While the automotive world is always in flux, a few things nevertheless remain the same. Lamborghini's status as the most stylistically advanced, extravagant, and unabashed carmaker on the planet, for instance. The retro Miura concept from a few years ago was an aberration, so make no mistake: Lambo is sticking to the hypermodern and aggressive styling language that was inspired by Marcello Gandini, reestablished by Luc Donckerwolke, and refined by Manfred Fitzgerald with some help from Audi's world-class design team.
Our spy photographers were able to obtain proof of this when they caught this heavily camouflaged prototype of the 2012 Murciélago replacement during winter testing near the Arctic Circle. (Lambo tradition dictates that this car is likely to get a new name, rather than carry on the Murciélago moniker.) While the details of the car’s actual look remain unknown, what are clear are the perfect mid-engine proportions, angular lines, and reduced detailing. As with Lamborghini’s current cars, this supercar should provide a welcome diversion from the cluttered, busy, and pseudo-retro lines of many competitors.
Compared to the Murciélago, the new model's windshield is pushed forward even further, there is a pronounced shoulder line, the side windows are more sharply tilted, and the side air intakes are moved up. The cant of the side windows reminds us of the Gandini-penned Diablo—as well as the Cizeta Moroder—although we’re happy that the new car’s proportions don’t ape those of the earlier Lambo. The overall look is similar to but more dramatic than that of the “entry-level” Gallardo. It also looks as if the Murciélago replacement will sit lower and be wider by several inches. Lighting will be xenon, with LED elements front and rear.
Inside, we expect Lamborghini engineers to reach into the corporate parts bin, although perhaps not as obviously as they did for the Gallardo, where you can instantly recognize a number of Audi and VW Phaeton pieces. But the days of completely unique interiors, as with the Murciélago, are over.
The same goes for much of the technology. Details are sketchy, but we expect the new supercar to utilize a number of structural components from the Gallardo and its corporate cousin, the Audi R8. There will hopefully still be a six-speed manual—there is nothing like an open-gate shifter on a Lamborghini—in addition to an automated manual, the latter possibly a dual-clutch unit. The Murciélago's V-12 engine is also going to fall by the wayside. Its roots go back to the early 1960s; compliance with future emissions standards would require such a Herculean effort so as not to be worth it. So this next top-of-the-line Lambo will in all likelihood be powered by a V-12 version of the V-10 currently offered in the Gallardo, and more power than the current car’s 632 hp is almost a certainty. And while the new car still will remain seriously hard-core, some will take comfort in the fact that stability control will finally become available.
At about twice the price and with far less livability than the Gallardo, the Murciélago accounts for perhaps 10 percent of the brand's total sales. But the big, bad 12-cylinder supercar is—and will be—where one finds the true soul of the brand. Some things never change.
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