“This is the last V12 Analogue Supercar, Lamborghini is going to make” These were the wordings of many of the car enthusiasts when the Murcielago SV was launched and then Lamborghini Launched the Aventador, though it still had a Naturally aspirated V12, it had been infected by electronics which made it the last car when someone wanted an analog supercar, but the Murcielago SV still wasn’t the rawest version of the Murcielago or the most driver-focused, sure it was the fastest of all but was it the most exciting of all? No, I wasn’t. Murcielago is a special car to me, just like the Veyron and Gallardo. The Veyron and the Gallardo sparked the car guy in me, they made me the person I am today, but the Murcielago is an equally special car reason being? 2001, the year in which the Murcielago was first rolled of the production line was the very same year I was born. The successor to the Diablo, it had a lot to live up to and it did quite successfully, Today, we are going to have a look at the first Murcielago that ever rolled of the line, the Murcielago LP 580, the car that gave Lamborghini a new identity.
Design:-
Carrying the pressure of living up to the name of the legendary Diablo, Lamborghini already had a lot of work to do. Then they rolled the Murcielago and it exceeded people’s expectation. It’s still in my opinion, one of the coolest and the wildest looking supercar ever made. If you got one in the black, it wasn’t any less of being called a Batmobile. The highest point on the car was about 1.2 metre and because of this low supercar stance, it looked menacing on the road, it looked like a hunter going on a hunt to look out for a prey. Starting from the wheels of the car, they looked beautiful, this might surprise you but the wheel design of the new Huracan EVO has been derived from this, cool enough? The Side mirrors are probably, the sleekest mirrors on a car at its time. Moving along the sleek lines came the side intake, which was huge enough to fit a football. Alongside came the 6.2-liter V12 badge, in case you forget the engine specifications of your car. Moving towards the top of the rear wheels, you would notice the fuel cap and behind it is the adaptive air intakes that get activated at higher speeds. Now the rear, what can I say, it’s so beautiful. The taillights became iconic with the Murcielago. The rear along with being beautiful is muscular. It’s so commendable how Lamborghini has integrated so many design elements in a single feature. The twin exhausts are enormous and they are the ones that deliver the V12 Music. When you open the engine hood, you can see the beautiful 6.2 liter V12 that’s quite a sight to look at. The design is timeless and there is nothing more I can say about it.
Engine & Performance:-
The 6.2 Litre V12 engine in the Murcielago produces 580 Raw Italian Horses and 650 Nm of torque. These numbers even today are huge and what to say about 19 years ago!!! These performance numbers in 2001 were Hypercar levels of performance. The best thing probably about the Murcielago is probably the fact that it was available with a 6-speed manual transmission. Later on, Along with that, it had the option of an automatic transmission as well. I would personally prefer the 6-speed manual but I feel happy to say that the e-gear transmission in the car with those flappy pedals is equally good too. If you have watched Ford VS Ferrari, you would remember the words of Carroll Shelby, he often said that 7,000 RPM is the mark where the real performance of the car kicks in and guess what the LP 580 has a redline of 7,500 Rpm. So it’s needless to say the driving experience at those RPMs is surreal. All the torque in the car is available at 5.400 RPM and since the engine is naturally aspirated, the power delivery is smooth, there is no lag or anything. The Murcielago does 0 to 60 Mph in just 3.3 seconds, that number is the name as the time it takes the Pagani Huayra to accelerate to 60 Mph and would go on to a top speed of 205 Mph!! Being an all-wheel-drive car, the Murcielago never struggles for traction. The Power distribution of the car stands at 70:30, 70 percent power is sent to the front wheels and 30 percent is sent to the rear wheels. The Only thing that you might have to care about when driving this car is the Brakes. The Brakes are steel discs, not carbon ceramic and the Brake fade they generate is out of proportion. You have to have a lot of courage to stop this car once it reaches higher speeds.
Interior:-
The Interior as I have mentioned before isn’t the chief focal point of Lamborghini while designing their cars. You sit low to the ground when driving this car. The scissor doors open wide, thus making ingress and egress easier. Visibility takes a back seat on this car because of the aggressive design of the car. The steering wheel on the car is set towards the right of the car, it’s not in the center, so the offset design of the steering wheel is one of the parts where you have to get used to it. The interior is pretty minimalistic, two AC vents in the middle, below that, is a plaque that spells Lamborghini. Below is the radio, which no one cares about because you have a V12 behind you back, then there is the beautiful open gated 6-speed manual gearbox in the middle, the most beautiful part in the whole interior. The hand Brake is located on the left side of the driver, seat belts are placed on the right shoulder of the driver. These are the quirky features in the car which when combined make the Murcielago special. The speedometer goes all the way up to 360 Kmph, there are only dials in the car, no big screens popping out. Overall, the interior of the Murcielago is a place that you can’t ignore without commending the efforts that have gone into the making of the car.
Conclusion:-
A legend is what I would like to call the Murcielago. It was the ultimate dream of a car enthusiast. It has the looks, the engine, the performance, the badge, and manual transmission, everything a car guy can desire for, the ultimate wet dream of a car guy. The Murcielago LP 580 is a car so special that I would take it any day over the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, yes the SVJ.
Thank you for giving it a read, hope you liked it. All the things that I have written came out of my heart, so do consider sharing it with your friends who are into cars and do consider subscribing to Motordrift, if you want to get more content like this in the future.
Ciao
