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Lamborghini officially reveals new Veneno Roadster

Sexy or vulgar - whatever you thought of the Veneno which Lamborghini unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show this past March, it didn't much matter. Because by the time we saw it, all three examples were already bought and paid for... at the equivalent of $3.9 million each. But if you had that much cash burning a hole in your pocket and lamented missing out on the opportunity to put one in your driveway, we've got good news, because Lamborghini has just confirmed another nine examples to be built. Only this time, it's got no roof.
Now officially confirmed after leaking out the other day, the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster features the same radical styling, extreme competition-derived aerodynamics, carbon-intensive construction and twelve-cylinder powertrain as the coupe that proceeded it and which we enjoyed photographing for your viewing pleasure just last month. The principal difference, of course, is the open-air cockpit, which offers no protection from the elements whatsoever: no fabric umbrella contraption, no removable glass or metal panel, nothing to get between your dome and the air rushing by at 220 miles per hour. That's the same top speed as the coupe, while the 0-62 run takes just a fraction of a second longer at 2.9 seconds. But we doubt you'd notice the difference with that 6.5-liter V12 revving just behind your ears.
It's the same engine and seven-speed ISR gearbox that powers the Aventador, only tuned up to 750 horsepower for the Veneno. And it should have more power, because at 3.3 million euros (about $4.5 million, give or take a Gallardo), the Veneno Roadster isn't just $600,000 more expensive than the Veneno coupe, it's also more than ten times the price of an Aventador. Still with us? You can scope out all the details in the press release below and browse through the photos in the gallery above for a closer look.

'Cannonball Run' Lamborghini Countach LP 400 S turns 45

  Meet the car that turned its single film role into a million bedroom and dorm room posters: the 1979 Lamborghini Countach LP 400 S from the 1981 movie "The Cannonball Run." Back when Lamborghini was making around 50 cars per year and there were only about five regular TV channels, the only way for most people to see a Lamborghini was in a bookstore. And even if you were familiar with the car, you'd never seen one that looked or sounded like this, with 12 exhaust pipes and a rack full of carburetors. We recommend checking out the opening scene as an historical artifact if nothing else, a totem that not only hypnotized hordes of young boys into being car enthusiasts (this one included), but that inspired the cult of modern amateur Cannonballers continues to this day (a dying cult, thankfully): This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Lamborghini celebrated the 45th anniversary of the hero car by reuniting the actresses who drove it for the first time since they worked on the film: Adrienne Barbeau (seated) who played Marcie Thatcher, and Tara Buckman who played Jill Rivers. Barbeau said, "I had never realized how successful the movie was until when people started to ask me for my autograph," and that she still gets requests to sign Countach model cars. Buckman added, "It’s impossible for me, too, to remember how many times I signed a photo or a model car of the Countach!” According to the automaker, the Nero over Senape (black over mustard) coupe left the lines in Sant'Agata for a dealership in Rome, where it got put on a boat for a buyer in Florida. Cannonball director Hal Needham apparently knew the buyer, which is how the Countach ended up being borrowed for the film. To make sure that even those familiar with Lamborghinis at the time knew they were watching something meant to be special, the props department added the front wing and two more headlights, three CB-looking antennas, a dozen exhaust pipes, and in the cockpit, a mobile phone and a set of fake gauges in front of the passenger's seat (since removed).    The original buyer left the coupe in movie spec, minus the phone and fake gauges. Florida resident Jeff Ippoliti said he saw the car in 2007, and after 18 months of negotiations, bought it in 2009.

Runway Rumble: Nissan GT-R, Ducati 1098 and Lamborghini Reventon Roadster battle it out

One 2.5-mile runway, three different ways to take off: a Ducati 1098, a tuned Nissan GT-R with 580 horsepower and a launch control upgrade, and a Lamborghini Reventon Roadster. You'd naturally expect the Ducati to assert it's lightweight, high-horsepower authority in these matters, but with more than two miles to run, the ride that gets the jump at the line isn't always the one that gets the win.
That comes in especially handy for the Lamborghini, which suffers from a bad start in the first race and just looks plain ordinary in the second, until it finds redemption. You can see how it all goes down in the video below.