Features
Gallery 1
This is not just any old Lamborghini test mule. Glistening in the early morning light is the one and only Centenario prototype, destined to one day head to its final resting place in the factory museum.
Unveiled at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, the Centenario is a special edition Aventador built to celebrate what would’ve been the 100th birthday of Ferruccio Lamborghini.
It follows the recipe established by the Murcielago-based Reventon of 2007: add some power, dramatically restyle the body, install some future technology and, most importantly, severely limit the build run. Just 40 examples of the Centenario will be built – 20 coupes and 20 roadsters – all of which have been sold.
Our playpen is the wonderful Nardo facility, located north of the town of the same name, nestled right down on the heel of Italy’s boot. Built in the 1970s to create jobs in this poverty-stricken part of the country, the result is an extensive vehicular proving ground that Ben Hur would be proud of. Recently purchased by Lamborghini’s VW Group stablemate Porsche, the facility is used by almost all major European manufacturers.
Cash from Wolfsburg helped renovate the high-speed loop with its fast four-lane banked corners, as well as the magic 6.8km infield handling track that constitutes our course today. Leading the way is Lambo’s gun test driver Mario Fasanetto in an Aventador SV, while lined up his wake are the 566kW Centenario, another 552kW Aventador SV and a ‘base’ 515kW Aventador for reference. All three develop an identical 690Nm of torque, but it’s there the similarities end.
A nice mix of left-and right-handers follows with a number of blind bends later in the lap, but the highlight is one memorable crest where, for a brief moment, only sea and sky fill the frame.
Thankfully, Fasanetto sets the pace and shows us the line, staying out wide towards the middle of the track longer than seems natural and braking hard while firing in downshifts, the big V12 barking its appreciation for his commitment.
It’s obvious the key dynamic feature which distinguishes Centenario from SV are the adaptive aerodynamics. The Centenario sucks in oxygen through the nose cone, small apertures below the headlamps and large lateral scoops.
The air enters the car via the front radiator and wheelarches or flows over the smooth roof, along the sculptured flanks and from the front splitter to the rear diffuser. The adjustable rear wing assumes a near-horizontal position for high-speed runs, but when necessary it can increase downforce by up to 180 per cent.
Sant’Agata’s latest mauler is a manifesto of excess, best quantified in raw numbers. The biggest of these is the price. Each of the 20 coupes listed at €2.2m (AUD$3.24m), the 20 roadsters €2.4m (AUD$3.54m) apiece, while the full carbon pack is €100K (AUD$147K) extra.
For any normal person that might sound ridiculous for what is essentially an Aventador playing Darth Vader dress-ups, but it’s peanuts for the ultra-high net worth individuals with hangar-sized garages who are Lamborghini’s favoured clientele.
Combined with monster carbon-ceramic brakes that haul the beast up from 100km/h in a highly physical 30 metres, there’s credence to the rumour that the Centenario has set a Nurburging lap record, shaving a few seconds off the Aventador SV’s mind-blowing 6min57sec lap.
More importantly, the Centenario offers a clear glimpse into the future, with its key ingredients to be carried over to the updated 2018-model Aventador. According to those in the know, the active flaps and rudders will further reduce drag resistance, the 552kW SV engine will likely become the mainstay powerplant and the brand-new touchscreen infotainment system pioneered by the Centenario will make its way into all future Lambos.
Around town and through slow corners, the car now feels shorter, nimbler and more manoeuvrable. On the freeway, enhanced directional stability is the main benefit.
Lapping Nardo in the Centenario (and the SV), the advantages of rear-wheel steering are immediately evident and it would have a profound effect on the desirability of the base Aventador. Turn-in is much quicker, sharper and more positive, though the playfulness at the limit has been scaled back. In exchange you get a more focused and much faster cornering attitude.
Although the 566kW Centenario is no quicker off the mark than the 552kW SV (Lamborghini claims both manage 0-100km/h in 2.8sec), its overall set-up is more aggressive. The marginally faster flow through the corners is evidence of the steel rather than rubber chassis mounts, meaner shock absorber software and the suction-cup effect of the active aerodynamics. Despite the flamboyant Death Star looks, the gestures which accompany the Centenario’s dynamic performance are actually quite restrained.
Although this set-up knocks off a tenth here and there, not everyone may appreciate the added firmness and directness that is part of the go-faster kit. Unlike the more modern ANIMA-equipped Huracan, the Aventadors want you to dial in the preferred drive mode – Strada, Sport or Corsa – by pushing a button in the centre stack.
While Strada has been labelled by marketing as the ‘take me home’ function, Sport is all about ‘fun and emotion’. That’s Lamborghini-speak for a rear-bias torque split and more lenient traction control tuned to allow a quick flick of opposite lock, necessary thanks to a dash of lift-off oversteer or a hint of full-throttle tailslide. Even with plenty of runoff terrain, it takes a brave person to fully deactivate DSC.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Corsa mode is somewhat of a stealth proposition, dedicated to greater perfection and less emotion. Expect quantifiably faster lap times (the Centenario features an in-dash stopwatch and two on-board cameras), a less heroic but no less rewarding driving style and a subtly enhanced dynamic efficiency.
Flaws? The ISR gearbox’s hesitant automatic mode is still unbecoming of a car of this type, visibility is only clear in one direction, the redesigned pseudo race-car instrument binnacle cannot match a head-up display for clarity and the occasionally rough ride isn’t a charming experience.
We started driving at six in the morning and kept going until the track was closed at midday. Three days later, the neck still hurt and the bum was a bruised reddish hemisphere, but the glowing memories of the Centenario remained.
No, this car is not the right choice for cool, analytical types. But the shrill looks, the eye-watering full-throttle urge and the exciting escapes to the limit make it an irresistible proposition to purists.
LIKES: More power; less weight; new tech DISLIKES: Crazy pricetag; harsh ride
SPECS Body: 2-door, 2-seat coupe Drive: all-wheel Engine: 6498cc V12, DOHC, 48v Bore/stroke: 95.0 x 76.4mm Compression: 11.8:1 Power: 566kW @ 8500rpm Torque 690Nm @ 5500rpm Power/weight: 372W/tonne (dry) Transmission: 7-speed automated manual Weight: 1520kg (dry) Suspension(f): double A-arms, adaptive dampers, anti-roll bar Suspension(r): double A-arms, adaptive dampers, anti-roll bar L/W/H: 4924/2062/1143mm Wheelbase: 2700mm Tracks: 1720/1680mm (f/r) Steering: hydraulically-assisted power steering Brakes(f): 400mm ventilated/drilled carbon-ceramic discs, 6-piston calipers Brakes(r): 380mm ventilated/drilled carbon-ceramic discs, 4-piston calipers Wheels 20 x 9.0-inch (f); 21 x 13.0-inch (r) Tyre sizes: 255/30 ZR20 (f); 355/25 ZR21 (r) Tyre: Pirelli P Zero Price as tested: €2.2 million (approx AUD$3.22 million)
