Cool Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT
Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT rear
Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT side
The
Lamborghini Murciélago is a high performance
sports car produced by Italian automaker
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and designed by
Luc Donckerwolke. It was introduced in 2001 as the successor to the
Diablo. The Murciélago is a two-door, two-seat
coupé. To celebrate the company's 40 years in operation, 50 special edition Murciélagos were built during the autumn of 2003. An open-top version called the
Murciélago Roadster was introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The roadster features similar performance to the coupé with a more aggressive rear flank, as well as a considerably higher price tag.
The Murciélago sports a 6.2-litre version of the
Lamborghini V12 engine, a six-speed
manual or 6-speed
sequential automatic transmission, and
four-wheel drive. It also has a rear spoiler that can be raised to an angle of 70 degrees, side mirrors that fold in to improve aerodynamics, and side scoops that automatically open to the needed size to let in just the right amount of air needed to cool its engine. The 2008 car's estimated
fuel economy for the 6-speed manual is 8 miles per US gallon (29 L/100 km; 9.6 mpg
-imp) city and 13 miles per US gallon (18 L/100 km; 16 mpg
-imp) freeway, making it the least efficient 2008 car for city and highway driving, according to the
EPA.
The coupé's base price is
US $313,000, which is US $107,000 more than its smaller sibling, the
Lamborghini Gallardo.
In 2006, the Murciélago's engine was replaced by a stronger 6.5-liter engine and the car's name was changed to
Murciélago LP640. For the 2007 model year Lamborghini did the same with the roadster model, which is now called
Murciélago LP640 Roadster. Both versions received a minor facelift.
The name
Murciélago (pronounced
moor-thee-EH-la-go in traditional Castilian Spanish and
moor-see-EH-la-goh in Spanish of Latin America) means "
bat" in
Spanish. A bull by this name survived 24 sword strokes in an 1879 fight at the arena of Córdoba, and fought with such passion and spirit that the matador chose to spare its life, a rare honor. In another Lamborghini tie-in, the bull was later presented as a gift to Don Antonio Miura, who was a noted breeder and whose bull ranch the
Lamborghini Miura was named after, and went on to sire a line of famous fighting bulls.
