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It is twisting roads where this wild animal communicates what it's up to in gloriously widescreen stories. Your job is to pay attention and follow the plot. For if you back off in the wrong place, or think you can drift it, you are either wrong or a far, far better driver than I am.

You work within its limits. They're high and they're very clearly indicated, and that's the thrill. This is truly one of the great experiences in driving. But ordinary drivers beware not to cross the limits or it'll take a great big bite out of you.

Luckily, the brakes are fabulous so you ought to have rid yourself of enough of that blazing speed before you get cornering. New carbon discs are an option, and they need effort from you - no surprise there then - but in return, they stop the car like it's hitting an invisible sandbank.

The LP640's new suspension set-up has springs that kick your backside all round the park. That's the downside of all that communication from the chassis, and the absence of roll or pitch. This is never a comfy car. Don't be fooled by the new navigation system or electric seats, or even the fact that the aircon blows cool enough. It remains defiant.

There isn't even any of that softy Audi switchgear. The seats pinch your shoulders, rumble from the gigantic tyres batters your ears, and the gearbox keeps your muscles taut. If it's wet outside, you'll be on a red-eyed edge, gazing over a precipice. A day with a Murciélago leaves you tired and hungry. But by morning you'll be hungry for another day with it too.

This month, Ferrari and Porsche have just launched better supercars than anything they've done before: more power, more grip of course, but also more civilisation, more refinement, more safety, more quality. Lamborghini thumbs its nose at all this.

The Murciélago LP640 is simply a Lambo that's louder, faster, more aggressive, and therefore, more intimidating. Lamborghini, the most politically incorrect car company in the world - in its own words, not mine - is doing what Lamborghini does best.

The Murciélago is awkward and belligerently noisy to be in, so can never rival a Ferrari 599 as a civilised, GT-capable supercar, never mind a 911 Turbo. it feels anvil-heavy, so it's not a track car. By those measures, it's not a performance car. Yet 'performance' is the one word that sums it up more than any other.

A Murciélago is a performance, a show, a piece of wheeled theatre. Look how its magnificent and crazy body is wrapped around the mechanicals, feel how the rabid engine and gigantic tyres communicate so intimately with the driver. A Murciélago is dramatic art, and it makes its driver feel like the star.

Read Lamborghini Murciélago Car Review

Lamborghini Murciélago road tests
Lamborghini LP640 Roadster - January 19, 2007
Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster - August 4, 2004
Lamborghini Murcielago - November 7, 2001