By: Chuck Squatriglia
Article Source: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/03/lamborghini-aventador-lp-700-4/
Photo Source: Lamborghini

You can always count on Lamborghini to offer obscene amounts of power in a body defined by sharp angles, and the new Aventador LP 700-4 unveiled this week in Geneva delivers the goods.

The latest bull to charge out of Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy, puts down 700 horsepower and 509 pound-feet of torque from a 6.5-liter V12 that must sound like the voice of God. Get in, buckle up and hold on as zero to 60 comes in just 2.9 seconds. Top speed is 217 mph.

That kind of velocity is easy to achieve when you’ve got a power-to-weight ratio of 4.96 pounds per pony, a feat accomplished through extensive use of carbon fiber in the monocoque and body. The car weighs 3,472 pounds, down from the 4,000-pound Murcielago it replaces.

The engine is bolted to a seven-speed automated manual that shifts in 50 milliseconds; power hits the ground through all four wheels. Although the Aventador is larger than the Murcie in every dimension and produces 8 percent more power, Lamborghini says fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are down 20 percent from the Murcie’s 10 mpg (combined).

If you’re wondering, the Aventador is named for the bull that won the Trofeo de la Peña La Madroñera in 1993 for “outstanding courage.” Putting one in your driveway will cost $379,000.