Lamborghini Aventador vs Porsche 911

What's the difference?

The Aventador isn't the best car you can buy for the money and truth be told, it isn't the best Lamborghini, which is a bit tough when you remember the only other car they make at the moment is the V10 Huracan. But it's all about the theatre as much as being a very capable supercar. 

I'm not a Lamborghini fanboy, but I completely get the Aventador. It's a because-we-can car, just like the Murcielago, Diablo and Countach before it. But unlike those cars, it's thoroughly modern and with the upgrades introduced to the S, it's faster, harder and enormously entertaining. 

As the last of a dying breed it delivers on everything a Lamborghini should - amazing looks, nutty price tag and an engine that excites not just driver and passenger but anyone with a heartbeat. It's by far the most charismatic car you can buy, no matter how many zeroes are on the cheque.

Photography by Rhys Vanderside

In describing this 911, Porsche talks about the 'T-feeling'. It should be light and agile, delivering fun, driving pleasure, yet still suitable for everyday use.

Sure, the safety could be better and the warranty lags the market, but that stuff fades into the background when the T feeling takes over. What a great car!

Asking if there's anything interesting about a Lamborghini design is kind of like asking if the sun is warm.

While there are some geese out there in the corners of the internet who think Audi has ruined Lamborghini styling, there is absolutely nothing shy about the Aventador. It's an incredible looking machine and, if I may say so, shouldn't be had in black because you miss a lot of the madder details.

This car is all about the experience.

It might look close to the deck in the photos, but however low you think it is, it's lower. The roofline barely makes it to the bottom of a Mazda CX-5's windows - you need your wits about you in this car because people just don't see you.

It is absolutely spectacular - people stop and point, one chap sprinted an easy 200 metres to take a photo of it in the Sydney CBD. Hello, if you're reading.

Inside is pretty tight indeed. It's amazing to think that a car 4.8 metres long (a Hyundai Santa Fe is 4.7 metres) struggles to contain two people over six feet tall. My six foot two photographer's head left an impression in the headlining. It's a tiny cabin. It's not a bad one though, it even has a cupholder on the rear bulkhead behind the seats.

The centre console is covered in Audi-based switchgear and is all the better for it, even if it is starting to look a bit old (those bits are from a pre-facelift B8 A4). The alloy gearshift paddles are fixed to the column and are brilliant to look at and touch, while the digital dashboard - which changes with the driving mode - is fantastic even if the reversing camera is awful.

One of the most recognisable profiles in the automotive world, the 911 has evolved and grown over time but there's no mistaking it for anything other than Zuffenhausen's finest.

For the record, the current '992' 911 is a whopping 367mm longer, 242mm wider and 30mm lower than the 1963 original. And the majority of models share the same (1852mm) wide-body look, the Turbo and GT3 RS broadening that to 1900mm.

Multiple solid and metallic colours are available at no extra cost, three of which are exclusive to the Carrera T, but if you like our test car's 'striking' 'Python Green' finish, it'll set you back an extra $5700.

Car-spotters on the lookout for the Carrera T will need to tick off 'Agate Grey' accents on the tail-light grille, badging and mirror housings as well as a grey top tint windscreen, specific side graphics and Carrera S wheels in 'Titanium Grey'.

The cabin in our test car also has also been optionally upgraded with the 'Carrera T Interior Package' ($4120), which adds extra leather trim as well as coloured seat belts and contrast stitching.

Our car has also picked up the 'Adaptive Sports Seats' ($5510). Subjective call, of course, but I love the dark cloth seat inserts with tiny flecks of green. It's Porsche retro-cool, but somehow contemporary at the same time. Beautiful.

And the five-dial instrument cluster under a gently curved cowl is a 911 design signature, although the central tachometer is now flanked by twin 7.0-inch, configurable displays.

Ergonomically and aesthetically, this layout is hard to fault.

Yes, well. There's not a lot of space because a V12 is not just big all on its own, all the ancillaries to support it rob a lot of the remaining space. Having said that, there's room in the front for soft bags with a 180-litre front boot, space for two people inside, a cupholder and a glove box.

And the doors open up into the sky rather than out like a normal car's. Who cares if it's impractical, it's hardly something that's going to stop someone buying one.

Even though the current 911 dwarfs the original '901' series of sixty years ago, it's still aimed primarily at accommodating the driver and front passenger, with '+2' rear seating a handy addition for kids, or adults in short trip emergencies.

In other markets, the addition of the rear seats is a no-cost option, whereas here they're the default fitment and removing them is the zero-dollar choice. Which makes sense because they add significantly to the car's usability.

Either way, a sports car of this type is never going to be SUV practical. However, when you look at it in the context of the Carrera T's competitors, this 911 does pretty well.

It feels appropriately snug inside, yet there's more than enough breathing space in the front and a liveable distance between driver and passenger.

For storage there are two slim compartments in each door, with a cavity for bottles, as well as a cupholder in the centre console and another pop-out holder in the dash on the passenger side.

As in most 911s, you can swap the centre console cupholder out with a small oddments tray insert which is a nifty piece of practical thinking.

There's also a modest glove box, a shallow lidded compartment between the seats and clothes hooks on the front seat backrests.

Connectivity and power options run to a pair of USB-C ports in the centre console box and a 12-volt outlet in the passenger footwell. Nothing in the back, which isn't a big surprise.

And the 132-litre boot is the only substantial cargo space, with enough room for several soft bags or a medium suitcase… even a mid-week grocery top-up.

Luggage-type storage inside the car is helped by the rear seat backs folding down to create a level platform.

But bear in mind there's no spare. A can of sealant and air compressor are on board instead.

We might be at the lower end of the 911 price spectrum, but cost-of-entry for the Carrera T is still north of $300K ($300,700 before on-road costs).

At that money there are some tasty alternatives circulating in the same price pool, like the BMW M850i xDrive Coupe ($298,100), Jaguar F-Type R ($283,020) and Mercedes-AMG GT Night Edition ($294,077), but the Carrera T stands up well in terms of included features.

On top of the performance and safety tech we'll get to shortly, standard equipment includes dual-zone climate control, 570-watt Bose surround sound audio, 'Porsche Communication Management' (PCM) including 'Online Navigation' (with voice control), 'Porsche Connect' with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and digital radio as well as four-way electric heated front seats and a heated leather-trimmed steering wheel.

There's also auto-dimming interior and exterior mirrors (the latter electrically-folding), auto rain-sensing wipers, a 10.9-inch multimedia touchscreen display, twin 7.0-inch configurable instrument screens, metallic paint, Carrera S alloy wheels (20”/21” up from 19”/20”) and LED matrix headlights. The combination of adaptive cruise control and AEB is a no-cost option on the dual-clutch auto version.

Overall, it's a nice balance between creature comforts and this car's focus on a pure driving experience.

The Aventador S is powered by Automobili Lamborghini's 6.5-litre V12. You know it's a V12 because there's a plate on top of the engine (which you can see through the optional glass cover) that says so, and handily, tells you the cylinder firing order. That's a neat touch.

Buried deep in the middle of the car, this monster engine develops an astonishing 544kW (30kW up on the standard Aventador) and 690Nm. Its dry sump means the engine sits lower in the car. The gearbox is slung across the back between the rear wheels - the rear pushrod suspension actually sits on top of and across the gearbox - and is apparently brand new.

The transmission is known as an ISR (Independent Shift Rod) and has seven forward speeds and still just the one clutch. Power goes through all four wheels to the road, but it's clear the rears get the lion's share.

The 0-100km/h time is the same as the standard car, which kind of tells you that 2.9 seconds is about as quick as you can go on road tyres when you don't have four electric motors with torque from zero rpm.

One of the saddest things about recent 911s is the fact that when you open the cover you can't see the engine unless you decide to break out the spanners and remove everything that's hiding it.

If you did, you'd reveal a 3.0-litre, all-alloy, dry-sumped, twin-turbo flat six-cylinder engine which remains unchanged from the entry Carrera model.

Featuring direct-injection and variable valve control, it sends more than 280kW (380hp) and 450Nm (from 1950-5000rpm) to the rear wheels through a seven-speed manual gearbox, or in this case, the no-cost optional eight-speed dual-clutch auto.

Suffice it to say, in a car weighing less than 1.5 tonnes, that's plenty of propulsion, and even though an engine hanging over the rear axle remains a peculiar 911 throwback, the white-coated boffins in Stuttgart continue to make it work brilliantly well.

Hilariously, the official figure is 16.9L/100km. I doubled it without trying. Simple as that. If you're buying this car thinking it will be easy on the juice, you're insane.

Cheeringly, Lambo has at least tried, the V12 going silent when you sit at the lights, the best thing being the way it bursts back into life when you lift off the brake.

If you have the time available, it takes 90 litres of premium unleaded to fill the tank.

Porsche's official fuel economy number for the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 10.8L/100km for the dual-clutch auto as tested, the 3.0-litre twin-turbo six emitting 246g/km of CO2 in the process.

During a week of city, suburban and some at times enthusiastic highway running, we averaged 15.0L/100km (at the pump), while the car's onboard computer indicated 16.1L/100km, which isn't out of line with the super- and turbo-charged V8s this car competes with.

Minimum fuel requirement is 98 RON 'premium' unleaded and you'll need 64 litres of it to fill the tank.

Using the official number, that translates to a driving range of around 590km, which drops to roughly 430km using our real-world figure.

In Strada or Street mode, awful. Everything is slow and doughy, particularly the gearshift which goes looking for a gear like dog looking for a stick you didn't throw, but instead hid behind your back. The low-speed ride is nothing less than terrible, fidgeting over every single lump and bump and is only slightly more appealing than being dragged along behind.

The gearbox is really the worst bit about it. Automotive history is littered with cars that laboured along with a single clutch semi-auto: Alfa Romeo 156, BMW's E60 M5 and today the Citroen Cactus is stuck with just such a dud transmission.

Like that old M5, however, there's a trick to making the gearbox work for you - show absolutely no mercy.

Switch the selector up to Sport, get off the highway or major arterial road and head for the hills. Or better still, a clear race track. Then the Aventador goes from a pain in the rear to a glorious, roaring, completely unhinged and unhinging battle cruiser. This car is all about the experience, from the second you lay eyes on it to the moment you put it to bed.

This isn't an everyday supercar and it's absurd to think Lamborghini thinks it is.

First up, there's the obvious entry point with those wacky doors. While it's tricky to get in, if you're under six feet and reasonably mobile, stick your backside in, keep your head down and you're in. If you've been clever, you've specified the glass engine cover so you can see out the back but the huge wing mirrors are surprisingly effective.

Has someone thoughtlessly parked the car in a tight spot? No trouble, the four wheel steer makes the car absurdly manoeuvrable given its extravagant length and width.

As we've already established, it's not much fun at low speeds, waiting until about 70km/h before things start to make a bit more sense. This isn't an everyday supercar and it's absurd to think Lamborghini thinks it is. It just isn't.

The old Aventador was not the most capable of machines but made up for it with its overall belligerence. The new S takes that aggro and dials it up. When you move the drive mode to Sport you are basically unleashing hell. You can pretend to be super-masculine and switch to Corsa (race) mode, but it's all about getting the car straight and getting you around the track in the most efficient way possible. Sport is where it's at if you want to have fun.

The Aventador is about being seen, but not before you've been heard - from two postcodes away. It really is utterly glorious when you have a stretch of road to yourself. The V12 revs furiously to its 8400rpm redline and the wallop of the upshift is accompanied with a fantastic bark and a burst of blue flame. And these aren't the best bits.

Approach a corner, stomp on the colossal carbon ceramic brakes and the exhaust erupts in a combination of bangs and pops and growls that puts a smile on even the most hardened car-hater's face. The fact it steers into corners with just a demure roll of the wrist, aided and abetted by that funky four-wheel steering system. It's just brilliant, addictive and truth be told, it gets under your skin.

At 1470kg the 911 Carrera T is 35kg lighter than the entry-level car it's based on, thanks largely to reduced sound insulation, lightweight glazing and a more compact battery.

Yes, the rear seats are fitted to our test example, which sends the scales back up a bit, but the reduced sound deadening still raises the standard sports exhaust's glorious rumble through the cabin.

Porsche claims 0-100km/h in 4.0 seconds for the auto and 4.5s for the seven-speed manual. Yep, it's quick!

Peak torque (450Nm) is on hand from 1950-5000rpm, which means there's always substantial mid-range punch available, with the dual-clutch auto's eight ratios also helping to keep things on the boil.

I love a manual gearbox as much as the next person, but this dual-clutch is ultra fast yet refined with the wheel-mounted paddles adding to the fun.

The 'Driving Mode' dial on the steering wheel enables selection of 'Normal', 'Sport', 'Sport Plus' and 'Individual' modes, with each selection displayed in the instrument cluster.

And given the 'Sport Chrono Package' is standard the 'Sport Response' button in the centre of that mode dial acts like a push-to-pass function, delivering a 20-second burst of maximum performance response from the engine and transmission.

Suspension is by struts at the front and multi-links at the rear, with ride height dropped by 10mm and the standard 'Porsche Active Suspension Management' (PASM) system able to adjust the dampers through 'Normal' and 'Sport' modes.

Ride comfort is harsh, even in the most comfort-focused setting, but that kind of goes with the Carrera T territory.

The steering is pretty much perfection. Precise and accurate, with amazing road feel, it allows the old 'think your way through corners' syndrome.

Speaking of which, this car chews up and spits out twisting B-roads without a hint of drama. The front end sticks and refuses to let go, the big 305 rear rubber following suit.

It remains resolutely planted, balanced and adjustable on the throttle, the standard torque vectoring set-up and locking diff turning go-fast wannabes into bonafide apex predators.
  
Standard rubber is Z-rated Goodyear Eagle F1 (245/35x20 fr - 305/30x21 rr) which is 10mm wider than the already generously shod 911 Carrera.

Braking is suitably beefy with 330mm ventilated and cross-drilled rotors all around clamped by four-piston aluminium monobloc fixed calipers front and rear.

We got the bit between our teeth at various stages of this test and can confirm the brakes are able to wash off speed rapidly and consistently with a reassuringly firm yet progressive pedal.

Under the heading of miscellaneous observations, the optional 18-way adjustable Adaptive Sports Seats fitted to the test car are brilliant. Comfortable for cruising, they can be dialled up to King Kong levels of grip when required.

A super useful feature is the ability to adjust the passenger seat with the driver's seat controls. So convenient for setting things back to normal after the co-pilot has cranked forward to accommodate a rear seat passenger.

The GT sport steering wheel is just right in terms of its diameter and grippiness and the overhead 'Surround View' function helps when manoeuvring a low and wide-hipped car like this one.

Although it hasn't been assessed by ANCAP, it's safe to say the 911 isn't at the leading edge in terms of active safety.

There's 'Lane-Change Assist', which is effectively Porsche's take on blind-spot monitoring, the combination of adaptive cruise control and AEB is a (no-cost) option on the dual-clutch auto version only, and tyre pressure monitoring is included. But common features like lane departure warning and rear cross-traffic alert are missing in action.

That said, in wet conditions the 911 will prompt the driver to engage the aptly named 'Wet Mode', which lowers the activation threshold of the ABS, stability and traction control systems, softens drivetrain response, and to improve stability, the degree of diff locking is reduced and the rear wing raises to its maximum position.

If a crash is unavoidable, the airbag count is six - dual front, dual side (thorax) and side head airbags for the driver and front passenger.

There are ISOFIX anchor points for baby capsules or child seats in the two rear positions.

In an unexpected twist, you'll get a three-year/100,000km warranty and the option to increase to four years ($11,600!) or five years ($22,200!)(!). Having recovered from typing that, given the cost of something going wrong, that's probably money well-spent.

Porsche's three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty is off the pace now, although the paint is covered for the same period, and a 12-year (unlimited km) anti-corrosion warranty is also included.

'Porsche Roadside Assist' provides 24/7 coverage for the life of the warranty, and after the warranty runs out is renewed for 12 months every time the vehicle is serviced at an authorised Porsche dealer.

The main service interval is 12 months/15,000km but no capped-price servicing is available, with final costs determined at the dealer level (in line with variable labour rates by state or territory).