Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Fast action hero
|
It's as Italian as pasta, a lot more exotic than Gina Lollobrigida and commands respect higher than Don Corleone. The Lamborghini Murcielago is coming to India, says ASHISH MASIH
|
the 'Lago is every poster-loving schoolboy's dream — crouching tautly, with its scissor doors stabbing heavenwards, as if challenging the gods to a duel
From any which angle you choose to look at it, the Murcielago looks like a cracker just waiting to explode. When Lamborghini was designing the car, they never intended it to be subtle... and quite rightly, it isn't.
Twelve barrel shotgun
Its 6200cc, 48-valve V12 engine produces a shattering 580 bhp at 7,500 rpm. It offers 66.2 kgm of mountain-moving torque. With these figures under its belt, the company claims the Murcielago is capable of 0-100 kph in well under four seconds and top speed of about 300 kph. Power is transmitted to the wheels via a six-speed gearbox, which is light in action. Oh, and the total package will cost you about Rs 3.3 crore. Insane!
Start the engine and it sounds less like a V12 motor growling and more like a thermonuclear device going at full blast. This sensational soundtrack is even more pronounced with the top down (if you've bought the roadster) and adds to the pleasure of driving the car. All this power must travel to the road in a somewhat controlled fashion, and in order to keep all this Mafiosi machismo under strict control, Lamborghini gave the Murcielago a four-wheel drive system, traction control and a limited slip differential. Even then, it takes a skilled hand to keep all the horses under rein, and if it helps, the brakes are hugely powerful, allowing you to brake deep into corners.
Flash value
Ever since Lamborghini became part of Audi in 1998, its cars have again gone back up the sales charts. Also for the first time, the styling of a Lamborghini is not the work of homegrown talent, but of a Belgian who also designed the Audi A2. And he's certainly lived up to the task. In the roadster, a bit of structural rigidity is lost due to the absence of a proper roof. However Lamborghini engineers have put in cross strut braces over the mid-mounted engine that more than correct this problem.
SPEED DEMON Even when parked, the Murcielago Roadster is a lot faster than the meanest machine in India today!
Another great feature of the car - you won't find this in any machine but the top-of-the-line Lambo - is the scissor doors. Typical of Lamborghini since the unforgettable Countach, this has been the picture etched into the mind's eye of every poster-loving schoolboy - a yellow Lamborghini parked with its doors pointing skywards, as if challenging the gods to a duel of supremacy.
The interiors are made of the highest quality leather and plastics quality is also good. But the Murcielago however, is not in the same league as the smaller and much cheaper Gallardo in this respect - a sign that Audi is learning the ropes well with each successive model.
A truly awe-inspiring supercar experience that does justice to the name, if you can pronounce it properly - the Mur-tee-a-lago is one of the all-time greatest cars that came out from the Italian company that started making tractors and suddenly dreamt up a way to build a better Ferrari. In India of course, it would make better sense to go in for the hard top version. Remember, the weather here isn't exactly Mediterranean, and the pollution is a bit worse. But then again, sense and Lamborghini have never gone hand in hand.
TECHNICAL DATA
LAMBORGHINI
MURCIELAGO
How much?
Rs 3.3 crore (estimated)
How big?
Length: 4,580 mm
Width: 2,240 mm
Height:1,132 mm
Wheelbase: 2,665 mm
Fuel tank capacity:100 litres
Engine
6192cc, 12 cyls in vee, petrol
Max power: 580 bhp @ 7500 rpm
Max torque: 66.2 kgm @ 5400 rpm
Transmission
6 speed, manual
Tyres
Front: 245/35 ZR18
Rear: 335/30 ZR18
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
