C3PO
Yesterday I drove a Lamborghini Aventador at Thruxton race track
A screaming banshee on steroids. Flat in S2. Church corner unbelievable. This car is only one of three in the UK and it is fitted with the Performance Pack taking it to 750 bhp. It felt sensational.
One thing that surprised me was that for a £300K car, the interior was very nice, but not "amazingly" nice. On a par with an SLK I'd say. Out of the fast corners, I floored it (clearly!) and it was entirely manageable. Gearshifts v good (better than my SLK) but not as smooth as a Porsche Cayman that I also drove on the track today (that was seamless). Steering was good, if not slightly "damped". It doesn't like high curbs ( ) but is amazingly stable. In the Cayman where I had to lift and brake, in the Aventador I simply maintained constant throttle. And that was the key because it really doesn't like sudden throttle changes mid-corner. The engine sounds amazing and going through Church Corner extraordinary (Thruxton is the overall fastest track in the UK). I did go too fast through one corner but thankfully was not tempted to lift off....reduced throttle by 20%, kept my nerve, and kept it balanced. A lovely car and a privilege for me to drive.
But it was not the most "visceral" car I drove yesterday. A turbo-charged single seater Renault formula car was immense. That raw, connected, unambiguous feeling of driving unmatched by any road car. I was surprised by the amount of vibration, which, at certain high revs, seemed to match the resonance of my bowels - very disconcerting. Raw, pure and unadulterated. Brilliant.
A screaming banshee on steroids. Flat in S2. Church corner unbelievable. This car is only one of three in the UK and it is fitted with the Performance Pack taking it to 750 bhp. It felt sensational.
One thing that surprised me was that for a £300K car, the interior was very nice, but not "amazingly" nice. On a par with an SLK I'd say. Out of the fast corners, I floored it (clearly!) and it was entirely manageable. Gearshifts v good (better than my SLK) but not as smooth as a Porsche Cayman that I also drove on the track today (that was seamless). Steering was good, if not slightly "damped". It doesn't like high curbs ( ) but is amazingly stable. In the Cayman where I had to lift and brake, in the Aventador I simply maintained constant throttle. And that was the key because it really doesn't like sudden throttle changes mid-corner. The engine sounds amazing and going through Church Corner extraordinary (Thruxton is the overall fastest track in the UK). I did go too fast through one corner but thankfully was not tempted to lift off....reduced throttle by 20%, kept my nerve, and kept it balanced. A lovely car and a privilege for me to drive.
But it was not the most "visceral" car I drove yesterday. A turbo-charged single seater Renault formula car was immense. That raw, connected, unambiguous feeling of driving unmatched by any road car. I was surprised by the amount of vibration, which, at certain high revs, seemed to match the resonance of my bowels - very disconcerting. Raw, pure and unadulterated. Brilliant.
