Miura, Countach, Jalpa. Lamborghini has a habit of using names most people find hard to pronounce properly, but Murcilago takes the cake. For a start it is not even an Italian name. Murcilago is Spanish for bat, and being Spanish it is actually pronounced Moor-thee-ay-laago.
Lamborghini aficionados may well ask what happened to the bullfighting connection that the marque has traditionally embraced in its car names. At this point I revert to legend and explain that Murcilago was a famous fighting bull from the 18th century whose name passed into legend.
Also legendary is the explosive performance of Lamborghini cars. The Murcilago promises to take this to an all-time high. With 571 bhp from a new 6.2-liter V12, a six-speed gearbox, four-wheel drive and superior aerodynamics, the claimed performance eclipses even the mighty Diablo GT. Going from 0 to 60 mph takes just 3.7 sec., with top speed said to be over 206 mph.
Audi's Board of Management rejected early designs produced before they bought the company. Then they appointed 36-year-old Luc Donckerwolke, a Belgian designer raised in Peru, to the task of redesigning the car. A self-confessed fan of Lamborghini from youth, Luc is the first non-Italian to design a Lamborghini, but the result of his hard work is very clearly Lamborghini.
Head on, the Murcilago carries the distinctive chiseled bonnet shape of the Countach with its pantograph single wiper. From the rear three-quarters, the slats and engine intakes carry overtones of the 1970s Urraco, the first "small" Lamborghini. The rest of the car is all new, but the proportions still read Lamborghini, even if it has a less cab-forward look than the Diablo.
Donckerwolke also came up with the computer-controlled variable intake system, which draws copious volumes of cooling air in when the motor is running hot and helps the car maintain its simplicity of line when it is stationary. The one styling anomaly is the huge lower intakes behind the doors, which look like an afterthought. Otherwise, the car has a purity of line not seen on a Lamborghini since the first LP400 Countach, one of my all-time favorites.
The rear spoiler retracts when it is not needed, which will upset the Countach 5000S and Diablo SE brigade! But the corollary of this clean look is a respectable drag coefficient, varying between 0.33 and 0.36 depending on the position of the air intakes. The exterior wing mirrors are attached by long stalks, as they are required to provide adequate view aft when the intakes are open. They can be folded electrically.
The big black intakes on the front and rear of the car really dominate these two aspects. The front ones are a contemporary motif seen on the Porsche Turbo/GT2 and the Ferrari 360 Modena, but the complementary rear vents are a new statement-one that suits this car very well. Power creates heat, and heat needs ventilation. Big power, big heat, big vents! Capiche?
The distinctive scissors doors were first seen on the Countach, carried to the Diablo and now the Murcilago. They are another statement of the uncompromising nature of the car and swing up to reveal an interior that has been rationalized to look simpler and be more comfortable. The center console dominates less, the cabin architecture is softer and more organic, and build quality seems very good indeed. The instrument pack looks traditionally analog but is actually backlit by contemporary electronics.
Sitting in the car confirms Lamborghini's claim that the car is more comfortable. Driving it confirms the claim that interior noise levels are lower to make long journeys less tiring. Even so, when you are accelerating hard, the distinctive Lamborghini V12 soundtrack is still there behind your head. Gurgling, growling, roaring as it rises and falls in a symphony of mechanical delight, it is always a sound to be savored.
Under the skin, the traditional tubular steel and alloy framework is also still there, although it now also uses carbon-fiber structural parts with honeycomb floor panels. Carbon fiber also replaces the previous alloy body, bar the steel roof and door panels. For all that the curb weight is still a substantial 1,650kg (3,637 lb), only 30kg less than the Diablo 6.0 VT. But when you consider that this new four-wheel-drive supercar has many more sophisticated systems on board and superior secondary safety features, the figure is justified.
As before, the engine is mid-mounted with the gearbox in front of the engine and the rear differential integrated into the gearbox. The permanent four-wheel-drive system has a central viscous coupler. Weight distribution is a favorable 42/58 percent front/rear split. Important for handling is the fact the engine now sits 50mm (1.97 in.) lower in the chassis.
Suspension is traditional Lamborghini with double wishbones, coil springs and electronically controlled dampers with manual and automatic control. There is an anti-roll bar on each axle, and anti-dive, anti-squat geometry. The ABS brakes use massive 355x32mm vented discs all around with big alloy four-pot calipers.
The alloy wheels are an all-new design, but these 8.5J and 13Jx18 wheels with 245/35ZR18 and 335/30ZR18 tires are exactly the same dimensions as the mighty Diablo GT.
The heart of any supercar is its engine, and Lamborghini upholds the reputation for producing the most charismatic sounding V12 motor in the world. The new incarnation of the basic 60-degree V12 engine, which has served as the main power unit for Lamborghini since the 1960s, has been completely revised.
With a bore and stroke of 87.0 x 86.8mm, this dohc, four-valves-per-cylinder all-alloy motor now displaces 6192cc with a compression ratio of 10.7:1. It is now dry-sumped, which reduces its installed height by a significant 50mm. Intake and exhaust cams have electronically controlled variable valve timing, and the throttle control is drive-by-wire.
Power is a resounding 571 bhp at 7500 rpm with 479 lb-ft of torque at 5400 rpm. A new six-speed gearbox takes power to all four wheels, and for the first time ever in a supercar from Sant'Agata Bolognese there is a traction control system to (hopefully) save the driver who takes unrealistic liberties with the Murcilago's exceptionally high limits.
The air intake system has variable geometry for optimum ram air generation. This is controlled by the Lamborghini LIE engine control unit, which operates the three positions of intake geometry via two butterfly valves, one on the plenum chamber and one on the bypass valve.
Electronics feature in the Murcilago like never before in the history of Lamborghini. There are three master processors and one satellite control unit, all networked on a CAN-BUS system. The LDAS diagnostic system even has a "black box" recorder.