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Lamborghini's new 691bhp/219mph/£247k Aventador supercar might look like a facelifted Murcielago, but it's a radically different beast under the skin – and on the road.

So what's new on the new Lamborghini Aventador?
The lot. The old Murcielago had some composite body panels but its chassis was a stack of old tubes that happened to stick together, just like the Diablo and Countach that preceded it. But the Aventador is built around a carbonfibre monocoque, to which are bolted a pair of aluminium subframes, the rear one cradling the 6.5-litre V12.

So it's not all new, the engine's carried over, right?
Nope. It might be the same capacity as the old V12 (which can trace its roots back to the 350GT of 1964), but this one's brand new with a much bigger bore and shorter stroke, meaning it's revvier and massively more refined. It's more powerful too, sharing 691bhp between its four wheels (700ps, hence the name) compared to 631bhp for the old LP640-4 it replaces, and besting even the 661bhp of the hardcore Murcielago SV. And while you might expect the short stroke to mean a lower torque figure as a payoff, there's more of that too – 509lb ft to be precise, all achieved without a turbo.