2002 - Lamborghini Murcielago on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lamborghini officially reveals new Veneno Roadster

Sexy or vulgar - whatever you thought of the Veneno which Lamborghini unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show this past March, it didn't much matter. Because by the time we saw it, all three examples were already bought and paid for... at the equivalent of $3.9 million each. But if you had that much cash burning a hole in your pocket and lamented missing out on the opportunity to put one in your driveway, we've got good news, because Lamborghini has just confirmed another nine examples to be built. Only this time, it's got no roof.
Now officially confirmed after leaking out the other day, the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster features the same radical styling, extreme competition-derived aerodynamics, carbon-intensive construction and twelve-cylinder powertrain as the coupe that proceeded it and which we enjoyed photographing for your viewing pleasure just last month. The principal difference, of course, is the open-air cockpit, which offers no protection from the elements whatsoever: no fabric umbrella contraption, no removable glass or metal panel, nothing to get between your dome and the air rushing by at 220 miles per hour. That's the same top speed as the coupe, while the 0-62 run takes just a fraction of a second longer at 2.9 seconds. But we doubt you'd notice the difference with that 6.5-liter V12 revving just behind your ears.
It's the same engine and seven-speed ISR gearbox that powers the Aventador, only tuned up to 750 horsepower for the Veneno. And it should have more power, because at 3.3 million euros (about $4.5 million, give or take a Gallardo), the Veneno Roadster isn't just $600,000 more expensive than the Veneno coupe, it's also more than ten times the price of an Aventador. Still with us? You can scope out all the details in the press release below and browse through the photos in the gallery above for a closer look.

Lamborghini weighs first factory-backed Le Mans entry

Lamborghini could expand its racing program by competing in the World Endurance Championship (WEC). The Italian company has never been able to justify funding the development of an LMP1-spec prototype from the ground up, but the hypercar category the WEC will launch in 2020 makes competing in high-profile races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans much more affordable. The new class created to pick up where LMP1 will leave off has piqued the interest of Lamborghini boss Stefano Domenicali. He told British magazine Autocar that his team is taking a careful look at the regulations, and company officials will decide whether to go racing by the end of 2019. The hypercar category will replace LMP1 during the 2020/2021 season, and its guidelines call for racers that look like production models. They'll need to weigh under 2,160 pounds, and they'll be allowed to use active aerodynamic technology, which Lamborghini already uses on production models like the Aventador SVJ, the Huracan Performante, and the Huracan Evo. Domenicali hinted a car similar to the one-off, Aventador-based SC18 (pictured) introduced in late 2018 could take Lamborghini racing. It shows the company has "a base for what could be an interesting approach," he told Autocar. Created at the request of a customer, the SC18 delivers 770 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque thanks to the Aventador's naturally-aspirated, 6.5-liter V12. If Lamborghini chooses to race, it will need to fend off competition from Aston Martin and Toyota, among others. Aston Martin confirmed it will compete in the hypercar category with an evolution of the 1,160-horsepower Valkyrie, while Toyota is busily transforming the Super Sport concept into a hypercar-spec racer. Unverified reports suggest McLaren and Ferrari could also join the fray sooner or later. While Lamborghini's history isn't rooted in racing, and it has never operated a full, factory-backed WEC program, its cars have competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and other endurance events on several occasions. Die-hard fans will remember the Murcielago R-GT that raced at Le Mans between 2006 and 2009. It was more show than go, and it finished near (or at) the bottom of the pack. Auto News Motorsports Lamborghini Le Mans lmp1

Lamborghini explains how (and why) it designed the Huracan Sterrato off-roader

Lamborghini broke new ground (literally and metaphorically) by launching an off-road-ready variant of the Huracan called Sterrato. It's not the brand's first off-roader; that branch of the family tree includes the LM002 built in the 1980s and the Urus. But it's the only Lamborghini that has made the improbable leap from the track to the trail. I sat down with Rouven Mohr, the head of the firm's research and development department, to find out how and why the Sterrato came to life. Interestingly, it started with a wild idea floated by executives during a dinner. [The following has been edited for clarity.] RG: What's the story behind this car? RM: I have a personal connection to this project. The basic idea was born at a dinner I attended the first time I worked for Lamborghini, in 2017. I was eating with Maurizio Reggiani, my former boss, and Mitja Borkert, our chief designer, right after a test of the Urus. We were so happy talking about how much fun the Urus is to drive on gravel, and we said, "This would be even cooler with a super-sports car." At that time, I was responsible for whole vehicle development. When I got back to the office, I decided to take an old Huracan durability test car that was scheduled to be scrapped and build a demo car. Everybody was so in love and agreed it was very cool, but based on other priorities the company decided to stop [the project]. When [CEO] Stephan Winkelmann returned to Lamborghini, he saw the car and asked why we didn't build it. So, we restarted the project. I'm back at Lamborghini now, and it's a big pleasure for me to bring this project to the market. RG: Beyond the cool factor, what was your goal during the project? RM: This car's mission is quite easy to explain. At Lamborghini, we always have two pillars. One is performance, which means pure numbers like top speed and lap times. It's not only Lamborghini [that can deliver this], however, because a lot of other brands also have the numbers. We are always looking for something unexpected that improves the driving thrill, the overall experience, and we recognized after testing the demo car that there is really nothing comparable from the perspective of pure emotional driving behavior on the market. The mission of this car is to bring maximum driving fun, not only on the track but also on low-grip surfaces. The mission of this car is transferring the driving experience that we have from the Huracan STO on the track to low-grip surfaces.