The Famous Five: here's every Lamborghini SV car

There’s been more than half a century of ‘SV’ from Lamborghini. That’s ‘Super Veloce’ or literally ‘super fast’. The ‘J’ in SVJ stands for ‘jota’, which is reference to an FIA regulation for racing.

So the most extreme SVs also get the appendix. But generally the SVs are the most hardcore of the Lamborghini pantheon. They tend to be special.

DATE: 1971–1973
PRICE NEW: £9,500
ENGINE: 3.9-litre V12, 385bhp, 295lb ft
TRANSMISSION: 5spd manual, rear-wheel drive
PERFORMANCE: 0–60mph in 5.8 seconds, 180mph
WEIGHT: 1,245kg
HOW COOL IS IT: So cool that if you touch one your finger snaps off.
WHAT IS IT: The world’s first supercar. Debuted at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, the Bertone-designed Miura had a transverse V12 in the back, and the SV added more power, wider tyres, a wider rear track, revised rear suspension and removed the headlight ‘eyelashes’.

DATE: 1995–1999
PRICE NEW: £150,000
ENGINE: 5.7-litre V12, 510bhp, 428lb ft
TRANSMISSION: 5spd manual, rear-wheel drive
PERFORMANCE: 0–60mph in 3.9 seconds, 191mph
WEIGHT: 1,576kg
HOW COOL IS IT: Later versions were the best, but generally icy.
WHAT IS IT: Another icon, but a changeable one. The Diablo got Audi-fied in 1998 and the SV was still in production. RWD only (the Diablo was VT all-wheel drive by then), lighter, more aero, roof scoops and an adjustable rear wing. Big decals. Still hardcore.

DATE: 2009–2010
PRICE NEW: £265,000
ENGINE: 6.5-litre nat-asp V12, 670bhp, 487lb ft
TRANSMISSION: 6spd e-gear automated manual, all-wheel drive
PERFORMANCE: 0–62mph in 3.2 seconds, 213mph
WEIGHT: 1,565kg
HOW COOL IS IT: A Zamboni in the Arctic, polishing shiny ice.
WHAT IS IT: The lighter diet Murcie; some 100kg lost through generous use of carbon for exterior panels, even with the Aeropack wing (the big one – a smaller standard option was also available). Some 30bhp more than standard and a more track-focused interior.

DATE: 2018–2021
PRICE NEW: £350,000
ENGINE: 6.5-litre nat-asp V12, 770bhp, 531lb ft
TRANSMISSION: 7spd ‘ISR’ automated manual, all-wheel drive
PERFORMANCE: 0–62mph in 2.8 seconds, 217mph
WEIGHT: 1,625kg
HOW COOL IS IT: Better than air conditioning in a UK heatwave.
WHAT IS IT: The hardcore one: 40 per cent more downforce than even the SV, the SVJ got rear-wheel steering, stiffer magnetorheological damping, and a high-mounted exhaust. Also got ‘Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva’ or ‘ALA’ active aero to stall downforce. Tasty.

PRICE NEW: TBC
POWERTRAIN: 6.5-litre nat-asp V12 + 3x e-motors, 1,050bhp, 1,051lb ft
TRANSMISSION: 8spd DCT, AWD
PERFORMANCE: 0–62mph in 2.4 seconds, 214mph
WEIGHT: 1,880kg