Lamborghini day in Japan attracts 200 Supercars
The Asia-Pacific launch of the latest Lamborghini Aventador SVJ was done in the sort of style that shows just how popular this Italian brand is in the Far East. Held at the Yokohama Super Factory in Japan, over 200 Lamborghini’s from across all generations arrived for the event.
“Japan is a very important market for us,” said Stefano Domenicali, the Italian carmaker’s CEO. “I would like to reinforce our gratitude to the long-time patronage of our Japanese customers who have built such strong bonds with the marque. We stay very much in touch with our customers here, and look forward to building on the marque’s strength with the Japanese market introduction of our new super SUV Urus, which brings an even broader audience into the brand.”
The collection of cars on show was very impressive indeed and included classics like the Miura, Countach and even the LM002 while the new Urus and Huracan were also in attendance. Let’s take a look at some of the images from the show while recapping the highlights of Lamborghini’s most sensational road car yet.
Aventador SVJ
The Lamborghini Aventador SVJ made its initial debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance earlier this year however the event in Japan is the official Asia Pacific premier for this range-topping supercar.
The Aventador has been in production since 2011 and incremental updates have kept it competitive with more recent offerings in its segment. In terms of its looks, few vehicles on the road can match its head-turning capabilities.
Maximum Power
The 6.5-litre V12 in the SVJ is the ultimate development of the L539 motor that replaced the long-running Bizzarini-designed V12 that featured in every V12 Lamborghini up until the Aventador.
Starting off with 690 bhp in the first LP700 models, incremental improvements have realized a full 759 bhp in the SVJ. Torque is also up marginally from 509 to 531 lb ft, making this one extremely potent supercar.
Naturally Aspirated
The Aventador is one of the last naturally-aspirated supercars still in production. Whereas most rival manufacturers have gone the turbocharged route, both the Aventador and its smaller V10 Huracan sibling have stuck to their roots.
Rumours suggest that the next-generation of Lamborghini supercars may make use of hybrid assistance to boost performance and reduce emissions levels, let’s hope they don’t go the turbocharged route too.
Ageing but potent
Most modern supercars make use of dual-clutch automatic transmissions, even the newer Huracan has such a system.
The ageing Aventador has stuck to a single-clutch unit which is a lot harsher during shifts, but its aggressive nature suits the track-honed SVJ perfectly and at 50m/s per shift, it is still immensely quick.
Allied with a four-wheel-drive system, the SVJ is still extremely rapid off the line.
Aero Tech
SVJ stands for Super Veloce Jota and is a track-focused version of the Aventador SV. It is the first model to feature the Aerodynamica Lamborghini Attiva (ALA) system.
This provides 40% more downforce than the Aventador SV while actually reducing drag by 1%. It also comes with four-wheel steering and an active suspension.
The massive rear wing, diffuser, front splitter and underbody aero all work together to provide extremely high levels of downforce at track speeds.
Record Holder
The Aventador SVJ is currently the Nurburgring lap record holder for a production car, having set a time of 6:44.97 at the track earlier this year.
The 700 bhp Porsche 911 GT2 RS is a close second while the Huracan LP640-4 Performante is currently in third (or fourth) place depending on whether you consider the slightly quicker Radical SR8 LM to be road legal or not.
Limited Numbers
A mere 900 SVJs are slated for production, with the first cars scheduled for delivery in early 2019. 63 of these will be special edition SVJ “63 Edition” models. The number refers to the company’s first year in operation and all will be painted white with the number 63 featuring prominently on the bodywork.
As for the event, it also featured a party for Lamborghini owners and a charity auction that raised funds for the Japan Red Cross to aid victims of natural disasters in Japan.
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