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Review of Murcielago LP 640-4 Superveloce '09 (pdf 8)
Review on v1.09 using Region 4 Playstation and Sixaxis controller. Unfortunately, my LP670-4 (btw, it’s 670-4, not 640-4) already had weight reduction stage 3 and engine tuning stage 3 applied. So it’s a bit underweight and over-torqued compared to Motor City Tunes' spec (I used power limiter to get the right peak power). Also, I preferred to sample the V12 madness untamed, so traction control was off.
“The last of the Big Bangers”. Fans of Australian Touring Cars in the 1980s will immediately think of Peter Brock’s Group C VK Commodore, however it is just as relevant to the Murcielago. Developed without too much interference from Audi’s fun police, history will perhaps note the Murcielago as the last supercar to be innocent of stability control. The irony continues with a 1960s design V12 pushing an advanced AWD system which is surrounded by lashings of carbon fibre and other space-age materials. But what is it like to drive on soft and sticky racing slicks with a mild power upgrade? And how can it benefit from some tweaking by the folks at Motor City Tunes?
Parts only (default settings)
Around Laguna Seca, the first impression was that the chassis is too stiff and unforgiving. Due to the lack of compliance, there is no “flow” through the stages of cornering, it’s very point and shoot. Also, the balance is very understeery, which means the big V12 is actually stable through the infamous corkscrew. Who’d have thunk it?! The upside of the stiffness is that the steering is very sharp and responsive up to the point of understeer (ie mostly during turn-in).
Tall gearing doesn’t allow the AWD system to shine, the chassis and tyres have potential to sprint out of slow corners much faster than the gearing allows. Some power oversteer would come in handy, too, for dialling out the power understeer of the current setup.
Rare glimpses of life without understeer are seen, and unfortunately serve just as a tease of what it should be. Get brave enough and you can incite a bit of movement in the rear, but the real scare comes when it regains grip and suddenly you are understeering towards something big and solid. Adjusting the line mid-corner by applying the brakes will also incite some oversteer, but it’s neither predictable nor pretty.
Laguna Seca lap time was 1:25.3. Despite the negative comments above, I think this car has a lot of potential, and am excited at the possibility of a tuner dialing in a bit of oversteer yet actually making it less scary to drive because of greater predictability.
Enter Motor City Tunes...
Motor City Tunes Settings
Still very...ahem... firm, but much better balanced. To my taste, the suspension still feels very stiff for this track (but this will vary between drivers and tracks). But the extra front grip is just what the doctor ordered and the car is much more “chuckable” than using default settings. Compared with “sane” cars, the Lambo is still quite twitchy, but it wouldn’t be a Murcielago without the danger element, would it?
The combination of tighter gearing and more balanced suspension has suddenly made the right foot a useful tool in adjusting the line in tight corners. Mild power oversteer out of the final hairpin is an excellent example (and much more fun than understeering into oblivion!!).
The shorter gearing also means that 6th gear actually has to earn its keep now, so it’s no longer a wasted ratio. My lap time around Laguna Seca only improved by one second, but the fun factor went through the roof!
Supercar Festival @ Nurburgring GP
Time to see what it does against the competition. Nurburgring GP showed Laguna Seca to be relatively smooth in retrospect. Down the straights, the Lambo was bucking like its namesake. And things got very tense when the undulations happened to be during a corner. Like at Laguna, the improvements to overall balance and the ability to throttle steer were easily seen over the default settings. Top marks there.
Despite rumours of Bugatti Veyrons, McLaren F1s, Merc SLSs, etc showing up to the Nurburgring GP, the best competition present on the day was only a Ferrari California- mere cannon fodder for the Murcie. In the lead by the end of the first straight, Motor City Tunes Lambo was faster between corners and through them. 8 seconds a lap faster, more were it not for some very average driving by yours truly.
The LP670-4 is still a difficult and intimidating car to drive, but Motor City Tunes have made some great improvements in taming the bull.
Review on v1.09 using Region 4 Playstation and Sixaxis controller. Unfortunately, my LP670-4 (btw, it’s 670-4, not 640-4) already had weight reduction stage 3 and engine tuning stage 3 applied. So it’s a bit underweight and over-torqued compared to Motor City Tunes' spec (I used power limiter to get the right peak power). Also, I preferred to sample the V12 madness untamed, so traction control was off.
“The last of the Big Bangers”. Fans of Australian Touring Cars in the 1980s will immediately think of Peter Brock’s Group C VK Commodore, however it is just as relevant to the Murcielago. Developed without too much interference from Audi’s fun police, history will perhaps note the Murcielago as the last supercar to be innocent of stability control. The irony continues with a 1960s design V12 pushing an advanced AWD system which is surrounded by lashings of carbon fibre and other space-age materials. But what is it like to drive on soft and sticky racing slicks with a mild power upgrade? And how can it benefit from some tweaking by the folks at Motor City Tunes?
Parts only (default settings)
Around Laguna Seca, the first impression was that the chassis is too stiff and unforgiving. Due to the lack of compliance, there is no “flow” through the stages of cornering, it’s very point and shoot. Also, the balance is very understeery, which means the big V12 is actually stable through the infamous corkscrew. Who’d have thunk it?! The upside of the stiffness is that the steering is very sharp and responsive up to the point of understeer (ie mostly during turn-in).
Tall gearing doesn’t allow the AWD system to shine, the chassis and tyres have potential to sprint out of slow corners much faster than the gearing allows. Some power oversteer would come in handy, too, for dialling out the power understeer of the current setup.
Rare glimpses of life without understeer are seen, and unfortunately serve just as a tease of what it should be. Get brave enough and you can incite a bit of movement in the rear, but the real scare comes when it regains grip and suddenly you are understeering towards something big and solid. Adjusting the line mid-corner by applying the brakes will also incite some oversteer, but it’s neither predictable nor pretty.
Laguna Seca lap time was 1:25.3. Despite the negative comments above, I think this car has a lot of potential, and am excited at the possibility of a tuner dialing in a bit of oversteer yet actually making it less scary to drive because of greater predictability.
Enter Motor City Tunes...
Motor City Tunes Settings
Still very...ahem... firm, but much better balanced. To my taste, the suspension still feels very stiff for this track (but this will vary between drivers and tracks). But the extra front grip is just what the doctor ordered and the car is much more “chuckable” than using default settings. Compared with “sane” cars, the Lambo is still quite twitchy, but it wouldn’t be a Murcielago without the danger element, would it?
The combination of tighter gearing and more balanced suspension has suddenly made the right foot a useful tool in adjusting the line in tight corners. Mild power oversteer out of the final hairpin is an excellent example (and much more fun than understeering into oblivion!!).
The shorter gearing also means that 6th gear actually has to earn its keep now, so it’s no longer a wasted ratio. My lap time around Laguna Seca only improved by one second, but the fun factor went through the roof!
Supercar Festival @ Nurburgring GP
Time to see what it does against the competition. Nurburgring GP showed Laguna Seca to be relatively smooth in retrospect. Down the straights, the Lambo was bucking like its namesake. And things got very tense when the undulations happened to be during a corner. Like at Laguna, the improvements to overall balance and the ability to throttle steer were easily seen over the default settings. Top marks there.
Despite rumours of Bugatti Veyrons, McLaren F1s, Merc SLSs, etc showing up to the Nurburgring GP, the best competition present on the day was only a Ferrari California- mere cannon fodder for the Murcie. In the lead by the end of the first straight, Motor City Tunes Lambo was faster between corners and through them. 8 seconds a lap faster, more were it not for some very average driving by yours truly.
The LP670-4 is still a difficult and intimidating car to drive, but Motor City Tunes have made some great improvements in taming the bull.
