Italian sportscar company Lamborghini is celebrating its 50th birthday this year.
How better to celebrate than to invite Lambo owners for a roadtrip through Italy?
Well, that’s exactly what they have done. About 350 Lamborghinis took part in the «Grande Giro» and visited major cities like Rome, Milan and Bologna. Obviously they took the scenic route. But then I suppose any route is decidedly scenic if it has a Lamborghini on it, never mind 350 of them.
It wasn’t just the latest models either, they had some 350 and 400 GT models, Miuras, Countach, Diablo… well just about every model Lamborghini ever made really. I imagine some petrol station owners along the route have closed up shop and gone on holiday after the Grande Giro passed by.
As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations Lamborghini also launched a special version of the Aventador. Only Italians could manage to make a special version of something that is already closer to a space ship than a car. It’s a bit like going to the best restaurant in the world and asking the Chef if you could order something a bit more tasty than what they usually serve.
Anyway. They will make only 100 of these cars and the name — deep breath — Lamborghini Aventador LP720-4 50° Anniversario. The name is certainly descriptive enough. It includes the name of the base car, the power the engine produces, a reference to the fact it’s 4-wheel drive and of course the 50 years anniversary. I would guess it was a pretty short meeting where the name was decided, considering it’s almost exactly the same as regular models with exception of the anniversary bit. Right, good job lads, let’s go for some pasta across the street.
The engine does have 20 horsepower extra, on paper. Not sure if they actually changed anything on the engine, in any case I wouldn’t expect to feel much difference over the 700 horsepower the base model already has. They fitted a few extra aerodynamic components as well, and there’s a unique paint scheme of course for both the interior and exterior.
To be honest, aside from the name this really is just another Aventador. But that’s like saying «it’s just another Tarantino movie» — it exists on a level of exclusivity where you cannot possibly get any more special no matter how hard you try. It’s already off the scale.
I love Lamborghinis, I really do. Historically they were something like Ferrari’s crazy cousin, but in more recent years they have become much more respected. Audi’s ownership has allowed them to build wild flash sportscars that still work if you want to drive them normally.
They’re not race cars for the road, but rather something which belongs on a 12 year old’s bedroom wall. Actually I’ve long suspected that the Lamborghini design department actually employs boys aged 10-12, that would really explain the styling. These cars are not meant to be taken too seriously. They just like to show off their looks and sound. And they really are loud by the way. I once drove behind a Gallardo on the Nurburgring and I simply couldn’t hear my own car. Absolutely fantastic.
Lamborghini, the small Italian company which started by making farm equipment and almost went bankrupt half a dozen times, has grown up. But they haven’t lost the boyishness. And I don’t think they ever will. We’ll probably be writing about them long after the last drop of oil has been squeezed out of the ground.
