| First Drive | Edinburgh, Scotland | Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce |

Lamborghini is seeing out the Murcielago with one final kicking, screaming hurrah for the old school supercar. The LP 670-4 SuperVeloce has everything on paper we could hope for from a big, brutal, mid-engined machine, so does the drive live up to the hype?

In the Metal

The Murcielago has never been noted for its shy, retiring appearance, but the SuperVeloce is about as subtle as a brick through the window. From the aggressively jutting front spoiler and side skirts with larger air intakes to the new rear diffuser, this is a car that screams supercar from every angle. There's also a vast rear wing, though buyers can opt for a slightly smaller item that ups top speed of the SV from 209mph to 212mph. That's academic for most drivers and most situations, but we'd go for the larger spoiler and marginally lower top speed. If nothing else, with a car like the SV, there's no point trying to be subtle, so you may as well have the biggest wing. You will also notice carbon brakes brooding behind the huge alloy wheels - these are standard. Just as well with 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds.

Inside, the LP 670-4 SV has Alcantara instead of leather to cover the seats, dashboard and steering wheel, all with contrasting stitching. The pattern stitched into the seats is followed through into the carpets and it apes the arrow design of the rear lights. Paddle shifters sit either side of the compact steering wheel and the rest of the cabin is pleasingly minimal to go with the weight saving that has resulted in the SV being 100kg lighter than the standard LP 640 model.

What you get for your Money

The main things you get when buying a Murcielago LP 670-4 SV are less weight and more performance. By shedding 100kg from the car compared to the standard LP 640, Lamborghini has dropped the 0-62mph to 3.2 seconds and upped top speed to 212mph. This has also been achieved by increasing the engine's power to a bulging 661bhp at 8,000rpm, with 500rpm left in hand until the red line. There's also 487lb.ft of torque at 6,500rpm. As the last hurrah for this monumental V12 engine before Lamborghini replaces it for its next hypercar, this is a great way to go down screaming.

As well as the carbon brakes discs mentioned above, the SV also comes with a quicker steering rack ratio to give more feedback. Otherwise, the SV has climate control, electric windows and those trademark scissor doors that has every passer-by gawping. If you want a CD stereo, you'll have to fork out £3,019 for one that includes satellite navigation. You'll also want to spend the £2,530 for the reversing camera as it's almost impossible otherwise to gauge where the back of the car lies. Still, these options prices don't seem too bad when you consider the SV's list price of £270,597.

Driving it

An extra 30bhp over the standard Murcielago might not sound much, but the weight saving means you now have a 661bhp supercar that weighs less than a BMW M3. Be in no doubt, this is one of the swiftest ways to put tarmac behind you. This is made all the easier thanks to the LP 670-4 SV retaining the Murcielago's four-wheel drive system that feeds 65 percent of the grunt to the rear wheels. It gives the SV a balanced feel and, a little surprisingly, more poise than the standard car when pushing hard through corners. Much of this can be accounted for by the quicker steering that helps the SV feel lighter on its toes, but it's also a notch up from the LP 640 in every respect.

Well, there is one are where the standard Murcielago has the edge: ride comfort. The SV is not uncomfortable; it's just very firmly suspended. More of a concern are the bucket seats that offer little lower back support and induce back and bum ache after an hour's driving.

Minor discomforts are easily forgotten every time you press the throttle though. The 6.5-litre V12 may trace its roots back to the mid-1960s, but this is one of the epically great engines of all time. It growls, bellows, whoops and snarls as the revs rise, treating every new increment on the rev counter to its own sound signature. Second, third and fourth gears are all you need on British A-roads, offering up devastating overtaking force and performance that carries the SV well into three figure speeds.

Turn-in to corners is quick and positive, with the front of the SV sticking to its line with none of the mild understeer some mid-engined supercars can suffer from. It's also very stable during cornering, with next to no body lean and the massive tyres delivering oodles of grip. Thanks to this, the SV manages to shrug off its considerable width to feel lithe and agile - no mean compliment for a car of this size.

Worth Noting

The Murcielago is showing its age in a number of ways compared to some more recent rivals. The seats offer little lumbar support, the dash's instruments are not the easiest to read or the most elegant to look at and the driving position is skewed by the huge front wheelarches. The upper edge of the scissor doors also sits uncomfortably close to the occupants' heads, so longer periods spent in the SV - or any Murcielago - demand dedication.

Summary

It's as easy to dismiss the Murcielago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce as a motoring dinosaur as it is to eulogise about its towering performance. You know what, though? We don't care what other people think of this car. The SV is the distillation of everything Lamborghini knows about supercars and even if it's not the outright fastest or most svelte hypercar money can buy, it's easily one of the best. If not for the looks or performance, buy one for that engine, because we're unlikely to see or hear something this good in a very long time. If ever.