Words alone cannot express how much I love Lamborghini. As long ago as I can remember I thought the Countach was the coolest car on earth, and I remember that wonderful day my dad bought me a huge poster which I plastered lovingly on my bedroom wall and looked at starry-eyed for years after. Imagine my boyish excitement at actually being able to look at the fabled car close up when I saw a big red one in my local library's car park, sitting there amongst the bland Sierras and Escorts nonchalantly going "what?" when it knew full well what.

Then in 1990 came the classic Diablo - it was love at first sight. There was just something special about this car. The Countach was cool, but this was my first crush; I could not get enough of this sleek, smooth, beautiful machine. I filled a scrap book with photographs and snippets from all the car magazines I could get my hands on, and fantasised constantly about owning and driving one. Sure, McClaren built a ridiculously good supercar, we all know Ferrari make cool and stylish cars, Porsche are famous for their quality, and I certainly wouldn't pass up an opportunity to own one, but Lamborghini... Lamborghini was something else entirely. The Diablo was the love of my life, the only car which could excite me more than the most beautiful girls (even Kristin Kreuk!). I was ten years old then, I am twenty two now. This means I have spent over half of my life with a burning desire to have one. The Diablo was my childhood sweetheart.

With this in mind, it seemed as if nothing could take that special place in my heart occupied by the most beautiful of cars, that shining red bastion of grace and power. Imagine my surprise, then, when lastnight I saw on TV a programme which showed clips of a promo video from Lamborghini for their new car, the Murciélago. "It just won't be the same," I told myself, and indeed it didn't initially seem to have that same squat, mean look which the Diablo captured so perfectly. Yet somehow, in their infinite genius and style, I came to realise that they may actually have done it after all - produced a worthy successor to the Diablo. Remember how the Countach looked? Then remember how much sleeker and smoother the Diablo was? Well they managed to apply the same amount of sleeking and smoothing to create the Murciélago. Looking more understated than the Diablo, as if somehow so assured of its meanness it no longer has to advertise the fact, the more I saw this car zooming about all over the place the more I began to feel the same fluttering of butterflies in my stomach that accompanied my first sighting of the Diablo so long ago. It didn't take long to grow on me; the instant the programme finished I raced to my computer and downloaded the video plus a load of photos.

It has only been a matter of mere hours since I saw that programme but already I feel a certain guilt and sadness as the Diablo is slowly squeezed out to make way for the new love of my life. The more I watch that video and drool over the pictures, the more I fall in love with it. Surely this has to be the most beautiful machine ever created. I think the defining moment for me came when I first watched the video and saw the rear air vents slowly arise, controlled electronically from within the car. It was then I realised that I have to own one of these. A black Lamborghini Murciélago, all mine.

Well, enough about my crush on this car, and perhaps a bit more in the way of technical information. Slobber...

Specifications

  • Chassis: Tubular frame made from high-strength steel alloy with carbon fibre structural bits
  • Body: Steel and carbon fibre
  • Wheelbase: 2665 mm / 105 in
  • Length: 4580 mm / 180 in
  • Width: 2045 mm / 80.5 in
  • Height: 1135mm / 44.6 in
  • Weight: 1650 kg / 3637.6 lb
  • Distribution (front/rear): 42/58%

Cool Stuff

The Murciélago boasts the usual safety features; twin airbags, ABS and traction control, and interestingly features full-time all-wheel drive. Inside the cockpit you'll find a trip computer, electric windows and locks, an in-dash CD changer and, of course, leather upholstery. The car also sports twin xenon headlights, 18-inch five-spoke aluminium wheels and the obligatory Laborghini trademark - those marvelous doors-which-open-upwards.

Power! Grrr.

Powering this sleek supercar is a traditionally mid-mounted 6.2 litre 48 valve V12, which is capable of hurling the car from 0-100 kph (about 62 mph in english) in 3.6 seconds and producing a top speed of over 200 mph. Max power is 580 bhp at 7500 rpm and max torque is 650 Nm at 5400 rpm. The engine itself is cooled by two water radiators and an oil cooler, with Lamborghini's variable geometry air inlet system. All this is controlled by a six-gear drivetrain.

All in all, a very desirable car, especially if you nurse a raging hard-on for Lamborghini like me. You can download the promo video (in quicktime format only though, boo!) and find some fairly detailed info and pictures of all the lamborghinis at http://www.lambocars.com. The official Lamborghini website is, wait for it, http://www.lamborghini.com. Gasp!

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