Here are two Millbrook Proving Ground memories. The climax of the key car chase in 2006’s Casino Royale, in which 007 swerves round Vesper Lynd and barrel rolls his Aston Martin DBS into oblivion, was set in Montenegro but shot at this sprawling vehicle testing facility in sunny Bedfordshire. I once filmed a television show there, in which my cohost was driven by Damon Hill round its famous alpine route in a Mercedes SL55 AMG. He narrowly avoided vomiting over the former F1 world champion and the Merc’s suspension was similarly disrupted.
So this is quite the venue for evaluating Lamborghini’s Sián, one of only 63 coupés being made and sold out despite its reported mega-money price tag (there will be 19 roadsters too). There it sits, exuding exotic Italian menace, although its profusion of slats, slashes and ducts give it an air of something altogether otherworldly. The name means “flash” or “lightning bolt” in the Bolognese dialect and you can imagine it arriving on the pointy end of some cataclysmic meteorological event, Marvel-superhero style. There is a degree of science fiction to the Sián. Well, science fact, to be more accurate. Although it’s still powered by Lamborghini’s magnificent 6.5-litre, naturally aspirated V12 – one of the world’s great engines – it also sees the company venture into hybridisation for the first time. And it’s doing so in a very Lamborghini way. Rather than a conventional battery pack, the Sián uses a supercapacitor to provide the highest power possible via the lightest solution, giving three times the power density of a conventional lithium-ion battery the same weight. It’s also more efficient under regenerative braking.
In the Sián it feeds a 48-volt e-motor that produces 34bhp and has been incorporated into the gearbox; the supercap lives in the bulkhead between the engine and cockpit. The whole hybrid setup adds just 34kg to the total weight and allows the car to reverse and park on e-power alone. This means you can actually hear onlookers laugh while you manoeuvre it very carefully. (It’s like parking a submarine and has similar rear visibility.) Lamborghini’s engineers decided this was also the time to modify the V12, adding titanium intake valves and taking the overall power output to 808bhp. It all adds up to a car that will rampage its way to 62mph in 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 217mph. An elite handful of contemporary hypercars, including the Bugatti Chiron, McLaren Speedtail and the spectacularly ludicrous Hennessey Venom F5, can eclipse that. But a Lamborghini isn’t just about daft numbers; it’s about how it deploys them and even more about its looks. On which basis, the Sián doesn’t even have to turn a wheel to garner maximum Instagram “likes”: this is an almost cosmically outrageous-looking car. The company began life back in the 1960s making louche GTs, before effectively inventing the supercar in 1966 with the Miura. But it was the 1974 Countach that really moved the dial. That was designed by Marcello Gandini, a modest genius who’s still around 47 years later and whose influence is evident on the Sián. In fact, Lamborghini nobly describes the dramatic upward sweep on its body as the “Gandini line”.
There’s more Countach in the rear-light configuration, with its six hexagonal apertures, and though the Sián’s complex aerodynamic requirements mean it’s much more visually busy, the net effect is a car of monumental visual drama. There are cooling panels at the rear that use “smart” materials: they react and open when the exhaust reaches a certain temperature. Meanwhile, elements of the expansive interior are 3-D-printed. Historic inspiration, but firmly forward-thinking.
Its chassis is largely based on the Aventador, a big car that needs a lot of space to do its best work but which always turns out to be less intimidating than it looks. So it proves as we head into Millbrook’s twisty Hill Route, an asphalt roller-coaster that fancies itself the English Nürburgring without ever resolving into a really fast section. Fortunately, there’s also a five-lane, two-mile-high speed bowl to really stretch out on.
The Sián’s hybrid element is a drop in an 808bhp ocean, designed more to smooth out the shifts in its previously unruly transmission than anything else. This is clearly not a Prius in disguise. It also boosts in-gear acceleration, but that was hardly an issue before. No, this is about generating drama, more than Teatro Alla Scala and the RSC combined. High-performance electric cars are all well and good, but nothing will ever touch the sound and sensation of a huge V12 in full battle cry, pistons thrashing away as you close in on the 8,500rpm redline. Once you’ve got used to its size and the fact you’re basically strapped into the pointy end of a four-wheeled missile, it’s an amazingly friendly thing to drive. The steering is superb, allowing it to carve into corners with incredible clarity, all-wheel drive and an active rear axle aiding agility. Sure, there’s lots of costly carbon-fibre bodywork to look after and Lord knows how much each alloy wheel costs, but the more you lean on this car, the more it gives back.
Would James Bond have sacrificed this thing, even for Eva Green?
Gordon Ramsay's car collection is effing brilliant
