The photos that have emerged of the prototype show typical Murciélago styling cues with strong hints of the limited edition ‘F-22 jet fighter’ inspired Reventón. That model's sharper, angular styling can be particularly seen in the middle and rear end.

First shots of the Lamborghini Murciélago successor undergoing extreme cold weather testing have emerged in recent days, hinting at a new model that will be every bit a full-blooded supercar as its long-running predecessor. Very little detail has emerged about this new model, but it is expected to retain the core principles of its predecessor: a V12 engine, widespread use of carbon-fibre and aluminium as well as Lamborghini's trademark permanent four-wheel-drive system.

The photos that have emerged of the prototype show typical Murciélago styling cues in the reused panels with strong hints of the limited edition ‘F-22 jet fighter’ inspired Reventón showing through. That model's sharper, angular styling can be particularly seen in the middle and rear end. It would also appear to be a very similar size to the outgoing model.

The Murciélago, introduced in 2001, was the first model to emerge from the Sant’Agata Bolognese factory following the marque's takeover by Audi, and it replaced the ageing Diablo. The work of Belgian designer Luc Donkerwolke, the Murciélago was a two-door, two-seat supercar formed in the real ‘old school' mould, with a 580 PS 6.2-litre engine that was evolved from the Diablo. With scissor doors, four-wheel-drive, six-speed gearbox, a steel body mixed with carbon-fibre parts, it continued the Raging Bull tradition of producing muscular super cars.

An open-topped version with a removable canvas roof, dubbed as the Roadster, joined the Murciélago range in 2004, as well as a special ‘40th Anniversary’ edition the previous year to celebrate four decades since Ferruccio Lamborghini founded the eponymous Italian sports car maker. At the Geneva Motor Show in March 2006 big changes came to the Murciélago in the form of the LP640 which saw engine displacement upped to 6.5-litres and power rising to 640 PS. Later that year the Roadster was also brought up to LP640 specification while a limited-edition ‘Versace’ brand model was rolled out in time for a debut at the autumn Paris Motor Show. A limited-edition Roadster, dubbed the LP650-4 followed, and last spring at the Geneva Motor Show the most powerful and extreme version of the line arrived in the form of the LP670-4 SuperVeloce, lighter, reworked in many areas and now with its power hiked to 670 PS.