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Should God Save the Queen? No, God should rather save the 12–and-10–cylinder–aspirated–engines and their rpms before the ever more stringent EU legislation forces us to transform them into hybrid engines. This is not the main topic of this article however, but just a small introduction to my second weekend spent at the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, where I got to spend 10 minutes alongside the Academy driver on board a blue Aventador S speeding along the bents of the Misano racetrack.
Since Roger Dubuis decided to link their image and their projects to the car manufacturer from Sant‘Agata Bolognese, our presence at the different phases of the Super Trofeo has multiplied exponentially and this stage was the perfect end to a long weekend involving cars and engines that had begun the previous Thursday at the Paul Ricard racetrack, where we had been hosted at the Paddock Day by another brand belonging to Richemont (IWC).
Different championships, but same emotions
Cars, drivers, the crowd, and times might change, but the air that you can breathe in within the paddock of a racing track will never change; passion, the smell of oil and petrol, carbon fibres and brakes becoming incandescent, like those of the Huracan hard-braking at the Quercia are unique emotions.
The last time I participated in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo was last November, during the last stage of the championship that stopped in Imola, yet another historic Italian racing track that is a more famous racing circuit than Misano, at least when it comes to four wheels.
Roger Dubuis and Lamborghini are now two fully integrated companies and I often wonder if, considering that the next Aventador is expected to be launched next year (the life cycle of the current generation is now over), there will be no other occasion to see an Excalibur Spider Aventador on the dashboard ready to be worn, thanks to its quick release strap.
The Roger Dubuis’s booth
Kudos to the designers of the Roger Dubuis stands inside the Lamborghini hospitality venue; the Excalibur Spider watches were hosted inside showcases shaped as transparent cylinders, whose base was represented by a piston and a connecting rod, while the upper part represented the cylinder head.
The idea behind this communication project; watches born inside the combustion chamber or that feed on the combustion process. We do not know for sure, but in both cases it is quite a clever idea.
Outside was a Huracan Performante (the fastest Lamborghini ever that hit a record time of 6:52:01 on October 5, 2016 at the Nurburgring) and the new Urus. I believe that Lamborghini did a good job with their Urus, although, aesthetically speaking, not as good as what the concept of a few years ago had promised to achieve.
It seems that the original idea lost some purity on the way, possibly during that inevitable process of transformation towards normal production cars, but the success of the Urus is already unmistakable.
The Aventador S and the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Pirelli Medium White
It is always hard to choose between these two “gentlemen”; there is no doubt that the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Aventador S is the flagship timepiece of the Excalibur collection and the zenith of the collaboration initiative between Lamborghini and Roger Dubuis. The latest version, Neptune blue and red in colour, is superb looking, but the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Medium White Pirelli Edition continues to exert a certain appeal on me.
If we were to stop at the datasheet, the RD103SQ calibre is unsurpassed; it is a calibre featuring the jumping seconds complication and a double balance wheel/spiral that takes this Roger Dubuis almost to the same level of complication of a tourbillon. However, I personally love the Roger Dubuis Medium White Pirelli Edition for its contrast between a carbon fibre composite case and the white accents that remind us of the Pirelli medium tyres.
Thanks to the team Gerard Van Der Horst for giving us the opportunity to photograph the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Aventador S on one of their race cars, and in the exact place that inspired the geometry of the RD103SQ calibre; the cylinder head of a Lamborghini Squadra Corse engine (in this case a V10).
I have a dream
I wished Lamborghini and Roger Dubuis would soon land in the world of Formula One. Lamborghini was present on the racing tracks more than thirty years ago for the last time, but this collaboration smells like a partnership that, without taking anything away from these cars and their gentlemen drivers, could easily aim at the highest level of motor racing.
Is this something the two companies are thinking about it? Possibly so, and it is an option that could undergo a strong acceleration process after the commercialization of the Urus that will help the Italian brand to double its current volumes and significantly increase its turnover and market margins, thanks to the synergies deriving from sharing a platform with Porsche and Volkswagen.
We will soon find out if the appointment of Stefano Domenicali as the new CEO of the brand is part of a plan to widen the commitment of Lamborghini in the racing circuits, , in the meantime, let’s enjoy the Super Trofeo and see what the R&D departments of Lambo and Roger Dubuis will soon come up with.
(Photo credit: courtesy of Lamborghini)
Gaetano C @Horbiter®
