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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.

'Boy Wonder of Supercar Sales' talks Lamborghini

Brett David has a pretty darn good life. At 26 years old, he's the CEO of Prestige Imports in Miami, which puts him at the wheel of the largest Lamborghini dealership in the US. Prestige also happens to have moved more Audis than any other dealer in three years.
CNBC's Squawk Box had him on for a sitdown in a segment it called "Secret Lives of the Super Rich," where the network highlighted the burgeoning demand for Lamborghinis. Besides talking about the recession-proof Lambo market and his new-age clientele, David explained how he sold his first Lamborghini. At 17. To Missy Elliot. The whole video is really worth a watch, which you can do by scrolling down.

Lamborghini donates Huracan to Italian police

Lamborghini made a big entrance with the Huracán LP 610-4, and now the Italian State Police can, too. The Sant'Agata automaker donated one to Giovanni Law to the replace the Gallardo the authorities have had in service for six years.
It will be used to "sustain security on Italian roads" and is loaded with a Q-Branch worth of features that you won't even find on any Ad Personam options list: a "Proof Video Data System" to track the Lamborghini and the suspects being chased, number plate recognition and tracking and real-time transmission of images to HQ, four sirens, an aerodynamic light bar, a refrigerated trunk for organ storage, a defibrillator and - naturally - a hand-held stop sign.
The Huracán LP 610-4 Polizia should go into service by year's end. There's a press release below so you'll know who to look out for if you turn scofflaw inside the nation-state line.