Lamborghini's V-12 takes one last bow before hybrids assume control
This is the end, my screaming friend. After 58 years, Lamborghini will end production of pure, naturally aspirated V-12 supercars. The LP 780-4 Ultimae is it—the most powerful naturally aspirated V-12 to come out of Sant’Agata, the end of the Aventador, and perhaps the best Aventador ever to drive on the road. After this, Lambo is going hybrid.
This story originally appeared in Volume 11 of Road & Track.
The Aventador is unique in that it has remained relevant despite technology moving so fast during its lengthy production run. Even before the Aventador’s stunning bodywork hit showrooms, the car was practically outdated. Twin turbos and dual clutches were in, and hybrid hypercars shortly followed. In spite of lacking this tech, or perhaps because it did, the Aventador became Lamborghini’s best-selling V-12 model by far, with more than 10,000 sold.
The original Aventador was, frankly, not very good. It sounded great but rode terribly and didn’t handle well. The addition of rear steer for 2017 with the S variant was a revelation, dramatically improving agility not only at speed, but even in parking lots. But the track-focused SVJ convinced us that Lambo wasn’t messing around. Without electric motors or turbos, but sporting a monstrous aero kit and sticky-icky Pirelli Trofeo R tires, the SVJ posted the fastest-ever production-car time around the Nürburgring in 2018, a full eight years after the first Aventador came out. As of 2022, it is still the third-fastest production car ever on the Nordschleife.
But Ring times aren’t everything. While they are an indicator of immense power, grip, and narrowly focused track performance, they don’t necessarily translate to what the modern driver needs on the road or even the track. Hence, Ultimae. The SVJ’s powertrain and the S model’s more supple chassis settings and creature comforts combine to give you the sounds and shove you’d expect from a half-million-dollar supercar but without the cool-looking aerodynamic bits or the superexpensive short-life track tires. In fact, Lambo tacked on 10 hp to make up for the 55 pounds of extra luxury the Ultimae carries around.
That’s not to say the experience is cushy. “More comfortable than the track-focused variant” still describes a car with wonky ergonomics, a terrible stereo, a small frunk with a permanently installed divider to discourage children from climbing in, and one of the last single-clutch automated manuals. The transmission, more than anything else, makes this car feel old.
Lambo has done an admirable job of steadily improving the low-speed clutch engagement of the seven-speed Independent Shifting Rod transmission, having reduced shift times at full throttle, under heavy braking, and at high rpm. But its overall clunkiness will send you back to 2003. In Corsa mode, it shifts like a teenager who learned to drive stick by watching The Fast and the Furious. In Strada, it drives like that kid is drunk. In automatic, it is all but unusable, because at least in manual you can predict the jerks. Left to its own devices, it is not to be trusted. You’re probably thinking that an outdated gearbox is a total deal breaker in a car that costs more than most houses. It’s not.
This final Aventador is more luxurious, but don’t confuse that with comfortable. Or even convenient.
JOSÉ MANDOJANA
Driving an Aventador is an event. While other supercar makers have endeavored to make their products easier than ever to drive daily, the Aventador has retained a fiercely singular focus. You want to buy a Lambo to commute to work? The Urus is no less practical than the Audi Q7 it’s based on. The Urus is your Lambo so that people know you drive a Lambo when you’re not driving your Lambo.
The Aventador Ultimae is a terrible “car,” like the Countach, Diablo, and Murciélago before it. But it is a wonderful Lamborghini. I own a Countach, and when I drive it, that is the activity. There might be a destination, but it doesn’t matter. I am driving the car to drive the car. It’s worth the price of entry.
The Ultimae’s got fizz like Mentos in Coke. The 6.5-liter V-12 engine cranking out 770 hp way up at 8500 rpm is the definition of auditory nirvana. The Aventador was here before fake burble tune was cool and is still here now that we’re over it. The Ultimae shares its short-runner exhaust with the SVJ. It has a shotgun tune, banging on downshifts, occasionally accompanied by bursts of blue flame.
Though EVs have changed the 0–60 game to the point where spending $558,000 to hit 60 in 2.8 seconds seems like a waste, few cars at any price will run 80 to 180, in pace or sensation, like the Ultimae. Even fewer will top 220 mph for less than a million bucks.
It jerks necks. People on the street go nuts because it’s still gorgeous and rare. Your neck and the passenger’s also jerk when you change gears. The handling is balanced, with no perceptible downgrade from the SVJ in the canyons outside Los Angeles. And the inboard cantilevered magnetic suspension offers a truly brilliant, smooth ride even on imperfect tarmac. But there is no zoning out. Don’t bother putting on a podcast, even if you can get the Bluetooth to work (I couldn’t). There are no cup holders. You will never forget exactly what you’re driving or that it is totally unlike anything else on the road.
We live in a time when real-world performance is more accessible than ever. The Rivian R1T, an electric pickup, makes 65 more horsepower than the Ultimae, hits 60 in the same time, and has an MSRP under $100,000. Over the next decade, this will become the norm: daily-driven battery-powered dragsters with literally hundreds of extra horsepower that no one knows what to do with, each a bit more practical and less special than what came before it. The more performance you gain, the more you crave the fizz.
These final Aventadors offer some of the most analog thrills on the market today. Reasonably reliable, visually timeless, and charmingly old-school by 2022 standards, they offer an experience unavailable elsewhere.
Specifications
Specifications
2022 Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae
PRICE
$558,853 (as tested)
ENGINE
6.5 liter V-12
OUTPUT770 hp @ 8500 rpm
531 lb-ft @ 6750 rpm
TRANSMISSION
7-speed automated manual
CURB WEIGHT
3417 lb
0-60
2.8 seconds
Keyword: They Will Never Defeat the Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae