|
The last Lamborghini Murciélago left the
production line on May 11, 2010 – headed to
a Swiss customer. With “Arancio Atlas”
paintwork, the LP 670-4 Superveloce proudly
bears the production number 4,099. |
|
|
|
|
|
The "end of production" of the Murciélago
has been celebrated in the factory today
(November 5, 2010) with a special exhibition
of V12 cars from Lamborghini’s history,
followed by a parade in Sant’Agata
Bolognese. |
|
|
|
|
The last Lamborghini Murciélago left the production line
on May 11, 2010 – headed to a Swiss customer. With
“Arancio Atlas” paintwork, the LP 670-4 Superveloce
proudly bears the production number 4,099. This makes
the Murciélago not only by far the most-produced
Lamborghini twelve-cylinder of all time, but also one of
the world’s most successful super sports cars.
The "end of production" of the Murciélago has been
celebrated in the factory yesterday (November 5, 2010)
with a special exhibition of V12 cars from Lamborghini’s
history, followed by a parade in Sant’Agata Bolognese.
Sports cars like the 350 GT, the Miura, the Countach and
the Diablo escorted a Murciélago SV of the Lamborghini
Museum during a symbolic “last ride” out of the gate of
the Lamborghini factory.
“For almost a decade, the Murciélago was the icon of the
Lamborghini brand, and it was enormously successful in
the process,” says Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO
of Automobili Lamborghini. “The Murciélago embodies the
pure, unadulterated values of our brand. It is truly
extreme, uncompromising and unmistakably Italian. This
already makes it one of the legends of the sports car
world. But the Lamborghini story continues. In 2011, we
will take a huge step into the future with the successor
to the Murciélago – with the most innovative technology
and, once again, truly stunning design.”
The Murciélago was presented in 2001, opening a new
chapter for the Lamborghini brand under its then new
owners VW/Audi - with state-of-the-art technology and
outstanding product quality, but most especially, with a
new, timelessly modern design philosophy. To this day,
the purist form of the Murciélago still exudes enormous
sensuality. Broad and low, with a cockpit set well
forward and a long, taut back – the interplay of its
calm underlying form and razor sharp edges is unique, as
are its vertically opening “scissor” doors. Augmenting
the Murciélago is the Murciélago Roadster. Its roof is
nothing more than protection from the elements.
The design was accompanied from the very start by
performance, handling and high-speed stability. In its
first generation, it featured a V12 with 6.2 liters of
displacement and 580 hp, mounted longitudinally in front
of the rear axle. In the second generation, the
Murciélago LP 640, displacement rose to 6.5 liters and
output to 640 hp. This was subject to refinement as
Lamborghini continued to work on the ongoing development
of its models. This year, the arrival of the Murciélago
LP 670-4 Superveloce - with output increased to 670 hp,
weight reduced by a further 100 kilograms and an even
hotter design - marked the finale to the story of this
sports car. The performance figures for the Superveloce
are impressive – in only 3.2 seconds, the SV is
catapulted to 100 km/h. Not until 342 km/h do power and
drag call a halt to the proceedings.
With the construction of the Murciélago, Lamborghini
demonstrated its expertise in lightweight engineering
and in working with high-tech carbon-fiber composite
materials. From the very start, the structure of this
super sports car has been a mix of extremely stiff
carbon-fiber components attached to a steel frame – as
in a race car. Center tunnel and floorpan are made from
carbon-fiber, as are the majority of the exterior panels
and many interior components. Lamborghini has
significantly developed this lightweight philosophy for
the successor to the Murciélago.
4,099 units of the Lamborghini Murciélago were built
between 2001 and 2010 in Sant’Agata Bolognese – an
impressive number, and not only in comparison to its
predecessors the Miura, Countach and Diablo. Bearing the
special production number, the final one to be produced
is, of course, an LP 670-4 Superveloce, sporting a large
rear wing and “Arancio Atlas” paintwork. The final car
has been delivered to a customer in Switzerland.
|
|
|