 |
| 2012 Lamborghini Murciélago |
2012 Murciélago replacement during winter testing near the Arctic Circle. (Lambo tradition dictates that this car is likely to get a new name, rather than carry on the Murciélago moniker.) While the details of the car’s actual look remain unknown, what are clear are the perfect mid-engine proportions, angular lines, and reduced detailing. As with Lamborghini’s current cars, this supercar should provide a welcome diversion from the cluttered, busy, and pseudo-retro lines of many competitors.
The same goes for much of the technology. Details are sketchy, but we expect the new supercar to utilize a number of structural components from the Gallardo and its corporate cousin, the Audi R8. There will hopefully still be a six-speed manual—there is nothing like an open-gate shifter on a Lamborghini—in addition to an automated manual, the latter possibly a dual-clutch unit. The Murciélago's V-12 engine is also going to fall by the wayside. Its roots go back to the early 1960s; compliance with future emissions standards would require such a Herculean effort so as not to be worth it. So this next top-of-the-line Lambo will in all likelihood be powered by a V-12 version of the V-10 currently offered in the Gallardo, and more power than the current car’s 632 hp is almost a certainty. And while the new car still will remain seriously hard-core, some will take comfort in the fact that stability control will finally become available.
Murciélago accounts for perhaps 10 percent of the brand's total sales. But the big, bad 12-cylinder supercar is—and will be—where one finds the true soul of the brand. Some things never change.
No comments:
Post a Comment