It costs about $450,000 and delivers a monstrous 670 hp, but the meanest Lamborghini since the legendary Miura SV must do without such modern conveniences as direct injection, a dual-clutch transmission, bixenon adaptive headlights, active differentials, a starter button, a radio, and stability control. Lamborghini engineers even considered eliminating four-wheel drive, which would have shaved another hundred pounds off the grand total. But in the end, they refrained from creating an even more radical rear-wheel-drive Murciélago, which might have made the 42/58 percent weight distribution unwieldy in the wet.
Even with all-wheel drive, the Murciélago LP670-4 SuperVeloce's rear-biased torque split lights up the rear tires with stability-threatening urgency. The only available electronic antidote is traction control, which cuts in too early and hangs in longer than necessary. You can switch it off, but if you do, be prepared, because the Murciélago fights the road, the driver, and its own idiosyncrasies in one of the noisiest, angriest, and most expressive supercar performances ever.
Although the 3604-pound SV undercuts the stock Murciélago LP640-4 by 220 pounds, it is by no means a Spartan track-day special. Quite the contrary: the suede-and-leather-trimmed cockpit looks almost as lavish as the one in the silly-money Reventón.... Read full article