Geneva preview: Topless Lamborghini Aventador
Lamborghini will unveil what it calls as its "most uncompromising open super sports car of its entire history" at the Geneva Motor Show in a few hours' time: the Lamborghini Aventador J.
"With the Lamborghini Aventador J, we have molded our brand DNA into its most definitive form to date. This automobile is as extreme and as uncompromising as only a Lamborghini can be," said Stephan Winkelmann, Automobili Lamborghini president and chief executive. "The new Lamborghini Aventador J is the most radical open supersports car of Lamborghini's history. Its name comes from our tradition and combines an unconventional design with technology innovation. Nowadays we are confronted with several regulations that we face in the spirit of challenge. The Aventador J is the proof that, despite the rules, Lamborghini will always make people dream, even in the future."
Based on the Aventador coupe, the Aventador J utilizes the same 700hp 6.5-liter V12 engine as its donor car. However, the absence of a roof, the large windshield, the air conditioning system and the navigation system coupled with the abundant use of carbon fiber throughout the car gives the Aventador J a curb weight of 1,575 kilograms. In place of the classic front windshield, the car has two small wind deflectors so occupants meets the wind in much the same way as a superbike rider. This means wearing the right clothing while driving or riding in the Aventador J is always a prerequisite.
The Aventador J also boasts of the first automotive application of a carbon-fiber fabric known as 'Carbonskin,' which is made of woven carbon fibers that have been soaked with a very special epoxy resin that stabilizes the fiber structure and keeps the material soft. In the Aventador J, the complete cockpit and parts of the seats are clad in this material, and shimmer in matte carbon-fiber black.
With a height of just 1,110mm, the Aventador J's highest points are its rear view mirror, which is perched on an arm like a periscope, and the two safety bars behind the seats.
At the end of the Geneva Motor Show, however, only one individual will have the satisfaction of owning the lone Aventador J ever as Lamborghini will not be making another unit--not even for the Lamborghini Museum.
"The buyer can look forward to a truly unique, street-legal work of art," Lamborghini said in a statement. "He will possess the most extreme expression of Lamborghini DNA in existence and a real masterpiece of high technology. But the many other fans of the super sports cars from Sant' Agata Bolognese can rest assured--the Aventador success story has only just begun."
