Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster

Motoring Channel Staff - 30/Nov/2006

Los Angeles, USA —  If you thought the new Lamborghini LP640 was a gob-smacking design, get a load of this! The Italian company that started life making agricultural tractors and machinery last century is presenting the new version of the Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster at the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show. 

In other words, this is the more expensive and more exclusive version of the ultimate Lambo - it's a top-down "look at me" convertible sports car.

As Lamborghini explains, the Murciélago LP640 Roadster benefits from the same extensive modifications to the bodywork and mechanics as the LP640 Coupé, as well as delivering its own distinct character.

Convertible Ferrari's are highly desirable, but this is off the scale. Automotive overkill, without doubt.

Aggressive Design

Lamborghini's designers who work from the Centro Stile studios have remained true to the original style principles of purism, so that as with the Coupé this new convertible model has now assumed a more aggressive appearance with a more angular front end. There is a new rear diffuser located under the brake lights, in which the exhaust system is integrated within a tailpipe. 

The rear lights are also new explains the Italian exotic car maker, which increases distinguishing features and makes the Murciélago Roadster as unmistakable at night as in daylight. 

Changes to the rear-view mirror make the Murciélago Roadster slightly more aerodynamic Lamborghini assures us, and other features including new windscreen wipers and the option of new Hermera alloy wheels will please long-time buyers of these very scary but beautiful vehicles.

Power Boosted Engine

Lamborghini revealed in Los Angeles that, as with the Coupé, the new 6.5-litre (6,496cc) 60° V12 engine that powers this stunning specimen develops an earth-shattering 471kW (640hp) @ 8000rpm. In layman's terms, that's big and scary amounts of power. Very scary.

At 6000rpm the 12-cylinder engine reaches the maximum torque of 660Nm, which combines with peak power to give the Murciélago Roadster a stunning 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.4 seconds, which is a good 0.4 seconds faster than its forerunner. And as Lamborghini proclaims, this mad bull meets all the current valid European and North American emission standards.

The Italian company says that the increased power leads to increased road performance, with top speed now 330km/h compared to 320 km/h.

Its engineers also focused their attention on optimising the torque band, says Lamborghini, so that the driveability of the engine thus benefits from the use of a continually variable timing system (intake and exhaust side) and engine management with Drive-by-Wire-System.

In order to meet the increased thermal requirements of the engine, the engineers built a larger oil cooler, and Lamborghini has revealed that, on the exterior, this is illustrated by a larger air inlet on the left wing of the vehicle. The liquid cooler remains unchanged with the Lamborghini VASC System (variable geometry air inlet system) and electronically controlled air scoops open according to the outside temperature and engine requirements. And it looks cool.

Gear Boxing

Lamborghini concedes that higher performance and torque mean increased demand on the drive components, and so it deployed a 6-speed transmission adapted to these requirements, plus a stronger rear differential and new half-axles in the Murciélago Roadster. Also, an e-gear transmission with a newly tuned thrust mode (or acceleration program, whatever that means) is also available as an option.

As is explained in our road test of the Murciélago Coupé, the new Murciélago Roadster LP640 also has permanent four-wheel drive, which is based on Lamborghini’s proven VT-system (Viscous Traction), which is self-regulating without theaid of electronic controls, sort of like the hardcore torsen diff seen in the Audi S4. In standard cases the drive force is distributed between the front and rear axles at a ratio of 30 to 70. An independent control loop adjusts the distribution of the drive force depending on dynamic oscillation, explains the Italian automaker, and other parameters such as weight distribution and the relative friction values in synchronisation with the Visco clutch. So, in extreme cases, up to 100 percent of the drive force can thus be applied to one axle.

Frame and Chassis

Being a roadster, there is no roof, and because the roof of a car usually helps make the chassis much stiffer, convertibles and cars like this Italian roadster need to be carefully engineered to avoid making them dull to drive. Although the Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster LP640 is principally based on the Murciélago Coupé, it has further distinguishing features beyond its distinctive appearance. Lamborghini says that newly designed frame structure parts made of steel and carbon fibre guarantee an unswerving torsion resistance even without a roof. That is, no twisting or 'scuttle shake' that these drop tops sometimes exhibit. 

Lamborghini claims that a special reinforcement structure in the engine area also makes a major contribution to this aspect. This optically distinctive reinforcement can also be delivered in carbon fibre on request, which looks awesome. Without impairing the extreme character of a typical roadster, a canvas roof can be fitted which, true to the design tradition of this type of vehicle, is principally conceived for temporary use (for example in a sudden shower of rain) and for speeds of up to 160km/h.

With its characteristic wing doors carried over from the Coupé, Lamborghini has revealed in Los Angeles that the bodywork of the Murciélago LP640 Roadster is still made from an extremely high quality combined structure of sheet steel and carbon honeycomb (achieved by bonding and riveting).

With these additions and reinforcements to the car's frame and engine bay, Lamborghini is confident the new car's road performance, handling and stability at high speeds are all of the highest quality, and further that they will benefit from the use of new springs and stabilisers as well as the revising of the electronically controlled silencers. The anti-dive and anti­squat properties of the axles which effectively prevent brake diving and squatting, remain unchanged and the springs (two for each rear wheel and one for each front wheel) and silencers are coaxially aligned.

New look alloy wheels are stunning to look at, and these new aluminium Hermera rims measure 8 ½-inches by 18-inches at the front and 13-inches by 18-inches at the rear. The vehicle is equipped with Pirelli P Zero Rosso tyres measuring 245/35 ZR18 at the front wheels and and 335/30 ZR18 at the rear wheels.

Brakes and Safety

Given that this car is capable of reaching 330km/h, and that it has no roof, safety is an important issue, and Lamborghini says that its new hydraulic dual circuit braking system with LP-brake servo (unit) ensures impressive delay values under even the hardest strain. Or in other words, it's got wicked brakes. The internally ventilated discs brakes measure 380mm x 34mm at the front and 355mm x 32mm at the rear, while the closed loop of the four-channel anti-lock braking system (ABS) is enhanced, with electronic braking management (DRP) and traction control (TCS).

Other safety systems that Lamborghini and parent company Audi have made available to Murciélago Roadster buyers include (optional) extremely high performance brakes made from carbon ceramics, and which measure 380mm x 36mm with massive six-piston-brake callipers, all of which reduces pressure on the brake pedal and shortens the car's braking distance according to the Italian automaker.

Passive safety systems include a pair of front-seat air bags (it's only a 2-seater vehicle) and Lamborghini assures us that this new model meets all existing world-wide standards in the event of head-on and side crashes, impact against poles, occupant safety in the case of accident, fuel supply integrity and fuel combustibility. 

Another safety feature for this roofless 4WD sports car are the automatically lowered roll bars. It is said that if the electronic control of this device detects a critical situation, the roll bars shoot out behind the seats within just a few milliseconds, so as to avoid inadvertently snapping the necks or crushing the skulls of its occupants.

Interior

The Raging Bull company from Italy says that the Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster LP640 has inherited the characteristic asymmetrical interior arrangement of its Coupé cousin, which means that the whole interior is tailored to the driver and arranged in such a way that a true driver-focused experience is offered and is illustrated in the use of perforated leather for the chair cushions, the dashboard tunnel console and the door lining on the driver’s side.

The instrument cluster has also been redesigned with different display graphics which includes a new Kenwood car radio with a 6.5-inch widescreen monitor and relevant readers for DVD, MP3 and WMA formats. The navigation system (standard equipment in Japan) is also available as an option, andlike its predecessor, the Murciélago LP640 Roadster can be customised through special equipment packages explains the Italian company. The ‘ad personam’ individualisation program offers even more scope to create a personal, unmistakeably individual sports car.

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- Lamborghini Murcielago LP640
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