AIMS: Lambo’s Aventador set to steal the show

ARGUABLY the most glamorous car to feature at this year’s Australian International Motor Show will be Lamborghini’s new $790,000 Aventador, which makes its Down Under debut in Melbourne on July 1, just months after its world debut at Geneva.

Finished in dark metallic grey ‘Grigio Estoque’ paintwork, the eagerly anticipated, attention-grabbing Murcielago replacement will do its best to upstage highly exclusive coupes like the Lexus LFA and Audi R8 GT Coupe.

Lamborghini’s show stand will also feature two Gallardos that made their first Australian outings at last year’s Sydney show, the $399,000 LP-550 – a comparative bargain at just over half the price of its Aventador stablemate – and the stripped-out $542,500 Superleggera.

The trio of low-slung, angular Raging Bulls will also compete for attention with eye-catching non-production cars including BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics eco-coupe concept and as-yet unnamed Australian-built Joss supercar prototype.

Left: The stripped-out Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera.

Lamborghini Australia general sales manager Tom Dowd told GoAuto that “about a dozen” Aventadors had been pre-sold in Australia but that no customer cars had yet arrived.

“The only car we have here is the (left-hand drive) promotional car,” he said, adding that “worldwide a lot of cars have been pre-sold”. He said that customers can expect a six to nine-month wait for their cars to arrive.

The Aventador LP 700-4 promises handling as sharp as its looks, having a carbon-fibre monocoque chassis with race car-style pushrod suspension and employs the first all-new Lamborghini V12 since the Miura of 1966-1972.

The new engine produces 515kW and 690Nm of torque, which is fed to all four wheels through a seven-speed robotised manual gearbox, sufficient to heave the 1575kg coupe to 100km/h in a staggering 2.9 seconds.

At 4780mm long and 2260mm wide, the Aventador is a little longer and wider than the Murcielago it replaces, but is about 90kg lighter.

The Aventador’s lower weight and more efficient engine result in a 20 per cent improvement in fuel consumption and CO2 output over its predecessor – down to 17.2 litres per 100 kilometres and 398 grams per kilometre.