Cars Scoopy: 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show: 2008 Lamborghini Reventon

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

2007 Frankfurt Motor Show: 2008 Lamborghini Reventon - 1,000,000 Euro to own

It's finally here, arrived in secrecy just like the airplane from which it takes its cues: the 2008 Lamborghini Reventon. It lurked between three women dressed in beige overalls and work boots. The beige tarp that covered it fell in a mess of sharp points and acute angles, as if someone had stuck a chunk of quartz underneath it. Before Stephan Winkelmann, CEO of Lamborghini, came out and spoke, there was a video presentation shown on the screen behind the car. It was probably the same video shown to the lucky few given advance notice of the car, a waterfall of quick cuts that gave tasty glimpses of the car at the center of the hubbub.

Thankfully, the first thing Stephan did before speaking was unveil the car. He spoke of the success of Lamborghini, how 2007 would be another record year, and that this car was a tribute to the continuing success of the raging bull. He let us know that it's a 6.5-liter V12 with 650 horsepower, that it has 4-wheel drive, that it is named after the bull that killed Felix Guzman in 1943, and that it costs one million euros before taxes. Then he introduced the team that was responsible for the car. And then he said goodbye. That was it. No mention of the dashboard. No mention of why they're only making 20 of them. No mention of... why? Sure, Lamborghini's doing well, and to celebrate you make 20 -- twenty?! -- of a car that is the most terrific piece of sculpture to breath God's oxygen in years.