2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, an AutoWeek Flash Drive Car Review

Editor's Note: This is one of the first tests of the much-anticipated Lamborghini Aventador on public roads. For our test at speed on the track, check out our earlier Aventador review here

What is it?

Lamborghini's flagship gets an extensive overhaul that includes a 691-hp V12, a proprietary seven-speed, single-clutch sequential gearbox and a carbon-fiber monocoque that weighs only 325 pounds. Virtually every aspect of the outgoing Murciélago has been reimagined--from the new inboard, pushrod-actuated suspension system to the network of computer ECUs, which is managed by a central unit capable of performing up to half a billion computations per second.

Lighter, quicker, faster and better-handling than the wedge-shaped supercar it replaces, the Lamborghini Aventador retains the usual bits that make it the alpha dog Lambo: a 12-cylinder lump mounted amidships, upward-swinging scissor doors and styling that appears to have more in common with fighter jets than four-wheeled transportation.

What is it like to drive?

Driving the Aventador at the Vallelunga circuit just outside of Rome revealed surprisingly tractable handling dynamics, despite the V12's awesome potential for acceleration. So it came as no surprise that a recent street drive near Lamborghini headquarters in Sant'Agata Bolognese reinforced the approachable aspects of the Aventador's personality.

The mill, which is tucked under glass just behind the passenger compartment--surges to 3,500 rpm and sighs a mighty roar when it's fired up. But click the aluminum paddle shifter into first gear, and this beast requires some provoking before its rougher edges emerge.

The default drive mode setting of strada (Italian for "road") offers increased steering assist, more conservative shifting, milder throttle response and stricter stability control, though even in that short-shifting mode, there's plenty of urgency when you lay into the throttle and allow the engine to reach the freer-breathing middle portions of the rev band.

The intermediate sport mode splits the difference between strada and corsa, but you don't have to be Valentino Balboni to prefer the latter setting, unless you're pushing the engine toward its screaming 8,250-rpm redline. At those speeds in corsa mode, the new Aventador feels more like the animal its menacing silhouette suggests. Shifts can get downright violent at higher rpms, and the meatier registers of the powerband are more easily accessed--all of which makes this already striking vehicle even more conspicuous as it lurches down the Autostrada. And while corner workers at Vallelunga seemed unmoved by the parade of Aventadors lapping the circuit, the workaday civilians catching a glimpse of the blurry white test car were stunned by the low-slung exotic. This is a vehicle that inspires gaping jaws, googly eyes and an inexplicable desire to point and stare.

Following the narrow roads that wind through the hills above Sant'Agata, the Lamborghini Aventador doesn't break a sweat during decreasing-radius turns and medium-speed sweepers. While it exhibited a tendency for mild understeer on the track, saner speeds revealed no such propensities. The abilities of Lamborghini's flagship lie far beyond what can be exploited on public roads. It will take more than a spirited drive through the hills to incite this bull.

Do I want one?

Do you have a pulse?

While the Aventador might be incrementally less driver-focused than its rivals at Ferrari and McLaren, what it lacks in steering transparency it more than makes up for in sheer charisma. This is a car to be lusted after, and a worthy flagship for the Lamborghini lineup.

2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4

On Sale: Customer deliveries begin late summer

Base Price: $387,000 (plus $3,700 gas-guzzler tax and $2,995 delivery)

Powertrain: 6.5-liter, 691-hp, 509-lb-ft normally aspirated V12; AWD, seven-speed single-clutch sequential-automatic transmission with paddle shifters

Dry Weight: 3,472 lb

0-62 MPH: 2.9 sec

Fuel Economy: 11 mpg city, 17 mpg highway

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