Few (if any) automakers have the reputation of Lamborghini. Since the early 1960s, Lamborghini has produced exotic vehicles that inspire drool and envy, including the Miura, the Countach (which helped popularize sharp-angled sports cars), and the Diablo. And yet, Lamborghini’s latest model still manages to outperform its manufacturer’s reputation.
With a sleek dark gray (or “matte gray” as it’s called) exterior, looking at the Lamborghini Reventon is like looking into the future. Everything about the vehicle screams great. That statement can be taken both figuratively and literally, as the Reventon includes a number of unique external features designed to prevent components from overheating at high speeds. Exhaust fans located below the rear LED brake lights draw hot air from the engine, and opaque fins attached to the aluminum wheels help cool the ceramic brake rotors. Aside from the roof and doors (which are constructed of steel), all of the body panels (and even the wheel flares) are made from a carbon fiber composite. The vehicle’s interior is no less impressive, with comfortable suede and gloss carbon fiber throughout. But that’s not the most impressive component of the interior, that would be the dash display. With three LCD screens, the driver can choose from several modes for the gauges, including a jet mode with a G-force meter.
If the jet connection seems appropriate, go further: the Reventon was intentionally designed with the feel of a jet in mind. Inspired by the stealthy F-22 Raptor, one of the world’s most effective fighter jets, Lamborghini’s brand and design director, Manfred Fitzgerald, had each of his designers create a vision for the Reventón based on the jet. Fitzgerald then chose the design he liked best and sent the team to work refining it. Still, for all the bells and whistles when it comes to design, in terms of performance the Reventón doesn’t really do much more than the Lamborghini Murciélago LP640. Like the Murciélago, the Reventón has a V-12 engine, is controlled through a six-speed manual transmission, and reaches a similar top speed of 211 mph. While the Reventón has a slight advantage over the Murciélago in horsepower (650 instead of 640), the Murciélago has a slightly faster recovery time (0 to 62 mph in 3.3 seconds compared to 3.4). seconds of the Blowout).
Certainly, though, no one will mistake the Reventón’s tag for the Murcielago’s $300,000 price tag. The limited-edition automotive artwork costs almost $1.4 million (or 1 million euros). And don’t flatter yourselves, millionaires, only 21 Reventons will be made and all of them have already been sold (with the exception of a car that will stowaway in the Lamborghini vault). So if it’s not to make money (vehicle production costs don’t leave much room for profit), what’s the point? More than anything, the Reventón is a reaffirmation of Lamborghini’s high-level position in the automotive industry. While it may not necessarily be practical to produce an insanely expensive car simply for its visual appeal in a world of economic troubles and debilitating gas prices, there is something to be said for the awe of excess. And nobody astonishes or exceeds like Lamborghini.