The new Lamborghini was styled by Audi designer Luc Donckerwolcke. Before this, the Belgium has Audi A2 and Skoda Fabia under his name. But that appears nothing to design master Marcello Gandini who styled simply all previous Lamborghini supercars. Personally, I think the new design is too conservative by the standard of Lambo. Perhaps too refined as well. However, those having seen the Zagato running prototype must agree with Dr. Piech's decision to have a last-minute restyle by another one. We'll never know whether Mr. Donckerwolcke's proposal is better than his competitor in Bertone, because we will never see the latter, but it could be disappointing to many hardcore enthusiasts that the new Lamborghini was not designed by an Italian. I know the last Diablo 6.0 was also penned by Donckerwolcke, but that was just an insignificant facelift. 
 
The highlight of the new design is purity. To certain extent it brings back the purity of the early Countach prototype - before cooling and aerodynamics requirements ruined the design. Audi-grade body panels and narrow assembly gaps is one to accounted for its purity, a pair of neat pop-up cooling ducts is another. These air intakes locate behind the rear quarter windows, or where the Countach had its NACA ducts. When the car is at rest, they recess smoothly into the body so that photographers will only see its most beautiful form. When the car is running at high speed, they don't pop up either, because air flow is strong enough to cool the engine. In this way, aerodynamic drag remains low. They only pop up and increase intake area by up to 80% when the car is running slowly, sticking in traffic or outside temperature is above 32°C. That means here in South-East Asia we are unlikely to see its purist form during the whole summer. But in case you like this playful function, you can press a button and show your guest - ah ! what a supercar ! 

Forget that silly thing. The focus of Lamborghini is still that thundering V12, now bigger than ever thanks to a stroke-out to 6192 c.c.. But 200 more c.c. alone is not enough for a new-age Lamborghini, so it also gets a new 3-stage variable geometry intake manifold and exhaust valve variable timing (in addition to the existing intake VVT). The variable intake was only ever used in the very secret Diablo Jota. Although press release did not mention, you can expect other technology carries over from the last Diablo 6.0, including magnesium cam cover and manifolds, titanium connecting rods, individual drive-by-wire throttles and 2-stage back-pressure exhaust system.  

Although the V12 now has more displacement than the mighty McLaren F1, its maximum output of 580hp lags behind the latter by almost 50 horses. In fact, 93.7 horsepower-per-litre is not very special for this kind of cars. Even compare with Diablo 6.0, it gains just 30 horsepower - you know, that is just a small percentage for a 500-plus-horsepower engine. When measure against the limited edition Diablo GT, its advantage is further narrowed to just 5hp. However, the new engine is far more torquey and tractable, which is not very surprising if you remember that we have talked about longer stroke and new variable intake manifold. At just 2000rpm it produces a full 400lbft. That increases to the peak 479 lbft at 5400rpm. Moreover, it complies with the strict EU4 emission regulations, so compare with the old McLaren seemed unfair. 

Now it seems that we have forgotten the body and chassis - what Lamborghini men always see as no more than an engine cover. Size-wise, it grows a bit in wheelbase (15mm) and height (25mm) to accommodate a larger cockpit, which was the most criticized item for decades. The whole body is 110 mm longer but just 5mm wider than the already exaggerate 2040mm. Place it on a scale, without any fuel, fluid and occupants, it reads 1650 kg, 25 more than before. Inspect the materials list - the chassis is still steel tubular space frame like 27 years ago; the whole body excluding roof and doors are carbon fiber, just like the last Diablo, but now some of them contribute to chassis strength as well, so the chassis is noticeably stiffer; as before, the roof is steel, but I wonder why now the doors are relegated from aluminium to steel. You know, Audi is not renowned for steel. 

Although kerb weight is up, the transmission is now 6-speed instead of the ancient 5-speed while the engine is more torquey, so Murcielago still accelerates considerably quicker than Diablo. According to Lamborghini’s figure, it needs 3.5 seconds to complete 0-60mph. According to my estimation (from past experience we should never believe the official figures from Sant’Agata), it is perhaps 3.9 seconds. As long as you compare it with production supercars, especially in this price range, you won’t be disappointed. Just don’t expect it to be a McLaren or F60-beater. Lamborghini lost that ambition long ago. Top speed, strangely, is now claimed to be just 205mph, quite conservative by Lamborghini norm. Considering the smooth body with air ducts lowered has a Cd of 0.33 (though not matching Diablo’s 0.31), it can easily reach that speed. Perhaps it will be the first-ever Lamborghini to exceed its claimed top speed ... funny. 

Now about the handling department. Basically the mechanical layout remains unchanged from Diablo 6.0. For example, the double-wishbones suspensions and the mandatory 4-wheel-drive system with viscous-coupling center differential are almost unaltered. The electronic adaptive damping and adjustable ride height for front wheels are still there. The ABS is improved, traction control is added, front tyres are marginally wider, and Pirelli specially designed P-Zero "Rosso" for this car. The Brembo brakes, with 355mm / 335mm discs front and rear and 4-pot calipers, are similar to the Diablo’s. The front to rear weight distribution is barely improved by 1% to 42:58. However, the biggest improvement is fine tuning all components to extract their real potential, and to make the controls easier to live with.  

Two things might contribute quite a lot improvement to handling: 1) the engine now sits 50mm lower in chassis to improve center of gravity. We always know the high-mounted V12 was one of the main reasons for the inferior handling of Countach and Diablo, so a lowered engine comes as a good news. Oddly, press release said it is due to the use of dry-sump lubrication, but in fact both its predecessors also employed that; 2) high speed stability is improved by the use of electric rear wing. up to 130km/h, that little wing is completely recessed in body. From there to 220km/h, it is raised by 50°. Above 220km/h, it is further raised to 70°. Not the most brilliant design, but it should generate a bit positive downforce at speed. 

Concerning production, Lamborghini plans to build 400 cars annually. There will be a Roadster version, but not a RWD version. Just as a prediction, I think in the second-half of its life more special editions will appear, what about a new SV, SE40 or GT ? 

Did I miss something ? oh yes, the name Murcielago is named after a brave bull which was spared by a famous matador in 1879. Of course, it’s a Spanish word (like Diablo). It pronounces like "more thea lago". 

Now let’s open the door to see how it perform ... 

On The Road 

Take notes: Autocar’s Stephen Sutcliffe said the Murcielago looks far more beautiful in metal (or carbon ?) than in photo. Next time you and I see it on road, we can verify that. 

However, we can’t help amazing how high quality the body panels are. No matter fitness and paint, it qualifies the highest standard set by Dr. Piech. Perhaps better, because carbon-fiber is hard to control. 

Swing up the spectacular scissors door, you see the best ever Lamborghini interior. While the design by Audi designer Ralph Kluge is not special, it feels expensive. The foolish carbon fiber dash of the previous Diablo 6.0 has gone (I am still wondering how much weight it saved), replaced with a simple, elegant and leather-clad one. Although it could feel a bit Germanic-cool rather than Ferrari’s Italian-classic, its switches and buttons are tailor-made and feel good to touch. Ferrari, in contrast, still employs some Fiat switches. Admittedly, the mirror controls and a few other switches come from Audi, but then again Audi is not Fiat. 

The driver still struggles to get inside, the seats are still mounted right on the floor, but ergonomics are much improved. Firstly, the driving position is more natural. Secondly, the pedals and steering wheel is less offset towards the center. Thirdly, there is more legroom, headroom (40mm) and shoulder room (25mm). The 6-footers previously rejected by the Diablo now sits happily in the Murcielago. Lastly but not least, the small and beautiful Momo steering wheel is fully adjustable.  

Press the start button, the 6.2-litre V12 idles smoothly. Sound and thrust are not specially strong below 3500rpm, but throttle response is obviously sharper. Up-shift the 6-speed transmission and you’ll find the first (of many) improvement in drivability - although not light by usual standard, it is more manageable than its two predecessors. The clutch is also lighter.  

Enter 4000rpm, the V12 comes into life, roaring and surging into its tremendous power band. You’ll feel that explosive power is another level from the Diablo, yet the noise remains truly Lamborghini - raw, mechanical and loud. Enter 6500rpm its full song becomes thundering loud, so breathless and so entertaining ! this goes on until the rev limiter is hit at 7800rpm.  

Now turn into a bend. The nose points precisely to where you steer. Steering feel is still on the heavy side, but more communicative and responsive. Apparently, the stiffened and fine-tuned chassis has tamed the wild bull with far better balance and agility. Push it for a few laps more, you’ll realize the new Lamborghini feels smaller and lighter than it is. The Diablo used to feel big and bulky in corners, had to apply that "slow-in, fast-out" technique; the Murcielago feels a proper sports car now. It changes direction crisply yet fluently. It grips harder and stops quicker. More importantly, it is far more forgiving to errors. If you enter a corner too quick and brake hard, its tail will remain planted. The old car ? you’ll end up in gravel facing the opposite direction. It is this kind of forgiving manner that raise confidence of pushing the car to its performance envelop, enjoying its deep-reserved potential more frequently.  

Nevertheless, the bull still fail to match the agility of real sports cars like Ferrari 360 Modena and Porsche 911GT3. These cars can be pushed even harder. They will powerslide without drama and still feel entertaining. In contrast, the big Lamborghini is still somewhat handicapped by its actual dimension and weight.  

The Murcielago really feels much faster than the Diablo, although we are still waiting for the first set of test data. However, it is undoubtedly far more user-friendly than the Diablo. Steering, clutch and gearchange are all lighter to operate. Ride quality is also superior. Build quality and cabin comfort are vastly improved. Now driving the big Lamborghini is no longer a painful experience. At the same time, its performance is more accessible, thanks to much better handling. We are pleased to see it improves in every area, satisfying the requirements of comfort as well as driving fun. We didn’t expect that, but new owner Audi really polished the Italian diamond, making it more desirable than ever. 

Of course, subjectively speaking, the Countach remains to be the greatest Lamborghini of all time. The Murcielago doesn’t innovate anything, it just releases the full potential of the forward-thinking Countach which set out those formulas some 27 years ago. 
 

Murcielago Roadster

Luc Donckerwolcke made no secret that it was not his desire to design the Roadster, because the sweeping, flowing shape of Murcielago does not adapt well to roofless. Anyway, he did a fine job to limit the damage to the minimum. By applying multiple triangular surfaces to the body behind cockpit, the Roadster still delivers a sense of exotic and edge-cutting. This design is undoubtedly much better than Diablo Roadster. The Murcielago Roadster has a cut-down windscreen, thus its overall height is 70 mm lower than the Coupe. Other dimensions remain intact. 

Because the big Lambo was not designed for roofless from the beginning, Lamborghini did quite a lot of modification to the chassis and body structure. To compensate the loss of roof, there are some chassis reinforcements, most notably is a steel (or optional carbon fiber) engine cage bolted over the V12. It strengthens the connection between firewall and the rear engine / suspension-mounting frame. Behind the occupants are a pair of pop-up rollover bar, adapted from Audi A4 Cabriolet. For better integration of rollover mechanism, the engine cover has been converted to rear-hinged, just like the classic Muria. 

Unlike conventional cabriolets, the Lambo Roadster is primarily a roofless car, with an emergency soft top to use in case of raining. The soft top consists of 4 parts, stored in the front luggage compartment. Installation is complicated and difficult, at odds to the otherwise user-friendly Murcielago. Moreover, there is a label on the soft top reminding you it could blow off at above 100 mph. So it is better to leave the top open. 

On the road, the lost of chassis stiffness is not obvious, especially compare with the lost of sound insulation. The monstrous V12 is louder than ever in the absence of a closed cockpit. As the numbers suggested, Murcielago Roadster is still a super-powerful, super-fast car. Its user-friendly handling - helped by 4-wheel-drive - remains unchanged.