A Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 starts at around $350,000 and can quickly crest $400,000 with the addition of a few options and a dropable top, and the LP640-4 starts at $450,000. That's a lot of coin to be sure, but in the spirit of pulling together to ride out this whole "recession" thing, Lamborghini is looking to ease the blow of $7,000 per month financing with a new 0% offer for the 2009 and 2010 Murciélago coupe and roadster. The Italian supercar maker is offering 0% for up to 60 months for customers with credit scores over 740 and down payments somewhere north of 10% (the press release doesn't provide an exact number). That's a pretty big bargain considering a buyer picking up an LP640 for $400,000 with $80,000 down (20%) for $5,333.33 per month over 60 months, while the typical 5.9% interest rate would bring the monthly payment to $6171.63 with $50,297.67 in accumulated interest over the course of the loan.
Lamborghini is also offering 5.9% interest for up to 12 years for customers with 10% down and a credit score of 700. That makes for a monthly payment of about $3,500 per month on a $400,000 LP640, with $143,000 in interest over the course of the loan.
The Lamborghini Murcielago may be getting old, but the raging bull still has some fight left in it. Some figure it just needs a little encouragement. Like JB Design.
The German tuning house has released a comprehensive tuning package for the LP-640 that leaves no stone unturned. The engine can be upgraded to 714- or 750-horsepower specifications. The shift paddles have been replaced with an F1-style rocker lever. An extensive carbon fiber aerodynamic package includes front and rear spoilers, rear diffuser, front air intake side skirts, and front and rear hoods. The wheels have been swapped out for 20-inch Schmidt Revolution alloys with steamroller Michelin rubber. The interior has been refinished in custom leather, Alcantara and carbon fiber trim. The stock exhaust has been replaced by an adjustable system. And the body has been re-sprayed in a custom paint that costs 280,000 euros per liter ($414k).
The cost of the modifications runs half a million euros (about $740k), but JB Design is looking to offload this particular demonstration car for 355,000 euros ($525k). Such a deal.
The end of Murciélago is upon us. The steel-framed supercar from Sant'Agata has been on the market since 2001. Since then, Lamborghini has produced over 3,000 of them. But only 350 are LP670-4 SuperVeloce spec, and you can bet the other 2,650+ owners are jealous. However, while the SV's 670-horsepower engine remains the exclusive purview of the most extreme Lambo to date, one aftermarket firm has risen up to the challenge of giving existing "base" Murciélago owners the coveted look of the SuperVeloce.
You may remember Premier4509 for producing body kits for such exotics as the Lamborghini Gallardo, Bentley Continental GT and Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Japanese tuner fanboys and gamers may sooner recognize its parent company, VeilSide. But the Japanese outfit has now released a simple visual mod for the Murciélago to give it that SV look. Essentially all it is – for the time being at least – is a new bumper, blacked out on bottom and protruding like a cowcatcher. Coupled with a big rear wing and blacked-out quarter-panel intakes and mirrors, though, and it's a dead ringer SV.
Premier4509 says they've got an accompanying rear bumper in the works as well, and will only produce 300 examples of the body kit, so there's another couple thousand Murci owners still left out in the cold. And while it may not have the power advantage, even an "ordinary" Murciélago won't stick around long enough for anyone to notice.
There's a reason cable is kicking so much network butt these days. No, not Deadliest Catch. Well, okay, Deadliest Catch and shows like the National Geographic Channel's Ultimate Factories. What is Ultimate Factories you ask? It's a show where a camera crew runs around the world checking out some really cool factories, that's what. Think Budweiser, Ikea and the place where they build M1 tanks. However, the show spends most of its time (and rightly so) on cars.
For example, we chose the Lamborghini picture as the lead for this post because A) that's the (drool) LP670-4 SV B) the Lambo factory episode already aired last week. From all accounts, it was super fantastic good, especially if you're into raging bulls. Missed it? Do not fear, however, as reruns are currently (re)running. But even if you missed the Lamborghini episode, there are some upcoming shows that will certainly pique your interest.
This Thursday, October 8, is the Rolls-Royce factory where Nat Geo explores the Rolls-Royce Phantom, a car that takes 450 hours to build. On October 15 they visit the Oshawa plant where the new Chevrolet Camaro is built. Unlike the largely hand-built Phantom, it takes 734 robots (plus a human or two) just 18 hours to build a Camaro, with one coming off the line every minutes. Check this out: every Camaro produced so far has an owner.
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According to a new report in Auto Express, there are a lot of changes planned for the next Lamborghini Murcielago. Among them all, the one that claimed most of our attention was that the next boss bull will "be wider and longer." The length isn't such a big deal, but the current LP640 already approaches the opposite of narrow, and it's already superbly planted. If that part is true, we don't know what the extra width would do except to make the car... well, wider.
Design-wise, if the publication's rendering is to be believed, the Murci will get a lot of Gallardo and Reventón up front. A trim strip of LEDs (458 Italia, anyone?) would replace the current multi-lamp unit, in front and back. The front intakes look to be lifted straight from its littler sibling, and the rear screams "Estoque!" – in a good way.
AE suggests that the construction will be Audi spaceframe-esque, with a complete carbon fiber body (shedding the current steel roof and doors). With less weight and an expected jump to 700 horsepower, that ought to be enough to get the Murci to 60 mph in three ticks of the second-hand. AE posits that the car will retain its four-wheel-drive and will adopt stop-start and energy regeneration, the first in the family to do so. Expect to see it – and hear it roaring to life at valet stands everywhere– in 2012.
Sure, there are some cars on the road more bonkers than the Lamborghini Murcielago. But not many. After all, how do you best over 570 horsepower driving all four wheels? Well, how about nearly doubling the output and channeling it all through half the wheel count? That's exactly what Heffner Performance has done with its twin-turbo upgrade for the aging raging bull. By bolting on a set of turbochargers, the Sarasota, Florida-based tuning garage has boosted the corral up to 1,100 horsepower, all driving through the rear wheels.
As you can see from the photos in the high-res image gallery below and the pair of videos after the jump, the craftsmanship looks flawless. But it's the acceleration that really boggles the mind. With that much power channeled through two wheels, we don't want to ask about the standstill sprint to 60 mph, but Heffner's given us a hint at the twin-turbo Murci's in-gear acceleration times, which is really what it all comes down to. A stock Murcielago can jump from 60 miles per hour up to 130 in 9.5 seconds. Pretty impressive, but that's just for reference. The Heff? 5.1 seconds. In 90-degree heat. With "only" 950 horsepower dialed in. With all 1,100, Heffner figures she'll do it in less than four.
Sam Hubinette is one lucky guy. The Crazy Swede gets sideways in an 800-horsepower Dodge Viper for his day job and does occasional stunt driving in his off time. Last year Lamborghini hired him to drift the Gallardo LP560-4 in the streets of Los Angeles for a commercial, and they must have liked it so much that they hired him again to burn rubber in the brand, brand new Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce in Germany. The video is the first we have seen of the car outside the show floor of the Geneva Motor Show, and while shorter than the Gallardo vid, it does at least provide a soundtrack for the upgraded V12 that's now producing 670 horsepower.
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Lamborghini has just released the first batch of official images showing its latest limited run special, the Murciélago LP 650-4 Roadster, which follows the LP 670-4 SuperVeloce that debuted at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month. The LP 650-4 Roadster is definitely not for those who deny their follicle deficiencies by wearing a rug on their head. With a top speed of 205 mph, anything not firmly connected to your scalp will be lost to the winds. The crew in Sant'Agata Bolognese have pumped some extra shots of espresso into this bull – the 6.5-liter V12 now produces 650 hp and 487 lb-ft of torque through all four wheels. That's enough to leave 62 mph in your wake after just 3.4 seconds. Lamborghini is only planning to crank out 50 of these roadsters at an as yet undisclosed price, which means the high-res images in our gallery below are likely the closest you'll ever get to one.
Typical of Lamborghini special editions, the only thing that the Murcielago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce lacks is restraint. Its revised 6.5L V12 puts out 670 hp and 487 lb-ft of torque through its all-wheel-drive system, allowing the SV to rocket to 62 mph in 3.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 212 mph. The Murcie's been lightened by 220 pounds and features Reventon-inspired front and rear fascias, along with a hexagonal engine cover and an "Aeropack Wing" to provide an additional bit of down-force when shooting passed the double century.
The doors have yet to swing open at the Geneva Motor Show, but that small detail doesn't seem to be stemming the tide of embargo-smashing images and details of the eagerly anticipated new cars and trucks contained inside, including what may be the first picture of Lamborghini's latest piece of rolling artwork, the Murciélago LP 670-4 SV. Specifications for the new raging bull are still tough to come by, but a quick dissection of the car's name reveals a peak output of 670 horsepower and all-wheel drive. The SV (Super Velocé, or Super Fast for us non-Italian speaking types) part is aided along by a weight reduction of 100 kg (220 lbs) through the extensive use of carbon fiber and magnesium. If early reports are correct, we can expect the run to 60 to take just over 3 seconds and a top speed of 342 km/h (212 mph). Super Velocé indeed. Stay tuned for live shots just as soon as those doors to the Geneva PalExpo center are officially unlocked.
