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Lamborghini's Centenario Roadster has arrived and it's already sold out

We love a good crazy Lamborghini design. While Pagani and, arguably, Koenigsegg have overtaken Lambo in the crazy department lately, Lamborghini still has its magic touch. For evidence, let us introduce you to the Centenario Roadster. It was unveiled this afternoon at Pebble Beach. Based on the Centenario coupe that was built in honor of Ferruccio Lamborghini's hundredth birthday (if he were still alive today), the roofless version is essentially the same supercar, but with the added luxury of unlimited headroom. Both Centenarios are based on the underpinnings of a Lamborghini Aventador and built around a carbon monocoque with a 759-horsepower, 6.5-liter V12 in the middle. Thanks to the naturally aspirated V12, the Centenario Roadster can sprint to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, which is only a tenth of a second slower than the coupe. Not bad. Only 20 Roadsters will be built, the same number as the coupe, and, according to Automotive News, they've all been sold. While the hardtop went for $2 million, the Centenario Roadster, in all of its roofless glory, will run roughly $2.3 million. To us, even though we can't afford it, the insane price tag somehow makes sense. Related Video: Featured Gallery Lamborghini Centenario Roadster Debut View 17 Photos Related Gallery Lamborghini Centenario Roadster News Source: Lamborghini, Automotive News-sub. req.Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Misc. Auto Shows Lamborghini Convertible Performance Supercars Pebble Beach lamborghini centenario

Lamborghini's next limited-edition experimental supercar coming soon

Lamborghini plans to release a very limited-edition supercar, which is at the time of writing still unnamed. As the company's R&D director Maurizio Reggiani said to CarAdvice in an interview, "Soon we will present to our most important customers a new version of what we call a one-off." By "one-off," Reggiani says the company means a short run of experimental cars created to showcase a new design direction and to introduce new technology, like the Lamborghini Centenario did. Call the resulting supercar a sellable concept car, if you will. In the Centenario, Lamborghini brought out rear-wheel steering. The new car would show the design direction of the Aventador's eventual replacement. What's more, Reggiani expects the upcoming car to be sold out by the time it is announced, just as the Reventon and its roadster version, the Veneno and the Sesto Elemento did. " We will announce it with our loyal customers that wait for this, we don't need to do more, we arrive at the motor show and the production is already sold out." CarAdvice deduces that the new car will be announced at the Geneva Motor Show next March, where Lamborghini will also show the new Urus – which will break cover in December. It will be a plug-in hybrid with a twin-turbo V8 engine. When Reggiani discussed the Urus with Autocar in December, he said that Lamborghini will keep turbocharging out of its supercars; the Urus needs the grunt that turbos provide, but the supercars will need the responsiveness of a naturally aspirated engine. Whether the "one-off" series car will still be naturally aspirated remains to be seen.Related Video:

The rationale behind Lamborghini's Urus

If you've been following developments in Sant'Agata Bolognese lately, you'll know that the world's most unabashed supercar producer is adding an SUV. Code-named "Urus," it will join the brand's existing two-model (Aventador/Huracan) lineup. It's a bold move for a company with a reputation built on iconic two-seaters including the Miura, Countach, and Diablo, and by its CEO's own admission the decision "will radically change Lamborghini." Why risk the company's exclusive, extroverted image on a vehicle associated with mundane tasks and parents who can't bear the thought of driving a minivan? Two reasons, says CEO Stephan Winkelmann. "The SUV Segment is still fast growing worldwide," he notes. Indeed, global demand for SUVs is up 88 percent since 2008, making utility vehicles the fastest-growing segment around the world, according to IHS Automotive. Utilities now comprise 19 percent of the global vehicle market. In addition, "sales can be equally distributed over our three major regions...the Americas (the US is Lambo's top market), EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), and Asia Pacific." Lamborghini expects Urus to double sales from its current 2,500 cars per year to nearly 5,000. Adding a third model line "supports more consistent volumes and competitiveness of the company and our dealers," he continues. Further, Winkelmann maintains that an SUV fits the DNA of Lamborghini. "Our brand has a history of many types of cars such as GTs, super sports cars, and with the LM002 from 1986 to 1992, even an SUV. We learned together with our designers and product people that the SUV represented this opportunity the best." Structural implications include an expansion of the diminutive company's roughly 1,200-employee workforce by 50 percent, or 500 new hires, and the construction of a new facility near its headquarters to build the Urus. Building the new Lamborghini in Bologna is key to differentiating Urus from the other Volkswagen Group premium SUVs (Bentley Bentayga; Porsche Cayenne; Audi Q7 and Q8; and Volkswagen Touareg) that will share the same platform, and Winkelmann put great effort into persuading VW the move made economic sense. "We worked many months building the business case for approval because we are convinced the SUV will be a success and the best place to build it is in Sant'Agata Bolognese," Winkelmann stresses. "We are not simply adding another line in an existing building. Rather, we are talking about greenfield construction.