If you happened to be in Rome at the end of April, you might have been planning to hear Pope Benedict XVI deliver his traditional Easter blessing. Finding yourself in a parade of Italian supercars guided by mayor Gianni Alemanno might have been unexpected for foreigners, but is little surprise in Italy. Here, the people are as proud of their sports-car tradition as they are to be home to the Pope. No wonder, then, that Lamborghini chose Rome, the Holy City, as the site of the first drives of its newAventador LP700-4.

Ducking through a scissor door and beneath the low roof—the Aventador is only 44.7 inches tall—we wedge ourselves into the narrow racing seat. It feels like we’re sitting barely one inch off the pavement as we reach up to pull the door closed. The pedals and steering wheel are perfectly positioned, without any of the uncomfortable offset of the Murciélago’s, which skewed to the right to make room for that monstrous left-front tire. The rest of the interior is a radical break with Lamborghini tradition, a mix of fighter-jet cockpit and video-game fantasy. The instrument panel is a thin-film transistor (TFT) display packed with information and offering the choice of either a speedo or tach as the main dial. We won’t complain about the limited visibility to the sides and back; this is a Lamborghini, not a VW Golf.

Lambo’s Personal-Use Volcano

Safeguarded by a red cover, the starter button awaits. With a satanic rumble, the 6.5-liter V-12 behind us erupts, seemingly with the first crank of the starter. In all it does, the Aventador’s new V-12 is a remarkably responsive engine—with just the slightest tap of the throttle, revs rise and fall with F1 quickness. Switch it off, and the suddenness of the silence is disorienting. Even if the displacement is the same, this is not the Murciélago engine. Indeed, Lamborghini increased the bore by seven millimeters while shortening stroke by 12.6, which could allow this engine to rev even higher than the 8500-rpm redline of the Murci mill. (Read our in-depth look at the Aventador’s engine here.) Peak output is 691 hp at 8250 rpm and 509 lb-ft of torque at 5500, increases of 59 hp and 22 lb-ft over the Murciélago’s V-12. Smoother, but still with plenty of bark, it’s lighter and mounted lower in an aluminum frame connected to the carbon-fiber monocoque.

Surprisingly, Lambo’s new engine is not direct injected. The Italian excuse is that it already is 20 percent more efficient than its predecessor, although we’re expecting EPA ratings of 10 mpg in the city and 14 on the highway, only 1 mpg better than the Murciélago in the city and the same for long hauls. Of course, summoning all 691 hp will push that figure deep into single-digit range.

Pulling the paddle on the right shifts the car into first. The single-clutch, seven-speed automated manual Graziano gearbox is lighter and more compact than a dual-clutch unit, which helped Lamborghini meet its 3472-pound (dry) weight target for the Aventador. (Sadly, there will be no manual transmission offered.) With all fluids aboard, the Aventador should come in somewhere between 3700 and 3800 pounds, a few hundred pounds lighter than the Murciélago. Like many modern sports cars, the Aventador’s top gear exists to maximize fuel economy during high-speed cruising; the car actually reaches its 217-mph top speed in sixth.

3. . . 2. . . 1. . .

You’ll want to take a moment—and a few deep breaths—before flooring the throttle. The driver hardly has time to gasp before the Aventador hits 60 mph, which we estimate will take only 2.8 seconds. The 100-mph mark should pass in around 6.5 seconds and the quarter-mile will take less than 11. The rate of acceleration hardly seems to slow below 200 mph, and thanks to the hyperquick gear changes, there is zero perceptible lull during upshifts. The Aventador is equipped with a high-end audio system, but we prefer to listen to the conversation between our right foot and the engine. The V-12 makes a powerful low-frequency roar at lower engine speeds, which becomes a thunderstorm over 3500 rpm. Stay on the throttle and, beyond 5000 rpm, the Lambo V-12 sounds like the apocalypse.

The higher the speed, the more torque the car apportions to the Haldex clutch at the front wheels. This is said to help stabilize the front end at speed. It certainly contributes to incredible stability in hard cornering. Damping and steering response can be sharpened with the (Audi-esque) “Drive Select” button on the center console, which offers three choices: Strada, Sport, and Corsa—Road, Sport (surprise!), and Track. Even with stability control on, the sharp Corsa mode allows some oversteer before intervening.

The car delivers up to 60 percent of the engine’s torque to the front end, a transition the driver will note is accompanied by the sensation of the front end getting lighter and a loss of steering feel. Compared to the Murciélago, the steering requires a little less effort, but is more precise. The driver does notice some nervous feedback through the wheel, but that’s to be expected in a car with steering this quick and tight.

Whatchoo Doin’ Tonight, Baby?

It’s a razor-sharp jet-fighter on wheels, but more important, the Lamborghini Aventador is one of very few truly raunchy automobiles. With its aggressive engine note and aerospace styling, it is completely different from the more sophisticated—and equally new—Ferrari FF. Lamborghini will build 500 units a year, and 750 have already been sold worldwide. In the U.S., it’ll take at least $381,700 to put an Aventador in your stable. That’s a small price to pay for a genuine piece of Italian national identity—Vatican pomp, eccentric politicians, and all.