Automotive

Lamborghini Track Day - Fontana, CA AAA Raceways

Lamborghini owners know that owning a Lamborghini is not just about empty bragging rights. They tend to be younger, for sure young at heart, and tend to be more true to themselves - they know what appeals to them and care less about what others think. Automobili Lamborghini recognizes that Lamborghini owners tend to live life to the fullest, seeking out experiences and products that are soulful, where design and performance are inextricably intertwined.   

Keystone to this philosophy, of course, are cars that are both extreme and raw in design, with performance to match. No empty promises here.

Lamborghini Gallardo 570-4 Superleggera: combining old school big horsepower and torque with the modern pursuit of weight reduction, the current Superleggera moves performance to an entirely new level - it looks fast, sounds fast, feels fast, and IS fast!

I care very much about "feel" and too frequently finish time in the driver's seat with the conclusion that modern models have lost much of their "soul" - 4WD and electronic stability and traction controls ("e-nannies") have taken away much of the engagement between driver and machine, reducing much of the challenge, and attendant satisfaction, of taming the wild beast.

Not only have the e-nannies made it easier for drivers of modest experience and skills to achieve performance previously reserved for pro shoes and the daring (there are several issues with this, to be discussed another time) but the current state of the art does NOT allow the e-nannies to perform their work undetected and "imperceptibly in the background."  This is not a Lamborghini problem, of course; it is a problem across the board, a limitation of the current state of the art in available technology. McLaren; Ferrari; Bugatti; even the big boys M-B AMG, BMW M; and Audi RS face this limitation and problem.

Chip controlled e-nannies like rev limiters and auto fueling modulation, wheel braking and active suspensions today operate in a way that still noticeably adds an additional layer atop raw natural feeling, causing a desensitization of engagement and throwing off of driver timing and reflexes in response to nature and the basic laws of physics.  I am sure there are many that would challenge my view on this, but let me put it this way - one can enjoy and climax while making love with snow mittens on. But I challenge anyone to honestly tell me it is the same as making love without the snow mittens (on the hands or anywhere else...) Part of this is due to the speed of electronics today - the circuits and chips and processors - and part of this is just the nature of the beast - layers are layers, no matter how thin the lamb skin.

Which is a long roundabout segue to my conclusion about the 570-4SL: before experiencing the current Superleggera, I was in love with the 550-2 which, though it also has a whole battalion of e-nannies to assist and protect its driver, the 2WD drive train is so much more pure, allowing so much more of the natural characteristics of the engine and power delivery to come through the assometer and right foot. Its lighter weight relative to the previous 4WD versions also contribute to feel and dynamic responsiveness.  After seat time in the 570-4SL, the 550-2 finally has competition for favorite baby bull...

Now if only Lamborghini will do a 2WD Superleggera...!  (a Lambophile can dream, right?)

Automobili Lamborghini, in collaboration with their dealer network, arranged a track day on the AAA Raceways circuit in Fontana, CA, for owners, prospects and friends of the marque, and this session was the first ever in the US with the recently launched Aventador supercar among the track fleet.

Being a Purist, I have to note that the Aventador has been part of track day experiences in Asia since 2011 (reported on ThePuristS and PuristSPro from Kuala Lumpur's Sepang track, Malaysia, and the F1 Circuit in Shanghai, China, in 2011 and 2012) - maybe that's why, in 2011, China surpassed the US as Lamborghini's largest market in the world? Today, in 2012, the US has regained the title as largest Lamborghini market. It will be interesting to watch as both markets continue to grow and develop...

Such beautiful, wicked lines...menacing, urgent, successfully combining sensuous curves and sharp, biting lines - it hurts so good! The Aventador successfully carries on the dream inspiring tradition of the Big Bulls, the Countach, Diablo, and Murcielago, all descended from the groundbreaking and legendary Miura.

Hey, wait a minute, I see a friend, the lovely Kimberly H...anyone who reflexively dismiss lady drivers, watch out!  You will be schooled and spanked by Kim if you ever mix it up with her behind the wheel...oooh, baby! 

The format for the day is lead - follow: a Gallardo driven by the resident Lamborghini hot shoe (and potential supercar model - Elite Modeling, are you paying attention?) Richard Antinucci - do you know how many lady friends ask me while swooning, "Is he still available?" He modestly says his brother is the good looking one...a hunk, humble, and a great driver!  If I ever was looking for a son-in-law...

back to the tracking format -

Gallardo lead car driven by Richard, followed by 4 guest drivers in 2 Gallardo 570-4SL's and 2 Aventador Coupes.

The guest cars are supposed to maintain 6-8 car lengths between vehicles, but depending on the group, it can range from 1.5 to ...well, how many car lengths is 14 seconds after the lead car comes to a rolling stop for the changeover?

After the initial familiarization lap, the first follow car pulls over on the home straight and allows the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th follow cars to move up, and this changeover is repeated on each subsequent lap. This allows for every guest car to follow directly behind the lead car and thus get a chance to explore the limits of the model they are driving.

Yellow Gallardo 570-4 SL pulled over for the changeover.

Aventador LP700-4 coming in to pitlane.

Gallardo 570-4 Superleggera on the track

Thank you, Automobili Lamborghini USA, and Lamborghini Newport Beach, the largest authorized Lamborghini dealership in the United States, for your hospitality. It's experiences like these that help make the Lamborghini experience unique - more driving, less posing!

 

 (note: there is an equipment malfunction - the audio in the video clip is unclear and uneven, due to a faulty mic in the POV cam. WOT in the cabin is INSPIRING!)

This message has been edited by ThomasM on 2012-12-06 15:41:02

 

 

 

I like the way of the driving at the track, following a guy that knows how to handle it, and he's quite carefull the first lap ... allowing people to slowly getting used to both the track and the car .. .

Hi, Jerry,

Ya gotta come out again! or we need to come over there...

Cheers,

TM

PuristS hospitality at its best.  

Cars all over the track in one photo...plus I see braking/apex cones 

A serious question:

Would the e-nannies (I cannot abide that the term 'nanny'. Too much baggage/interpretation/overuse) be acceptable if they were completely unobtrusive? Or would they just be more flattering of driving skill? And I wonder if that would be better or worse?? I'll have to have a think about that one.

 

This message has been edited by BDLJ on 2012-12-05 03:28:43

All over the track, Ben?!? I suppose the pictures were so purdy that you missed the text explaining that the ONE car in that picture way off line was pulled over waiting for the other three to pass in the changeover?  Or do you mean follow car two appearing as if it was coming in from the outside, because it likely was following follow car one for a split second not completely sure that was the changeover point (which occurred in the video as well) 

Whether or not the follow car drivers are familiar with racing lines is not in question; many probably haven't driven on a track more than once or twice, if ever at all.

Even among those with some track experience and the idea of "lines" I find that many have trouble following them in practice. And among those well familiar, there is still room for interpretation due to circumstances - early or late apex? simple or compound curves? one turn followed by a straight or immediately followed by another turn? crowded field or wide open?

At the speeds being driven, the line is far less important than abruptness or smoothness of control and input - if there was going to be any breaking loose or loss of control, it would be due to overly abrupt steering input or throttle or brake application.

All those braking / apex cones should have made that excruciatingly clear, if it wasn't already.

But then, you knew all of that and your tongue was planted firmly in cheek, I'm sure, so I'm replying to that comment simply for the benefit of casual readers who might not know your friendly sarcastic style.

About your serious question:

I know you well enough to know that you

1. are well versed in and very capable with language and its use;

2. and are conceptually well versed in the nuanced subtleties of language and often implicitly held definitions and meanings, and their often widely divergent nature

That is why I find our exchanges so interesting and stimulating. 

Indeed, "nanny" is a very loaded term, with different implications in different contexts and even different cultures (like the term, "masses"    )

Rather than getting bogged down in the semantics of an aside - I think we both clearly understand each other in that respect - I'd like to respond to the very interesting main point of your statement -

"Would the e-nannies (...)  be acceptable if they were completely unobtrusive? Or would they just be more flattering of driving skill? And I wonder if that would be better or worse?? I'll have to have a think about that one."

I've pondered this issue too, and my own conclusion, for now, is that, on the one hand, it is all about what one is used to - for someone only familiar with two wheelers, going to four wheels and a "cage" is a "handicap" / crutch, one that helps the balance and reflex challenged.

I'm sure, to stretch the point a little further, that many weened on internal combustion engines will bemoan the all electric motors as being "unnatural" due to lack of sensory feedback (aural mostly) and lack of peakiness.  The same could be said of skinny versus fat tires; fuel injection vs carburetors; electronic engine management systems versus "analog" systems.  One could even drill down to the distinction between true digital control versus electronic analog hybrid systems...(for those that are wondering what the hell I'm talking about, the crudest example I can think of is a fully IC circuit based time keeping mechanism with a digital electronic display, or one with an analog display; or a fully mechanical timekeeping movement with a mechanically driven digital display ("wandering" or "jumping" hour and minutes, for example)  

In another, more abstract sense, I still wonder if there is some sort of "natural" state out there, where we (well, most of us, don't want to over generalize...) do feel, at the most basic, instinctive level, "comfortable."  The idea applies to art as well - why does some art "just call to us" and other make us "uneasy?"  

So specifically to your (rhetorical?) question - to my mind, at this time, if the e-nannies (I'll keep using the term until you can suggest a better one, baggage or not) advance to the point of being unobtrusive, if that is even possible, I suppose I would find them slightly more acceptable. But keep in mind "obtrusiveness" is at least a two sided phenomenon - the event, and the entity perceiving it.  Both can be tuned...

"...just be more flattering..." possible, just like more horsepower and torque is widely accepted by "the masses"  as meaning the whole car is "faster" and thus better... (context and assumptions, get it? 

"better or worse?" in what context? better in terms of raising the limits before the idiot or less skilled kill themselves? then yes.

Worse in terms of nurturing a future population of drivers who don't know how to use a three peddle manual shifter? how to use their assometer to feel the physical limits of grip and know how a particular car will behave at and past those limits? well, um, yes...

Makes me think about fully automatic cameras - auto focus, auto white balance, auto exposure - I have found that it helps many (not all) immensely to force them to use fully manual cameras every once in awhile, even manual focus. It trains and tunes the eye and brain to understand, and ultimately to compose, a better picture (whatever "better picture" means.)

"to break the rules, first you have to master them." Otherwise, you're just an uncouth hooligan.

 

 

One of the factors I dislike about the current generation of ESC etc is that they are very effective compared to the more abrupt, low limit, lurch-inducing early systems. Bit strange but the reasoning 

The issue is that with any of these systems - abrupt or not, early onset or not - is that unless you understand what is being done by the system (modicum of inside rear brake applied to increase yaw?) how do you evaluate whether you're doing your utmost not to trigger it?

This presupposes, of course, that a very good driver will be faster in a car with the ALL the nannies shut off. And based on that presupposition, isn't that what a driver is supposed to be aiming for, braking to the very point of lock-up, optimising the longitudinal and lateral acceleration as you exit a corner...

So I guess my ideal world would be a system with the thresholds set quite high, but that also lets you know when you'd made a mess of it. But instead of an ungraceful pirouette, a decent shake and lurch that reminds you that you should have probably been in the grass (or worse, wall). The systems should be there to save you, not to flatter you.

[This is, of course confined to track work. Roads...well....if you're driving these things at anything apporaching the limit, you probably need a nice, smooth system. And so do the other road users. But the point about evaluation of where you are vs the vehicle's performance remains. I won't even go into the liability ramifications]

A slight tangent to the above is: Do you remember the old, slow-pulsing 3 channel ABS systems? The ones that felt like they were kicking you in the sole if you set them off? And that kicking would distract you? So the attention that you were supposed to spend on steering rather than locking- up was lost? The newer systems are just better.

personal opinion - the substance of your post is what makes for interesting discussion and contain the seeds of making one think about and understand the issues more deeply.

I'd like to revisit the points more when real life isn't calling.

Cheers,

TM

No message body

Thanks for sharing.

Hi, Sten,

Thanks for your kind words.

In one sense, comparing the bull to the horse seems so natural as there is no question they are competitors in many ways.

It is tempting to over generalize, to lump the different models under one general "brand" impression and compare that, but of course inherent in any generalization are the errors of specific differences.

That noted, 

From the driver's seat, I would generalize it to say that Ferrari tends to be better riding and a bit more docile in "normal" driving conditions while the Lamborghini tends to be edgier, a bit more raw (by design) - this is consistent with the exterior design aesthetic.

As far as preference, there are a lot of factors, including my relationship to the brand, and (gasp!) the image...but in general, I do prefer the Lamborghini. My feeling is, if you are going to be extreme, be extreme. 

But of course one really should compare specific model to specific model - F360 / F430 to the Gallardo, for example, or 599GTB to the Murcielago.

I can come back to those specifics in another thread if there is interest.

Cheers, and we gotta do that run soon!

TM

 

 

is that Lamborghini has the wow factor compared to Ferrari.  Technology wise, Lamborghini falls behind Ferrari by about 15 years.  Just look at the gearbox for example, it's night and day difference! 

Here we have a great example of very satisfying design.
Each line or edge has a beginning, middle and end.  They lead your eye, let you follow and find.
The surfaces are all taught and don't slow your eye down or cause you to fall in quicksand.
Nowhere is there a suggestion of hesitation, no snags.
The forms lead your eyes to the ducts, as we hope the air is too.
Functionality is immediately apparent, curiosity wakened for what isn't seen.
The acute angles add to the aggresivness.
The surfaces all have a major and a minor curvature, they also lead, do not slop around, the most interesting section of the car, around the "hips", is where the most surfaces join together around the engine ducts.
All very satisfying, my eye is ready to discover all the edges and surfaces again and again.



At least that is how I read this design and of course, beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder.
For my eyes it is completely satisfying, even if extreme and certain to cause talk.
But that is what good looks are about, isn't it, to talk about ?
Extremely... good!

Don

I enjoyed the video TM.  I like how they started the first intro lap to get used to the track. 

ps - did I read that right?  14 seconds for the changeover? 
Regards,
ED-209
This message has been edited by ED209 on 2012-12-06 17:30:23

as I wrote to BDLJ in his comment about "cars all over the track" - the range of driving experience and skills was all over the map.

But, yeah, 14 seconds was more than 6-8 car lengths...