Hell's Angel

The Reigning Champion Of The Dreaded Nrburgring Is Like A Top-draw Race Horse. Oh, Waitthat Analogy.

- Girish Karkera

6:44.97.

No, I am not quoting from any holy book. That’s the time it took this car to master the Green Hell aka the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in Germany at the hands of test river Marco Mapelli. In the process, a Lamborghini has once again become the fastest production car around it, beating the Porsche 911 GT2 RS. It’s not the end, of course, and soon, someone else will challenge the boys from SantA’gata. Coincidentally, I am at a racetrack too. But miles away from the ’Ring. I’m in Estoril, Portugal where I am going to put to test the Aventador SVJ – a car that has gotten everything new that Lamborghini has learned over the last five decades.

The Aventador isn’t new. Neither is an Aventador Super Veloce or SV. But this is the Super Veloce Jota. The latter, a name that was first used for a track-spec Miura back in the early days of the marque. Jota was a classification term used back then by the FIA which made a road-going car race legal. Lamborghini has revived the J as this Aventador is as good as track ready – literally. It’s got mountain-loads of power, is made from exotic, lightweight material and has an aero package that includes a wing that could star in many a wet dream of car nuts the world over.

Under the hood, which in case of an Aventador is at the rear, rests a seemingly new 6.5-litre V12. Lamborghini engineers have worked on its existing V12 to make it breathe even more easy. Let me get straight to the part when I anxiously entered what was going to be one of the most powerful cars I have ever got into. Thankfully, it was at a track, so I could take a few chances. Within my limits, of course, because I did not want to break or even scratch anything on this car that costs this much (see data sheet at the end).