One of only three copies of the Lamborghini Veneno made its debut in Geneva Monday night.
Like a well-toned athlete, Automobili Lamborghini is aging gracefully, and to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Italian maker will roll out the 222 mph Veneno.
That’s not the number that’s likely to take your breath away, however. Lambo plans to produce only three copies of the track-ready, road car – for 3 million Euros apiece, or roughly $4 million at the current exchange rate.
Launching from 0 to 60 in just 2.8 seconds, the Veneno is “the fastest, most powerful on-road Lamborghini we’ve ever built,” said the maker’s CEO Stephan Winkelmann, during a Geneva Motor Show preview.
In keeping with a half-century-old tradition, the name for the Lamborghini Veneno originates from a legendary fighting bull – in this case one claimed to be among the fastest in the history of the ring, who gained notoriety in 1914 when he gored to death one of the most famous matadors of his day, Jose Sanchez Rodriguez.
The Veneno on-track.
In four-wheeled form, the Lamborghini Veneno is powered by a 12-cylinder engine of 6.5 liters displacement, pumping 750 horsepower through a 7-speed racing gearbox to all four wheels.
The entire monocoque and the outer skin are produced entirely of lightweight carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, or CFRP, which is also used in the interior along with other mass-saving materials.
The arrow-shaped exterior design, while clearly boasting the traditionally edgy excess of a Lamborghini, was specifically designed for maximum performance on the track, meaning minimal drag and optimal downforce, Lambo designers explain. The oversized sills and wheels arches also are aimed at delivering as much cooling air as possible to the engine and brakes.
Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann checks out the new Veneno during its Geneva debut.
Even the wheels – 20 inches in front, 21 in the rear – were specifically tuned in the wind tunnel, with a carbon ring around the rim designed to work like a turbine to help ventilate the brakes, according to Lambo.
The Veneno made its first appearance during a media preview prior to the opening of this year’s Geneva Motor Show. It will be on the Lambo stand for viewing when the show opens to the public later in the week.
Lambo says all three of the hand-built Veneno models have already been sold. The maker won’t say who the buyers are, however.
No thank you. Wow, weird as it gets on styling.