Video: How the Lamborghini Aventador Has Evolved Over the Years

It is fascinating to see how far the Lamborghini Aventador has come since it arrived in 2011. I know Lamborghini doesn’t follow the same truncated model timetable as other exotic automakers in the world — the Aventador’s predecessor, the Murcielago, was in the market for nine years — but it’s still remarkable that the Aventador has made it this far in its life without a direct replacement in the horizon. This tells you that the Aventador could eclipse the Murcielago’s production run and extend its own past ten years, possibly even longer than that.

But before we can look forward to what lies ahead for the Aventador, let’s take a stroll down memory lane to see where the Aventador came from, and how much it has evolved ever since the LP700-4 hit the market in 2011.

The first iteration of the Aventador was powered by a 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V-12 engine that produced 690 horsepower and 509 pound-feet of torque.

It also came with several technological innovations, a lot of which Lamborghini developed in-house. The first Aventador, for example, featured a carbon fiber monocoque cell that would become standard across future versions of the nameplate. The structure helped keep the supercar’s weight down to 3,472 pounds, and except for a few special edition models, the Aventador would tip the scales at that weight throughout its run.

One year after the Aventador’s introduction, Lamborghini introduced its first Aventador-based special edition, called the Aventador J. This extremely limited version was also offered with a few firsts, including the use of Carbonskin in its seats. It also didn’t have a standard windshield, which contributed to its uniqueness. Power and performance figures remained the same, but to this day, the Aventador J stands as one of the most exclusive models Lamborghini has ever built, in part because the Italian automaker only built one unit. Not two, not three, not four. Just one.

A year after Lamborghini built the most exclusive special-edition Aventador in the world, it went and introduced the most expensive Aventador in the world. It was called the Veneno and it came in coupé and convertible versions. Notwithstanding that the Veneno’s 6.5-liter V-12 engine was tuned to produce 740 horsepower — that’s 50 more horsepower than the standard Aventador — this special edition model cost $4 million in the coupé version and $4.5 million in the roadster version. A car with a price tag like that deserves a limited stature, and that was the case with the Aventador Veneno. Only six roadsters and three coupes were made.

The next few years saw several special-edition Aventadors hit the market.

The Aventador 50 Anniversario arrived in 2013 with a new engine calibration that netted 710 horsepower.

The Aventador Nazionale was launched in 2014 as a showcase of Lamborghini’s Ad Personam division. That same year, Lamborghini unveiled the Aventador Pirelli Edition, a celebration model of the automaker’s partnership with Italian tire maker Pirelli.

2015 was a big year for Lamborghini and its flagship model. That’s when the Aventador Superveloce came knocking on our doors. The Aventador SV’s arrival represented the first hardcore interpretation of the nameplate, and Lamborghini developed it as such. It featured a versatile rear wing that can be configured in three different positions. It also came with new adaptive MR dampers and a significant engine tune that netted 740 horsepower. The Aventador SV is also one of the few versions of the Aventador that weighed less than 3,472 pounds - it tipped the scales at just 3,362 pounds.

The very next year, Lamborghini unveiled the Aventador Miura, a 50-unit special edition model that paid tribute to the Miura supercar.

The Aventador Miura was also one of the last special-edition Aventadors to hit the market before Lamborghini gave the Aventador its first major update.

The updated arrived in 2016 as the Aventador S. This model came with plenty of updates of the aesthetic, technical, and mechanical persuasions. It featured a new front fascia, an updated suspension, and a new rear diffuser. It was also the first Lamborghini to come with a rear-steering system that worked at all speeds.

At this point, the Lamborghini Aventador had reached five years in the market. It says a lot about Lamborghini’s faith in the Aventador that it took five years to update the core model. It also signaled the arrival of fresh new hardcore and special edition models, a lot of which arrived in the succeeding years. 2018, in particular, saw the launch of the 760-horsepower Aventador Super Veloce Jota, hailed as the most advanced Lamborghini ever made. It also made history when it became the fastest production car to lap the Nurburgring. It’s a record that it still holds to this day.

It was also in 2018 when Lamborghini unveiled the most hardcore version of the Aventador: the SC18 Alston.

Just like the Aventador J, the SC18 Alston was a one-off model.

Unlike the Aventador J, the SC18 Alston was largely developed by Squadra Corse, Lamborghini’s racing division. It’s also the most powerful Lamborghini Aventador to date, thanks to an output of 770 horsepower. As significant as these two models are, 2018 will be best remembered in Lambo circles as the year the automaker launched the Aventador SVJ 63 and the Aventador SVJ 63 Roadster. Limited to just 63 units per body type, the SVJ 63 and the SVJ 63 Roadster are the latest in a long line of special edition models to wear the Aventador badge.

As we look forward to what’s the come for the Lamborghini Aventador, it’s important to remember that the best is yet to come for this nameplate. We don’t know what that is at this point, but not knowing is part of the fun when it comes to Lamborghini and the Aventador.

2011 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4

Read our full review on the 2011 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4

2013 Lamborghini Veneno

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2012 Lamborghini Aventador J

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2013 Lamborghini Aventador 50 Anniversario

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2014 Lamborghini Aventador Nazionale

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2014 Lamborghini Aventador Pirelli Edition

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2015 Lamborghini Aventador Super Veloce

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2016 Lamborghini Aventador Miura

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2016 Lamborghini Aventador S

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2018 Lamborghini Aventador Super Veloce Jota (SVJ)

Read our full review on the 2018 Lamborghini Aventador Super Veloce Jota (SVJ)

2018 Lamborghini Aventador Super Veloce SVJ 63

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2018 Lamborghini Aventador SC18 Alston

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2018 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster

Read our full review on the 2018 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster