Lambo's new Aventador Roadster 13 | 11 | 2012
LAMBORGHINI HAS LIFTED the wraps from what it calls “the most exciting Lamborghini ever built”: the new Aventador LP700-4 Roadster.
Though Lamborghini has yet to confirm the Aventador Roadster's UK price — it's available at Lamborghini Edinburgh next summer — expect it to be almost £50,000 more than the coupe, which puts it at £290,000 including VAT.
Powered by a 690bhp V12, the Italian company's open-top hypercar uses a Targa-style two-piece carbonfibre roof, which weighs just 6kg.
According to the guys at Lamborghini, it can be removed by hand in “a few seconds” and stored in the front luggage compartment when not in use. Oh, and for the technically-minded, the carbonfibre roof is made using Lamborghini’s own Forged Composite tech, which creates a material stronger than titanium but less dense.
The Aventador Roadster uses the normally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 featuring cylinder deactivation technology, stop-start and a seven-speed automatic gearbox found in the coupe.
And it's not the car to drive if you've just had your hair done! With the roof off, it'll still hit a perm-ruining 217mph and sprint from zero to 0-62mph in just 3.0sec.
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Lamborghini also says the the roof is “easy to handle, lightweight and simple to attach”, as well as being easy to store in the front.
The italian designers have also paid specific attention to the car's aerodynamics. The airflow over the car, and the amount of noise from the engine that passengers can hear with the roof down, is controlled by a powered rear windscreen.
And with the roof off, a removable wind deflector sits on top of the front windscreen to “deliver almost complete calm” in the cabin.
From a safety perspective, the new roadster benefits from some design changes which set it apart from the coupe.
Lamborghini has redesigned the rear pillars to give the car greater strength when the roof is removed. In addition they also provide rollover protection and supply extra ventilation to the engine.
And to further distinguish the Aventador Roadster from the coupe, the bodywork gets a two-tone finish. Gloss black is used for the pillars, roof and rear window area. The roadster also gets new 20in front and 21in rear lightweight alloys, which reduce the kerb weight by 10kg, are another Roadster-only addition.
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Jim McGill