November 2018 Issue #23 November 2018 Issue #23 | Page 89

Some technical details before we get to the drive impressions. The 6.5-liter V-12 makes more
power and torque, as it ought to, for as R & D chief Maurizio Reggiani told me, “The story
of Lamborghini is based on the V-12.” Reggiani’s team achieved these improvements a few
ways. For one, the flywheel has been lightened, allowing the engine to rev more freely. Two,
the intake valves are now made from titanium. They also open earlier and stay open longer.
Third, a new, shortened exhaust system reduces backpressure. The result is 19 more horse-
power (759, up from 740 hp), and the torque rises from 509 lb-ft to 531. More crucially, that
torque is available lower in the rev range and for longer, nearly all of it arriving at 4,750 rpm
and staying essentially flat until 6,750 rpm. Compare this to the SV, where peak torque arrived
at 5,500 rpm. The reworked V-12 sounds angrier, as well. The ISR singe-clutch automated
manual clutch remains, though it’s been retuned for even quicker shifts.
The SVJ was put on a diet, with mixed results. The following pieces are made from carbon
fiber: front splitter, roof and pillars, monocoque itself, engine cover, rear diffuser, massive
tri-post wing, rocker covers and wing mirrors, and large parts of the interior, such as the door
panels. Should you opt for the sporty buckets, they are carbon, too. There’s even a lightweight
set of wheels available (much simpler looking and in my opinion the ones to get). Oh, and the
new exhaust weighs less, too. The issue is that Lamborghini has added some new tech to
the SVJ, chiefly two-motor rear-wheel steering and the brand’s patented active aerodynamic
system, called Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva, aka ALA, that’s been used to great effect on
the Huracan Performante, the car that just won our 2018 Best Driver’s Car honors. Lambo-
rghini claims that the SVJ and the old SV should weigh roughly the same. When we weighed
an SV, it clocked in at 3,900 pounds (1,769 kg) even. That’s 209 pounds (95 kg) less than a
2012 Aventador and a few pounds less than a GT-R NISMO (3,904 pounds (1,771 kg)). Motor
Trend has yet to weigh an Aventador S, which replaced the standard car in 2017.
Back to ALA for a second, or in this case ALA 2.0, Lamborghini claims that the system is 30
percent more affective on the SVJ than on the Performante. Why? The company has learned
stuff. Functionally, on the Performante, wing-stalling air was channeled up two separate up-
rights, and the wing was stalled from the outside in. See that cute/weird-looking mustache on
the front of the SVJ? Each flattened hexagon directs air over the car’s frunk lid and windshield
into a center channel that feeds a duct in the rear wing’s central upright. There are two chan-
nels within this intake and a flap that opens and closes each. Going forward, the rear flaps (as
well as a single front flap) open to stall the wing and reduce both drag and downforce. Hit the
brakes, and the flaps close, activating the front and rear wings, providing both drag and down-
force. Yup, the system functions as an airbrake. Turn the steering wheel, and one rear flap
opens while one closes, providing downforce on one rear-wheel while allowing the other to ro-
tate. The functional result as a driver is less steering input and increased high-speed stability.
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