, über-masculine supercar. But short of hiring the Buddh circuit, there’s no place for a car like this on Indian roads. It’s just too fast, too big and too low to ever be fully exercised.

But that shouldn’t stop you from getting one — if you have Rs 3.69 crore lying around. Nothing else comes close to the way you’ll scream the first time you put your foot down. And all that acceleration is worth some of your money. At least between traffic lights.

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My dream car
■ The Ferrari is my dream car. Though it looks stunning in white and red, I have wanted a yellow Ferrari since I saw one during a Singapore trip. The Audi R8 Coupé is another head turner.
– Satarupa Pyne, model