....We'll get some more civilian road time in the Aventador this summer, but on the aggressive track of Vallelunga outside of Rome, the 691-horsepower brute with 509 pound-feet of torque at the ready couldn't get enough of our animal instincts. It devours a track like a bull that eats red meat. It's fantastically disturbing. Most impressive right off the bat is – as we've experienced with the occasional twelve-cylinder Ferrari – exactly how malleable this track terror is on a normal day in Strada mode (i.e. Street), yet in the next instant it can hammer out a record lap in Corsa mode (Race).

In between these two extremes, there's the Sport setup that puts the throttle, innovative seven-speed "Independent Shifting Rods" automated manual transmission, steering feel and the stability control, all in just the right mood for carving up your favorite piece of tarmac. The race-ready inboard Ohlins pushrod dampers inspired by open-wheel Formula cars are not multi-mode adaptive, but we're dealing with a full-time aggressive 217-mph car, so let's be honest: The simpler the better, and the settings Lambo has chosen feel right over most any surface. It's always healthy to keep in mind that the company wants to sell 750 of these per annum, not take on the BMW 7 Series for all-around livability and market dominance. They also want the Aventador to be race-ready for privateers who want to conquer the GT1 class at Le Mans.

YouTube - Autoblog Short Cut: Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Passes

Initial acceleration figures to 62 mph put the LP700-4 at 2.9 seconds. That's getting a touch into Bugatti Veyron territory and matches the latest Porsche 911 Turbo S and McLaren MP4-12C. Once the twisties start, the big muzzer Lambo (which is nearly 200 pounds lighter than the Murc at 3,472 pounds dry) shows its substance, and the handling provided by the latest-generation electronically active Haldex IV all-wheel drive versus the Murc's viscous/passive system is well beyond anything the latter was ever capable of at its limits. This was made clear all day long at Vallelunga, a collection of tough corners that takes some learning.

We get our 2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4s exactly when the rest of the world gets theirs: this September, with a base price of $390,700, which includes America's gas-guzzling wrist-slap fee. Company bosses assure us that they have sold 18 months' worth of production already, or around 1,200 cars. We asked them point-blank how many of these were actual customer cars and they piped back, "All but the one each of our 125 dealers worldwide needs to buy to have on-hand for test drives and display purposes." So, that's nearly 1,100 legitimate sales to the world's hypercar elite...

...What pleases most is that the Aventador strikes us as a bold and pure romagnola Lamborghini (i.e. from the heart of the Emilia-Romagna region), one that's utterly Italian and not at all a Ferrari or Porsche or Audi wannabe in any way. This was important both for Lamborghini and its customers, and Sant'Agata has hit the bull's eye.