The Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadster launched this week at Miami’s Homestead Speedway this week with some sobering news – the supercar will be priced from US$795,000, plus taxes.
That’s a US$33,500 hike on the US$761,500-priced Lamborghini Aventador Coupe, which had its global launch in 2011.
Lamborghini is calling the flagship Aventador Roadster the most exclusive and exciting production model ever.
The daunting price tag confirms the Aventador’s exclusivity – as does the fact that, theoretically, only 2.5 Aventador Roadsters can be built each day.
That means Lamborghini’s total Aventador output (Coupe as well as Roadster) is just 4.5 cars per day.
The Aventador Coupe has already been a hugely successful model for Lamborghini, having sold 1247 units, with backorders stretching to 15 months.
Meanwhile, the Roadster has already sold out for 2013 – and it’s yet to launch in some markets.
Australia will have to wait until the 2nd quarter of 2013 before they can even see a car in the showroom.
Whilst there are several styling changes from the coupe to the roadster, not least of which is the removable roof, the drivetrain and mechanicals are almost identical – except for a cylinder deactivation and a unique stop/start system.
The Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadster gets the same mid-mounted 515kW/689Nm 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 petrol engine – good enough to propel the car from 0-100km/h in 3.0sec flat – roof on or off.
Other carry-over systems include the ISR seven-speed automated manual transmission and race-bred, push-rod suspension.
Apart from the overall design of the roadster, the pièce de résistance is the ingenious two-piece hardtop. Made from forged carbonfibre, each section weighs just 6 kilos and is easily installed or removed by one person in a matter of minutes.
The key styling tweaks over the Aventador coupe includes new Dione 20-inch and 21-inch forged alloy wheels that reduce the car’s weight by 10kg over the standard wheels.
More obvious are the two pairs of hexagonal windows (instead of the single window on the coupe), which in addition to their aesthetic value, both cool the engine and effectively drain off water.
There’s also an electrically-operated rear windshield that not only aids airflow in the cabin, but also allows the driver to vary the intensity of the V12’s roar inside the cockpit.
The rear pillar has been strengthened to accommodate the slightly reduced rigidity when the roof is removed, as well as an automatic ‘pop-up’ protection system for driver and passenger in the event of a roll over.
This reinforcement also means the Lamborghini Aventador Roadster adds 50kg to the coupe’s kerb weight going from 1575 to 1625 kilograms.
However, fuel consumption has been reduced from 17.2L/100km to 16L/100km on a combined cycle, while CO2 emissions have fallen from 398g/km to 370g/km.
While the interior layout is the same as that in the Aventador coupe, the roadster gets a new style of leather known as Sabbia Nefertem.
