When Brett David, owner of Prestige Imports and Lamborghini Miami, offers the keys to a Lamborghini Countach, the only appropriate response is, “When?” When he also puts the keys to a Diablo VT 6.0, a Murcielago SuperVeloce, and an Aventador SuperVeloce on the table, your brain seizes up envisioning what it will be like to slip behind the wheels of half the V12 offerings from the Italian supercar maker, a coveted quartet infamous for all the right reasons, and the next thing you know you’re on a plane heading to Florida.
David has put us behind the wheel of incredible vehicles before, including his one-of-one Pagani Huayra, but ripping around Miami for an afternoon with 2,410 horsepower and 1,820 lb-ft of torque collectively underfoot, those naturally-aspirated 12-cylinders roaring behind you, is indeed a moment for life’s highlight reel. As the shock and awe slowly subsides, a more thoughtful analysis of these supreme machines begins. After all, Ferruccio Lamborghini underpinned his company on ideals purposefully contrarian to those of Enzo Ferrari—a fact readily apparent when you start to look closer.
Ferrari demanded speed and performance above all else, including creature comforts. Lamborghini believed the perfect supercar could be blisteringly quick, capable of comporting on road or track, and offer you all the pleasantries of every other grand tourer. Experiencing a Countach, Diablo, Murcielago, and Aventador back-to-back (-to-back-to-back) affords you the ability to see the linear progression of the marque. How masterful engineering, combined with advancing technology, bestows a stiffer chassis, squeezes out more downforce, and sharpens already scalpel-like handling.
Of course, the early incarnations are as wonderfully fickle as you’d expect from early Italian exotics. The Countach disliked it’s battery, and staying in gear, requiring some coddling to overcome both issues. The Diablo VT, on loan from the private collection of one of David’s customers, would happily stall without perfectly precise throttle modulation. But would you want your supercar poster children any other way?
Recently, Lamborghini vowed not to kill the V12 engine, an announcement that brought joy to enthusiasts the world over. While we await the next 12-cylinder mammoth, enjoy a playlist of some of Lamborghini’s greatest V12 hits.