September 12, 2007 Lamborghini yesterday unveiled the Lamborghini Reventon at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Only 20 cars will be produced and they come with a very exclusive price tag - EUR1 million (US$1.38 million) plus taxes. Although it is based on the Murciélago LP640, the exterior design of the Reventón is completely new and combines extraordinary styling with its limited edition status and price tag to make the supercar a symbol of extreme exclusivity.
Just like the base model, the exterior is made of CFC, a composite carbon fiber material, which is as stable as it is light. The exterior components are glued and fixed to the body comprised of CFC and steel.
The front is characterized by the acute angle of the central ‘arrow’ and by the powerful forward-facing air intakes. Although they do not supply air directly to the turbine like an airplane an abundant volume of air is necessary to cool the carbon brake disks and the six cylinder callipers.
Lamborghini prides itself on being the extraordinary manufacturer of extreme super sports cars without compromise, but according to Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.:“The Reventón is the most extreme of all, a true automotive superlative. Our designers at the Lamborghini Style Centre took the technical base of the Murciélago LP640 and compressed and intensified its DNA, its genetic code”.
The Lamborghini Reventón has been entirely designed in Sant’Agata Bolognese, the original birthplace of the Lamborghini. The design drawn up in Lamborghini’s Centro Stile (Style Centre) is fine-tuned in close collaboration with the Lamborghini Research and Development Department. Thus the Reventón is not only designed to be exclusive, but also strives for an elevated dynamism whilst being entirely suitable for every day use.
The name Reventón has been chosen according to Lamborghini tradition. Reventón was a fighting bull, owned by the Don Rodriguez family. It is included in the list of the most famous bulls ever and is known for killing the famed bullfighter Felix Guzman in 1943.
The present day Lamborghini models are distinguished by the clear language of their shape. The coherent proportions of the Murciélago and Gallardo highlight their power and dynamism. Sharp edges, precise lines and clean surfaces: these are ingredients of a style reduced to the essential. Each element is created exactly according to its function; ornaments and decorations are totally foreign to a Lamborghini.
With the Reventón the Centro Stile designers have coherently developed this philosophy, inspired by another sphere where speed and dynamism reign absolute: modern aeronautics, responsible for the fastest and most agile airplanes in the world. This has created an extremely precise, technically striking style with interrupted lines and contorted surfaces.
Both doors on the Reventón open upwards – since the legendary Countach this has also been a symbol of the V12 Lamborghini product line. With their asymmetric configuration, the large air intakes below the doors provide an example of the extreme coherence with which a Lamborghini fullfils its function: on the driver's side it is large to increase the flow of oil to the radiator.
On the passenger’s side of the vehicle, the air intake is flat because in this case, it only has to ensure the flow below the floor. The aerodynamically optimized flat floor structure terminates at the rear with a diffuser featuring an accentuated shape. This provides excellent road grip and stability even at 340 kmh.
In spite of the extreme shape, the Reventón not only retains all the strong features of the Murciélago LP640, but also offers further amelioration in terms of aerodynamics, the important engine cooling system, the air intake system and brakes. The airflow and the section of the variable geometry air intakes of the engine and the rear spoiler (also adjustable) have been modified.
The engine hood made of glass laminate with open ventilation slits offers a glimpse of the beating heart of the twelve cylinders of the super car. The glass also features the marked arrow angle that characterizes the design from the front to the rear spoiler. The Lamborghini designers’ love for detail is beautifully illustrated by the fuel tank lid: a small mechanical work of art, achieved by milling a solid aluminum block.
The combination lights feature light-emitting diodes alongside Bi-Xenon headlights at the front. Seven LEDs ensure continuous daylight while there are a further nine diodes for the indicator and hazard lights. Another technical innovation is found in the rear light LEDs. Because of the high temperature in the rear low part of the car, special heatproof LEDs are used for the indicator and hazard lights, stoplights and rear lights with a triple arrow optical effect.
For the 20 examples of the Reventón, the designers from Sant’Agata Bolognese have created a totally new color: a mid opaque green/grey without the usual shine but given depth via embedded metallic particles.
The wheel rims where also specially created for the Reventón. Opaque carbon fins are screwed onto the black aluminum spokes that not only creating a precise visual impact, but provide a turbine effect to ensure optimum cooling for the ceramic brake disks.
The cockpit is designed and created using Alcantara, carbon, aluminum and leather. The instruments comprise three TFT liquid crystal displays with innovative display modes. At the touch of a button, the driver can choose from two vehicle information display modes. The instruments are housed in a structure milled from a solid aluminium block, protected by a carbon fiber casing.
The G-Force-Meter is also completely new: this display shows the dynamic drive forces, longitudinal acceleration during acceleration and braking, as well as transversal acceleration around bends. These forces are represented by the movement of an indicator on a graduated 3D grid depending on the direction and intensity of the acceleration. A similar instrument can be found in the airplanes and Formula One teams use a similar device to analyze dynamic forces.
The instrument on the left of the speedometer associates the number of revolutions in the form of a luminous column with the display of the selected gear. Finally, every Reventón is equipped with a robotized e.gear controlled by two small levers under the steering wheel.
By simply pressing a button, the driver can switch to the second, quasi-analogical display, where the classic circular instruments, speedometer and engine speed indicator are configured in an equally innovative way and transformed into luminous pilot lamps with varying colors.
From the conception of the very first radical ideas, the entire Reventón has been developed in Sant’Agata Bolognese thanks to tight teams of creative experts. An extremely refined and efficient process was employed: CAD design and development, creation of the prototype in the Prototype Department, all carried out under the constant supervision of the Research and Development Department’s technicians and testers.
Inaugurated in 2004, the Centro Stile is located in a 2,900 square two-storey building. The large pavilion houses two test floors and related production and analysis equipment, while other rooms are set aside for advanced computerized workstations for designers and a style-model construction workshop. The Centro Stile is also closely linked to the nearby Engineering Department creating a direct line between the Lamborghini development departments.
It took less than a year to progress from the first ideas of the Lamborghini Reventón to the finished car. Centro Stile has given the company the ability to create its own style philosophy in-house without having to rely on any external collaboration.
The technology found in the Murciélago LP640 has not been modified. The engine in the LP640 is the classic twelve-cylinder engine with 6.5 litre displacement and Lamborghini guarantees an astounding 650 HP (478 kW) at 8,000 revolutions per minute (rpm). The huge torque, equal to maximum 660 Nm, ensures a powerful switch from any number of revolutions: even the slightest pressure on the accelerator is spontaneously transformed into thrust. The robotized e.gear changes gear faster than even the most expert driver. In addition, the permanent Viscous Traction four-wheel drive system ensures that every force is constantly translated into movement.
As in the original Murciélago LP640, the Reventón accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.4 seconds, with a maximum speed over 340 kmh.
The 20 units will be manufactured in Sant’Agata.
