There's only a handful of places in SA that cater to the needs of supercar owners who want a little more from their multi-million Rand machines - RACE! in Kyalami's Barbecue Downs is one of them. I met main man Marco Casciani a few years back during a photoshoot and he quickly rose to the top of my Christmas Card list after letting me drive not only his Lancia Delta Integrale around Kyalami Racetrack, but also his Novitec Rosso-fettled Ferrari F430 around the streets of Kyalami - in other words he's a top chap. Fast forward to this week when I received an invite from Marco to attend the unveiling of a very special car built by RACE! at their Midrand-based showroom - a Lamborghini. Not just any Lamborghini though, it's a freaking Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster! I've been in this game for years and I've seen some pretty special cars and builds over the years, but as far as rarity of the car and also sheer insane budget, it's going to take something mental to top what RACE! has done here. While waiting for the unveiling of the car I took the chance to have a closer look at the other cars on show, Italian and German metal of the highest calibre. Oh, and the girls from SXDrv... As you can see, RACE! get to work on some pretty special cars and being linked to some of the biggest and best brands in the world, the company is able to offer their clients anything from exclusive wheels to performance upgrades and body kits. Brands like Brabus, Evoms, Evolution Motorsport, KW, Akrapovic and more can be had. This night was mainly about Novitec Torado though because the Aventador was kitted out with the full works from the Stetten, Germany-based company. It was that time of the night - the reveal of the Novitec Torado Lamborghini Aventador... Well, what can I say but Daaaaaaaaamn! This thing is on a whole other level, and that's exactly what you'd expect from a top company dealing with top brands on exclusive cars. To top it off, the car was given a custom green paint that is guaranteed to turn heads. Well, an Aventador will always attract attention, but this one will command it. The changes to the Lamborghini are plentiful. Up front you'll find a two-piece front spoiler, redesigned air intakes and a sharp central blade - all in carbon fibre. Higher up, the boot lid (the boot is in front remember, this is a V12 Lambo which means from the driver back there's nothing but engine) has redesigned air ducts which work together with the aforementioned redesigned lower intakes to improve airflow through the front end, improving front end downforce by sucking the body down, thus helping improve the handling. Moving to the sides there's some new rocker panels and carbon-fibre mirror housings, but the most visually appealing cue from this angle is the set of super hot ADV1 wheels - There are a few exclusive wheels available for this car and for me (and I'm guessing the car's owner) these were a brilliant choice. Moving to the ass end, the Aventador Roadster gets an imposing new carbon fibre wing, a really sexy piece of kit, that can be electronically controlled from the cabin (below speeds of 180km/h) with a Novitec Cantronic control unit. When taking the whole Novitec package. the car gets fitted with height-adjustable sports suspension developed in collaboration with suspension specialists KW Automotive - an upgrade that works great with the high-performance exhaust and remapped ECU. This option takes the V12's power up to 728hp (from 700hp) and 721Nm (up from 690Nm). Madness, pure madness.
The crew at RACE! have done an amazing job, but that's what you'd expect from a company that deals with the most exclusive cars and brands available worldwide. The day after the reveal the Novitec Torado Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster was loaded up onto a transporter and shipped off to it's lucky new owner in Cape Town, Mr Chatz. A huge thanks goes to Marco for the invite - an opportunity to see a car like this in the metal doesn't come along every day, especially since when things go to Cape Town, they usually stay in Cape Town. |
Author: Chris WallA slightly tattooed motoring fanatic, photography nut and avid collector of knowledge. Use the search bar to navigate through the archives. |