Price: $445,300
Competitors: Audi R8 V10 Spyder, Ferrari 458 Italia Spider, McLaren MP4-12C Spider
Powertrains: 6.5-liter V-12, 691 hp, 509 lb-ft; seven-speed automated manual, AWD
EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 11/18
What?s New: Unlike Lamborghini?s wedge-shaped Murcielago ragtop, which wore a cloth toupee that limited its top speed to a piddling 100 mph, the Aventador takes the techy route to open-air motoring. Two removable carbon-fiber panels stow in the front compartment, and a power-operated window now separates the cabin from the engine bay. To accommodate the supercar?s new silhouette, the cowl area has been reworked with a pop-up roll bar, while the engine cover gains new, hexagonally themed glass panels with a ridged ?backbone? running down the center. Structural reinforcements include modified rocker covers, a thicker rear deck, and a bolstered transmission tunnel. All in all, the Roadster bulks up by 110 pounds compared with its coupe counterpart.
All LP700-4 models get softer suspension damping rates (an area where customers had complained). While it?s doubtful many Lamborghini owners complained about fuel economy, the manufacturer?s hulking V-12 now incorporates an auto stop/start and a cylinder deactivation feature that effectively turns the powerplant into an inline six under light throttle at speeds below 83 mph.
Tech Tidbit: Although they?re made of carbon fiber, the Aventador Roadster?s roof panels couldn?t be more functional. Constructed using two pieces of resin transfer molding wrapped around a forged composite core, these lightweight lids weigh only 13.2 pounds each, yet act as stressed members with the chassis and help boost torsional rigidity to an impressive 24,000 Nm/degree.
Driving Character: The Aventador is utterly unattainable for almost everyone. But should you get the chance to sit behind the wheel, you?re guaranteed a giggly good time when you drop the hammer and summon the mighty V-12. Once we acclimated to this rambunctious supercar?s unmistakable personality traits, track driving at Homestead-Miami Speedway revealed an exceptionally stiff chassis and tremendous lateral grip with the roof panels in place. Dirt and tire debris prevented us from driving alfresco around the track, but the added torsional rigidity only fueled our confidence in flinging this low-slung roadster into corners.
Throttle input and weight transfer play a crucial part in the Aventador?s handling characteristics. Accelerate prematurely before the apex and you?ll understeer like a novice. Power up too abruptly and the tail snaps out of line. Selecting Sport Handling mode via the center stack?mounted ESP button allows greater yaw angles, but beware this high-stakes game of chicken: The Aventador needs just a split-second to make mincemeat of overeager drivers.
We encountered a surprising breadth of dynamic differences between our test cars, with some delivering superior front-end grip while others seemed less willing. The engagement point of the brake pedal also varied noticeably from car to car, but all Aventadors delivered seatbelt-snapping deceleration once the enormous carbon ceramic brakes clamped down. One common thread among the snarling specimens was the snappiness of the transmission, whose shifts can be so abrupt they actually trigger stability control. We tried to work around the most violent cog swaps in Corsa mode, but sometimes there was no way to avoid the head-jerking effect at higher rpm.
While the mildest Strada setting initially seemed appropriate for our street drive, this mode delivered a lagging throttle response and lazy shifts. The commute back to South Beach was best suited to Sport, which wasn?t entirely devoid of herky-jerky gear shifts but managed to convey the drama you expect from a half-million-dollar supercar.
Favorite Detail: You?d expect Lamborghini?s wildest offering to produce an ear-splitting exhaust note, but the Aventador Roadster is surprisingly quiet with its roof in place and the windows up. A quick fix for the silent treatment is to roll down the glass separating the engine bay from the cabin using an awkwardly positioned switch behind the steering wheel. This 3 second transformation welcomes a lively mechanical sound track into the cockpit, with everything from valve clatter to intake whooshing sounds reminding you that a 691-hp beast lurks mere inches away.
Driver?s Grievance: As much as we love the idea of an irascible supercar in desperate need of finishing school, we find the Aventador?s single-clutch transmission more of a nuisance than a charm. Especially on the racetrack, where smoothness is usually rewarded, Lamborghini?s ISR (Independent Shifting Rod) gearbox is a hindrance. With the Audi R8 switching to a dual-clutch unit for 2014, we wonder whether the Aventador is far behind.
Bottom Line: The Lamborghini Aventador Roadster delivers visual drama and street style, and does so with removable roof panels that barely diminish chassis stiffness?a win-win. Although its stubbornly unpredictable gearbox keeps the roadster from attaining four-wheeled perfection, its operatic charisma can match all but the wildest of offerings from ultra-exotic manufacturers like Pagani and Koenigsegg.
If you?re looking for an ultrahigh-performance convertible with impeccable road manners and incrementally less oomph, you?ll likely gravitate to the milder yet stirring McLaren 12C Spider. But where over-the-top convertibles are concerned, the Aventador Roadster remains impossibly compelling.
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