Had a good day out yesterday with business partner and 6th Gear’s Operations Director Andy Cummings when the guys at Evo Magazine called and asked if they could borrow our Aston Martin DBS and the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 for a blast round the Bedford Autodrome’s West circuit.
The weather was typically crap as per usual for this green and pleasant land, and the track surface greasy with a bit of light rain. Roger Green climbed behind the wheel of the 580bhp Bond car first and hammered it round the tarmac for a good 10 minutes before one final flying lap to set the best time. Then it was the turn of our Lamborghini LP640…Roger quickly getting to grips with the different handling of this four wheeled drive monster. Watching Roger take this Lambo around the track was great fun – this is a guy who has raced the iconic Porsche 962 Le Mans car, and is trying to get a drive this year in the Le Mans classic. Even with its 1650kilo’s and four wheel drive it seemed to struggle around the twisties before spinning once on the bus stop chicane. No matter..Roger was soon off again and flew past the pits on a final fast lap with the howl from that wonderful V12 hanging in the wind.

So which of these awesome V12’s do you think set the fastest lap time? Bear in mind the Lambo LP640 can hit 215mph and 0-60mph in 4 seconds, the Aston DBS 190mph and 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds. Both are a similar weight.
Well be surprised, because the DBS trounced the LP640 by a fair margin…
Interesting, but the LP640’s power band really comes into it’s own above 5000rpm but when it does hit that magic number this Lambo absolutely flies, it really is astonishing. However the DBS is much more linear – a good spread of power throughout the rev range and considering the wet weather it just got the power down better on this occasion.
So what would it have been like in the dry?

I reckon it would have been a different story…

Simon George

Now’s the time we start putting the Supercars through a programme of paintwork and servicing. When you are talking nearly six grand for a Lamborghini clutch (and we have 6) then it certainly aint cheap!! Paintwork wise we had a good year in 2009.

The Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale is about to have the front spoiler painted, the LP640 has suffered in the same area too. The Ferrari 599 has had a great year with hardly a mark on it and as for the 3 Aston’s (DB9 DBS and Vantage) these have also stayed almost unmarked. The old lady of the fleet – the well known Orange Murcielago has had a lot of recent work. Bodywise it’s being painted currently to look like the Murcielago LP670 SV with matt black rear panels. It’s just had the latest LP640 wheels and brakes upgraded too, so when this is finished it’ll be a heck of a monster!! This is a sentimental Supercar for me – when it was new in 2004 ( a couple of years before 6th Gear began) it took me on a 5000 mile trip round Europe and what a great journey that was. It’s covered well over 130,000 miles now and still features in Evo magazine from time to time. Strangely enough even with this mileage it drives superbly, thanks to all it’s recent upgrades. The 430 Spider is a fairly recent addition to 6th Gear’s fleet – again its a Supercar thats easy enough to handle, not my cup of tea if i’m honest but predictable in the dry. Personally I prefer the Lambo’s in the wet – with 4 wheel drive they are ‘planted’ and heavy enough not to be affected by wind too much either.

The Aston DBS is a cracking machine. Now I’ve never been such a fan of Aston’s – pipe and slippers spring to mine but the ‘new’ range is anything but. The DBS is the best certainly on the track, its a hard ride with the sports suspension setting switched on and the brakes are stunning. However its the noise that makes the hairs on your neck stand up on end. The howl from that James Bond V12 is simply awesome over 4000rpm.

The Ariel Atoms havent needed too much attention since the 2009 season. A brake pad change and a new starter motor for one has been it. ‘Robust’ is a pretty good description of these incredible supercharged rocketships. Personally I won’t ride as a passenger in them anymore, I’m not the best passenger at the best of times but the Atoms just cross the line for me. Thrilling but bloody terrifying if I’m honest! More soon……

Simon George