Curb Zone - View Single Post - Car and Driver - 2007 Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster

Merc1 · 06-11-2007, 06:13 AM

Options are a mere $52,710.

Nabbing a Lamborghini for testing involves trying to chisel into a press-car calendar thick with celebrity-studded red-carpet parties hosted by the likes of Donatella Versace. It isn’t easy getting on the schedule. Lamborghini’s silk-suited brand managers are hyping a fantasy lifestyle, and we in the grubby Fourth Estate have nothing to offer against a Donatella photo op except burned-up clutches and chunked tires.

So when our single day finally arrived to snap into the Fritos-shaped buckets of a 632-hp Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 roadster—a car with $52,710 in options—it was tempting to dismiss it as just a cartoon commentary on the excesses of the filthy famous. Tempting, that is, until we arrived at the test track.

Introduced last year as a face-lifted Murciélago, the LP640 smoked 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and went wild whooping through the quarter-mile in 11.8 seconds at 126 mph. It brought its 4100-pound girth to a halt from 70 mph in just 150 feet and pulled more than 1.00 g on the skidpad. Ferrari Enzos move only slightly quicker and sell for more than a million. The base $351,700 LP640 roadster has some engineering cred that true car people can appreciate, even if Donatella hasn't a clue.

As with the previous Murciélago, the LP640 roadster looks like an LP640 coupe that lost its roof panel to a passing tornado. Jagged edges and some unfinished lines are the result. The roadster's roof-toupee is a better description-is a flimsy canvas sheet with a few snap-in poles and fold-out ribs to hold its shape. Practiced hands take about five minutes to insert tabs A into slots B. A plaque warns against exceeding 100 mph with the roof on, something the roadster can accomplish in second gear. When not threatening to shear off, the roof stows-just barely-in the front cargo bin.

2007 Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster

The Highs: Zero to 60 in 3.5, that 150-mph wind in your hair, a fine way to meet your neighbors.

The Lows: Tinkertoy top, inordinate cost, extroverts only.

Full Article:

2007 Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster - Short Take Road Tests - Car and Driver July 2007

M

06-11-2007, 06:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
Merc1 Contributor Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Aurora IL USA Posts: 4,955 Thanks: 363 Thanked 672 Times in 346 Posts	Car and Driver - 2007 Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster Options are a mere $52,710. Nabbing a Lamborghini for testing involves trying to chisel into a press-car calendar thick with celebrity-studded red-carpet parties hosted by the likes of Donatella Versace. It isn’t easy getting on the schedule. Lamborghini’s silk-suited brand managers are hyping a fantasy lifestyle, and we in the grubby Fourth Estate have nothing to offer against a Donatella photo op except burned-up clutches and chunked tires. So when our single day finally arrived to snap into the Fritos-shaped buckets of a 632-hp Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 roadster—a car with $52,710 in options—it was tempting to dismiss it as just a cartoon commentary on the excesses of the filthy famous. Tempting, that is, until we arrived at the test track. Introduced last year as a face-lifted Murciélago, the LP640 smoked 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and went wild whooping through the quarter-mile in 11.8 seconds at 126 mph. It brought its 4100-pound girth to a halt from 70 mph in just 150 feet and pulled more than 1.00 g on the skidpad. Ferrari Enzos move only slightly quicker and sell for more than a million. The base $351,700 LP640 roadster has some engineering cred that true car people can appreciate, even if Donatella hasn't a clue. As with the previous Murciélago, the LP640 roadster looks like an LP640 coupe that lost its roof panel to a passing tornado. Jagged edges and some unfinished lines are the result. The roadster's roof-toupee is a better description-is a flimsy canvas sheet with a few snap-in poles and fold-out ribs to hold its shape. Practiced hands take about five minutes to insert tabs A into slots B. A plaque warns against exceeding 100 mph with the roof on, something the roadster can accomplish in second gear. When not threatening to shear off, the roof stows-just barely-in the front cargo bin. 2007 Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster The Highs: Zero to 60 in 3.5, that 150-mph wind in your hair, a fine way to meet your neighbors. The Lows: Tinkertoy top, inordinate cost, extroverts only. Full Article: 2007 Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster - Short Take Road Tests - Car and Driver July 2007 M