Lamborghini Reventón

Reventón at a glance

The Reventón is listed with the Murciélago family in the Lamborghini catalogue. Later limited Lamborghinis include the Lamborghini Veneno and the Lamborghini Centenario.

Name and concept

Like most Lamborghinis, the Reventón is named after a fighting bull. The bull Reventón became famous in 1943, when it killed the bullfighter Félix Guzmán. In Spanish the word can also mean a burst or a small explosion; in motoring language it is used for a blow-out of a tyre.

The idea was simple: take the proven mechanicals of the Murciélago LP 640 and wrap them in a new body for a very small number of customers. The result was presented at the Frankfurt motor show in 2007. Of the 20 coupés sold, ten went to the United States, seven to Europe, one to Canada and two to Asia. A 21st car, numbered 00/20, was kept by Lamborghini for its museum. Each coupé has its number stamped between the seats.

Design inspired by aircraft

Lamborghini's press release described the Reventón's styling as inspired by "the fastest airplanes". The body is completely new, made of carbon fibre and finished in a matt grey.

The aircraft theme continues inside the cabin. The instrument panel of the Reventón uses three TFT liquid-crystal displays with two display modes, set in a housing milled from solid aluminium and covered in carbon fibre. One of the displays is a "g-force meter" that shows the strength and direction of the acceleration forces acting on the car. The seats are trimmed in black leather and brown Alcantara.

Engine and performance

The engine is the 6,496 cc V12 of the Murciélago LP 640, tuned for the Reventón coupé to 478 kW (650 PS) at 8,000 rpm, slightly more than the 471 kW (640 PS) of the donor car. Torque is unchanged at 660 Nm at 6,000 rpm. Power goes to all four wheels through the six-speed e-gear automated manual, the same system as in the Murciélago.

With a kerb weight of 1,665 kg, the coupé is lighter than the LP 640, which Wikipedia lists at 1,746 kg. It reaches 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds and has a top speed of over 340 km/h.

The Murciélago LP 640 underneath

The donor car was the facelifted Murciélago, presented as the LP 640 at the Geneva motor show in 2006. Its V12 had been enlarged from 6.2 to 6.5 litres, the e-gear automated manual had received a stronger clutch and a launch control function, and the suspension had been revised. The Reventón takes over this package almost unchanged.

The drivetrain is Lamborghini's permanent four-wheel-drive system of that period. The rear differential is integrated with the engine, and a viscous coupling acting as the centre differential sends part of the torque to the front axle; in normal driving about 70% goes to the rear and 30% to the front. Suspension is by independent double wishbones, and the scissor doors also come from the Murciélago.

Reventón Roadster

The open Reventón Roadster was unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show in 2009. It uses the more powerful engine of the Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce, the track-oriented final version of the Murciélago presented in 2009, with 493 kW (670 PS) at 8,000 rpm. The reinforcements needed for the open body add 25 kg, according to Lamborghini, and the Roadster has deployable roll-over hoops behind the seats. Acceleration to 100 km/h is the same 3.4 seconds; the top speed is 330 km/h.

Fifteen Roadsters were built. The list price was €1,100,000 at launch in 2009, although high demand pushed the prices actually paid well above that figure.

Place in Lamborghini history

The Reventón showed a formula that Lamborghini used again later: a new body in a very small series on the mechanicals of a regular V12 model. Later examples of very limited Lamborghinis include the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento and the Veneno. For the background of the brand, read our history of Lamborghini.

Photo gallery