At the heart of the car is an all-new V10 engine that thumps out 552bhp and 398lb ft of torque, but the other key factor is its relative lack of weight; at 1410kg (or 1580kg in test trim measured on our scales) it is impressively light for a 4WD supercar.
When you then align this with the new V10 engine’s delicious soundtrack, the 560 really does have all the ingredients with which to blow your mind. The other contributing factor is its new gearbox.
The shifts themselves may not be the smoothest, Lamborghini having engineered the software to deliver a deliberate thump on the way up, a quality we find less than desirable.
But you can’t argue with the actual speed of the shifts or the strength of the acceleration at full chat. The engine tears towards its rev limiter in first and you then need to be on high alert not to run it against that limiter by mistake.
The test car was fitted with optional carbon-ceramic brakes, and although these work well once warmed, they do feel a bit dead on the road.
Time was when a Lamborghini was all about monstering the straights and not falling off through the corners.
But the 560-4 obliterates that memory forever with its eye-watering blend of grip, balance and composure, not to mention its steering and traction, both of which are excellent. And that’s to say nothing of the car’s most surprising feature: its ride comfort.
The way the 560-4 feels so soothing and so refined on a motorway is testament to the achievement of its engineers. If there is a criticism of the handling, it’s that when you really start to lean on the 560-4 in a quick corner, the nose does have a tendency to run wide.
A very well-timed lift will make the nose tuck in and possibly even allow a dose of oversteer with the ESP disengaged, but in essence there’s a natural degree of understeer engineered into the chassis that mostly adds to the 560’s civility.