Car of the week: Lamborghini Aventador SV roadster

NAYSAYERS OFTEN accuse car makers of producing vehicles that all look alike. They like to joke that picking out an individual model in a car park is tougher than looking for a needle in a haystack, and will lament that cars don’t look as interesting as they did in the good old days. The new Lamborghini Aventador SV roadster should change their minds.

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The maddest-looking, baddest-sounding Lamborghini yet was revealed last week during Pebble Beach Automotive Week, on the Monterey peninsula, near San Francisco, and is aimed at Californian high society.

At first glance the Aventador SV — SV stands for superveloce, or very quick — looks more like the wheels of choice for a caped crusader, built for outmanoeuvring criminal masterminds, rather than a car that a member of the public could buy.

However, it’s very much real and might just make it into Britain’s Lamborghini showrooms by the spring. Don’t expect it to remain there long, though: just 500 will be made, which is 100 less than the coupé version of the Aventador SV. That sold out soon after it was revealed at the Geneva motor show in March.

As ever, if you have to ask about the price . . . but seeing as we’re all fascinated by how the other half live, buying the extreme roadster won’t leave owners with much change from £350,000.

It’s tempting to imagine that some buyers will be content to place the car on a pedestal in their penthouse and invite friends around to gaze at it in admiration. However, that would be missing out on one hell of an adrenaline rush, which comes courtesy of a 6.5-litre V12 naturally aspirated engine — said to be one of the last great “dinosaurs” in an age when most engines are turbocharged to help meet emissions regulations.

The top speed is “over 217mph”, which would give a Formula One car a run for its money, and to hear better the thrashing of the pistons and roar of the exhaust, Lamborghini has thoughtfully added a rear window that can be lowered at the touch of a button. With the pair of carbon fibre roof panels also removable (by hand), it’s hard to imagine there will be any complaints about missing the glorious soundtrack of Lamborghini’s flaming-fast roadster.

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