Here’s a list of some of my favourite automotive sounds of all time – a Honda 4-cylinder motor, just as the cam comes on song; a BMW in-line six howling to the redline; a Porsche flat-six; and a Ferrari V8, or V12 for that matter.
What do all of these sounds have in common? Well, other than proving my strange affinity for engine sounds, they’re all naturally aspirated motors. After all, there’s nothing quite like the visceral soundtrack and character of an NA engine to make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end.
But Honda’s are now turbocharged, BMW’s are downsized and turbocharged, Porsche’s are going hybrid and electric, and even Ferrari is going down the hybrid route. So, it seems that I should just get used to the whine of an electric motor. But not if Lamborghini can help it!
Sure, their new SUV – the Urus – is turbocharged. But, for their super-sport cars, they’re sticking to their trusty V10 and V12. The 5.2 litres of this ten-cylinder explosive lump of aluminium pumps out an incredibly meaty 631bhp and 600Nm. That means 100km/h comes up in 2.9 seconds. 200km/h in 9 seconds. And it’ll accelerate all the way to 325km/h if you let it. Good thing, then, that we’re at the Sriperumbudur race track outside Chennai to drive it.
It’s a tough job, I know, but someone’s got to do it…
Let’s start with the acronyms
This car has AWD, LDS, LMR, LPI, LAWS, and more – a recipe for alphabet soup that’s so confusing it’ll make your head spin. But the only one you need to know about is LDVI – Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Integrata. Even acronyms are sexier in Italian!
This story is from the September 2019 edition of autoX.
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This story is from the September 2019 edition of autoX.
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