Lamborghini does the dance of the veils as it prepares for a Paris preview of the new Jota.
Like a temptress doing the dance of the veils or, if you prefer, a siren taking tips at the local “gentleman’s club,” Lamborghini is doing a sheet metal striptease as it builds excitement for the upcoming revelation of its Murcielago replacement at the Paris Motor Show, later this month.
Tentatively named the Lamborghini Jota, the pictures seen here provide only a tiny, if tempting, glimpse at what’s to come, but we’ve nonetheless been keeping our ear open for insights into what’s coming as the Italian maker moves to replace its aging supercar.
You can expect to still see the raging bull hood ornament on this, the latest offering to roll out of the Lamborghini plant in Sant’Agata Bolognese. And don’t expect to see the Jota go soft and squishy. Lambo designers will retain true to form with the hard angles that have defined the brand since its founding, in 1963, by Ferruccio Lamborghini.
But where the maker – now a division of Volkswagen AG (or, more precisely, VW’s Audi subsidiary) – has long relied on brute force to get the steel moving, expect a much more modern machine this time around. Think a slightly smaller car, somewhere between the size of the current Lamborghini Murcielago and the compact Gallardo.
We’re even hearing rumor of a switch from the classic Lamborghini scissor doors. No, the Italian maker isn’t going to adopt a minivan’s sliding doors, but will more likely use a modified scissor assembly, ala Koenigsegg. Deep dual air scoops will be mounted immediately behind each door, if recent spy shots are to be trusted.
As part of its affiliation with Audi, Lambo engineers have reportedly been working closely with the Germans hoping to get a better understanding of next-generation spaceframe technologies.
So, anticipate the heavy use of carbon fiber, along with aluminum, which the marque began to experiment with, in recent years, on Murc spin-offs like the LP640 and Reventon. That could reduce weight to as little as 3,000 to 3,200 pounds, which would yield an incredible power-to-weight ratio using even the existing Murcielago V12, though a new, direct-injection V12 appears to be in the works.
Rumors in sports car circles suggest that even the base Jota may wind up breaking the 3-second barrier for a 0 to 60 run. We can’t even imagine what could be accomplished with a limited-edition version of the 12-banger, such as the maker achieved boring that engine out to 6.5 liters and bumping its numbers up to 640-horsepower – which yielded a 3.4 second 0 – 60.
Few expect Lambo to try to catch up to the Bugatti Veyron, which recently set a world speed record, but top speeds for the Jota in the 230 mph range have been circulating,
Expect to see another five teaser shots before Jota makes its Paris unveiling.