We endeavoured to make the most of the golden time we had in Italy. Bleary-eyed, we woke before the sun and began our journey through the tight backstreets of Bologna. It was here that we realised the true width of the Aventador, breathing in as we edged through gaps that we’d ordinarily breeze through. As the road widened, our worries of a close encounter between the rustic city wall and the paintwork were quelled, and we glided onto the Autostrada in our V12 Spaceship.
Everything about the Aventador is more like a fighter jet than a car. You sit low, and peer out of this letterbox windscreen, with the roaring V12 sitting right behind you. All of this leads to an atmosphere no other car can match, you really can see how Bruce Wayne felt at home driving this thing when he’d hopped out of the Batmobile.
We were heading towards prime testing territory. I’d texted former Lamborghini Test Driver, Max Venturi, and gratefully received his insight into the best routes around. (I’d also spent hours on google maps working out the locations of all the Evo Magazine’s dreamy tests in the area; it's not like I was letting the precious time with this Aventador go to waste…)
After turning off the Autostrada, we wound our way up through the rustic villages as hints of daylight started to appear on the horizon. Gunning for a sunrise shot, we raced up the hillside into the rolling hills as if in a postcard of rural Italy. The Aventador was starting to wake up on these roads too, with its low grumble turning into the V12 scream, which is the soundtrack to every 12 year old’s dreams.
Following a spirited cruise away from civilization, we pulled over at the first photo spot, just as the sun emerged from behind to horizon. Armed with my camera, I left the car to admire the staggering mixture of idyllic vista and space-age design in front of me. With the photo taken, we pushed on as the sun rose higher into the sky, as if it were trying to keep up.
Naturally, we finished the early morning drive with a spot of breakfast, at a cafe run by petrol heads. This is the Italy we’re talking about. The recipe for a good breakfast doesn’t always require the best food. Here, sat at a table watching the Aventador cool off, the pain au chocolat and coffee tasted a million times better than ever before. Plus, the Italians know how to make a coffee- not that we really needed an extra boost after getting out of that thing. In this glorious morning light, we could take a moment to just appreciate the Aventador’s design; it looks like it could break the sound barrier even when standing still.
As the car began to attract swarms of bikers, we finished our coffee and pressed on through the countryside. I could get used to this. The rest of the day played out in a similar fashion, with glorious scenery, an irreplaceable soundtrack and a constant grin on our faces.
Before we knew it the sun was beginning to set. I grabbed the obligatory sunset shots on a perfect road twisting high in the hills, and then we got back to driving. Just as I was about to hop in the passenger side, Dad threw me the keys. “About time you had a go”. My first time driving a left-hand drive car, talk about a baptism of fire. I was hit by a wave of excitement and apprehension, in equal measure.
Who would have a 19-year-old covered on an almost 400 thousand euro car? Only Lamborghini. I slid into the driver’s seat, and we howled off into the sunset. The dream weekend had just become the trip of a lifetime.