Home / Lamborghini / Exclusive, aggressive and extreme: Murcielago Roadster
Exclusive, aggressive and extreme: Murcielago Roadster
Exclusive, aggressive and extreme: Murcielago Roadster
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The Lamborghini Murciélago is a supercar made by Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and designed by Luc Donckerwolke. It was introduced in 2001 as the successor to the Diablo. The Murciélago is a two door, two seat coupé. To celebrate the Lamborghini company's 40th birthday, 50 special edition Murciélagos were built during the autumn of 2003.
An open-top version called the Murciélago roadster was introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The roadster features similar performance to the coupé with a more aggressive rear flank, as well as a considerably higher price tag.
The Murciélago sports a 6.2 L version of the legendary Lamborghini V12 engine, a six-speed manual or six-speed sequential automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive. It also has a rear spoiler that can be raised to an angle of 70 degrees, side mirrors that fold in to improve aerodynamics, and side scoops that automatically open to the needed size to let in just the right amount of air needed to cool its engine. The name Murciélago comes from a bull that survived 24 sword strokes in an 1879 fight at the arena of Cordoba, and fought with such passion and spirit that the matador chose to spare its life, a rare honor. In another Lamborghini tie-in, the bull was later presented as a gift to Don Antonio Miura, a noted breeder, and went on to sire a line of famous fighting bulls. Murciélago also means bat in Spanish, and a Murciélago roadster is featured briefly in the movie Batman Begins. The coupé's base price is US$273,000, which is US$90,000 more than its smaller sibling, the Lamborghini Gallardo.
Lamborghini have announced two more powerful models, the XTR, a track-only car with a 700 bhp version of the V12, and the LP640 with 640 bhp. Although the XTR is not street legal, the LP640 met the standards and is expected to be introduced in March 2007.
The LP640 version was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2006, as a facelift for the coupé version. It features a 6.5 L engine, now producing 640 bhp, improving performance substantially. Like the base Murciélago, the engine is mounted "backwards", with the transmission at the very back of the car. There were also a few minor external changes, primarily to the low air intakes. The LP640 has a set price tag of US$350,000.
The front and rear bumpers have been reshaped to channel air more efficiently, and the new exhaust has been shaped into the rear diffuser to minimize aerodynamic lift. The air intake on the left side has been enlarged to accommodate the feeding of the oil cooler. The car's body is made up of steel and carbon fiber, while underneath a revised suspension has been added to keep up with the car's exceptional performance. It also has an all-wheel-drive system that normally distributes 70% of the torque to the rear wheels, but can allocate up to 100% to either end depending on where the grip is running out. There are also new 18-inch Hermera alloy wheels running huge 335/30 tires at the rear. The LP640 retains the original car's scissor-opening doors.
Inside the LP640, the seating has been reshaped to accommodate greater headroom, while an upgraded instrument panel is flanked by an improved stereo system.
The LP640's optional equipment includes ceramic brakes for swifter braking and a glass engine cover which shows off the LP640's 6.5 L V12 engine.
A special edition version of the Murciélago LP640 was introduced at the Paris Motor Show. The Versace edition features a customized all-white exterior and a matching white interior.[1]
Lamborghini announced the LP640 Roadster version at the 2006 LA Auto Show.[2]
LP stands for Longitudinale Posteriore, referring to the longitudinally-mounted, 6.5 L V12 engine, capable of producing up to 640 bhp at 8000 rpm. Along with a new six-speed manual transmission, which can come in Lamborghini's optional paddle shift "E-gear" package, the LP640 can go from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.4 seconds: 0.4 seconds quicker than the normal Murciélago. The LP640 is accommodated by an electronic launch-control device called "Thrust".
The Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT is a race-only version of the Murciélago, developed jointly with Reiter Engineering and Audi Sport. It has rear-wheel drive unlike the standard Murciélago to comply with the FIA, ACO, and JAF rules. The car features an airflow-restricted 5998 cc engine. Its acceleration and top speed are highly dependent on the gearing selected for a particular race track.
In March 2006 at the Super GT Suzuka 300 km, the Murcielago R-GT specifically built for Super GT (and rebadged RG-1) recorded the first win ever for a Murcielago when the number 88 AKTIO Murcielago R-GT run by the Japan Lamborghini Owners Club garnered an in class win in the GT300 class.
In December 2006, Reiter Engineering tested an upgraded Murcielago R-GT LM, featuring redesigned body work and a new rear wing with less drag.
* The Lamborghini supercar is named after Murciélago, a legendary fighting bull from Spain. Mr. Lamborghini loved Spanish bullfighting, thus the raging bull logo on Lamborghini automobiles (he was also a Taurus, and the bull logo was used to represent his birthsign). The name Murciélago also means bat in Spanish, and is therefore pronounced in Spanish style. [3]
* Drivers of the convertible model are advised to stay below 160 km/h (100 mph) when the roof is in place. Future models will be getting a carbon fiber roof that is expected to allow them to exceed that limit. The optional Interior Carbon Package offer in the newer models include interior car components made from carbon fiber. These components include covers for the driver side display, dashboard covers (both for the left and right hand side), covers for the air conditioning and radio, handles on the sides of the central tunnel, gear lever, frames around the armrest and the ashtray.
* The engineers at Lamborghini included carbon-ceramic brakes in the design of the Murciélago. These carbon-ceramic discs differentiate the Murciélago from other models. Advantages of these discs include improved handling, agility, efficiency and shorter braking distances with reduced pedal effort. Therefore braking efficiency remains constant at both low and high temperature, with no fading, even hard use. This leads to longer lifetime use of the car and a state of the art system.
* On Top Gear's test track, when piloted by British Touring Car Championship driver James Kay, the Murciélago was unable to pull away from a Mitsubishi Evo VIII FQ-400, being driven by Jeremy Clarkson. In the hands of The Stig, the Murciélago was 1.8 seconds faster around the track than the Mitsubishi.
* Simulations of the Lamborghini Gallardo and Murciélago are both featured in Bizarre Creations' Project Gotham Racing 3, Rockstar Games' Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, and EA Games' Need for Speed Most Wanted. The Lamborgini Murciélago can be virtually driven in Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 and Need for Speed Carbon. The Lamborghini Murciélago, the Roadster version, The Lamborghini Gallardo/Spyder, the Lamborghini Diablo and many more Lamborghini vehicles is set to be driven in Gran Turismo HD.
* Vanessa Bryant is the only person in the world to own an automatic Murciélago. The car was given to her as a gift by her husband, but upon realizing she could not drive a manual transmission, Kobe Bryant had the car converted to an automatic. The estimated cost of the car after conversion and customization was US$400,000.
* At the MPH06 auto show, the London Metropolitan Police unveiled a police spec Murcielago LP640 at their stand, similar to the Lamborghini Gallardo used by the Italian police. However, it was only used as a publicity stunt, and will return to being a regular LP640 [4].
* In Test Drive Unlimited, the Murciélago Coupe is available for purchace, race, etc along with the Gallardo SE and Roadster.
* Bam Margera has a blue Murcielago along with a purple Gallardo.
