The E-gear transmission is surprisingly docile at slow speeds, but becomes ever more urgent thefurther your right foot dips. At full throttle, upshifts are brutally deliberate and direct, each engagement hammering your back and sending a shockwave through your chest cavity, like piloting from the breach of a semi-automatic firearm. At full song, the Murcilago's mechanical snarl is more convincing than its little brother's comically raucous fanfare. It's the sound I reckon an ICBM reaching critical velocity might make.
Approaching triple digits, the hair-tousling breeze above the cockpit becomes a raging hurricane. With the V12 braying furiously, high-speed transit in the LP640 Roadster is not a tranquil event. But then neither is sitting in traffic, as the intakes behind your head constantly cycle to keep the high-strung powerplant cool. If needed, triangular scoops will actuate, pivoting upward to augment the breathing, depending on the engine's requirements.
Considering the impressive breadth and footprint--those are 335s wrapped around the rear wheels--grip is suitably tremendous. Permanent all-wheel drive splits power 30/70 front-to-rear by default. It will direct up to 100 percent drive to either axle in extreme situations. Beyond that, you're on your own--there are no electronic stability aids. Steering is precise and responsive, but with a wheelbase of 105 inches, the Murcilago is hardly a canyon carver; you're forever aware of its size, heft--and, of course, cost.
The Roadster has a folding soft top you must procure from the cramped front boot and assemble by hand. We couldn't figure the damn thing out, so we braved the 45-degree desert nightfall topless. You're not really supposed to use it anyway.
Parked in the middle of the road at the end of the day, the Lambo smolders in the sunset like the tip of a branding iron. We park it smack in the middle of the road for our parting beauty shots, and the road meanders, utterly devoid of traffic as far as the eye can see. Tonight, the car owns this stretch of pavement.
2007 Lamborghini LP640 Roadster
Layout
Longitudinal mid-engine,all-wheel drive
Engine
6.5-liter V12, dohc,four valves per cylinder
Transmission
Six-speed E-gearsequential manual
Suspension
Four-wheel independent articulated quadrilateral system, hydraulic shocks and coaxial coil springs
Brakes
Four-wheel ventilated carbon-ceramic rotors, eight-piston front/four-piston rear calipers, ABS, electronic brakingmanagement
Performance
Peak Power: 640 bhp @ 8000 rpm
Peak Torque: 487 lb-ft @ 6000 rpm
0-62 mph: 3.4 sec.
Top Speed: 205 mph
THE PRICE TAG: $400,000