Lamborghini's Newest Supercar Is Insane—And So Is Its Name

The newest Lambo supercar is the Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce Roadster. Luckily, that name tells us everything we need to know.
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Mathew Scott for WIRED

Perhaps the only thing Lamborghini likes more than building bedroom poster supercars is building special editions of those bedroom poster supercars.

They come out from time to time, and Lambo unveiled the latest at the Quail motor show, one of the many swanky events that surround the annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elégance. It's got a name only Lamborghini could come up with: the Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce Roadster. That's more than a mouthful, but it tells you everything you need to know, so let's break it down.

The Aventador is the company's flagship, starting just south of $400,000. LP stands for longitudinal posteriore, referring to the longitudinally mounted engine, which means it is mounted so the crankshaft is oriented front-to-back. It's standard for Lambo's supercars.

It's in the back half of the name that things get interesting.

The number 750-4 signifies how much power the car creates and how it hits the pavement. Those 750 ponies gallop out of an enormous 6.5-liter V12, propelling the 3,472-pound beast (down 110 pounds from the standard Aventador Roadster) to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds. Top speed is 217 mph. The "4" indicates the car has all wheel drive, a setup roughly similar to that of the Audi Quattro system.

Lamborghini reserves the Superveloce moniker for its fastest, purest sports cars. This limited run of 500 vehicles marks the first time a series-produced convertible has been so designated. It's the brand's way of telling everyone this is a very, very special car. Superveloce, which roughly translates to "super fast" or "high speed", Lamborghini has applied it to a number of its supercars, including special versions of the Murciélago, Diablo, and the Miura.

Then we come to roadster, perhaps the best word on that list. The car has a custom two-piece carbon fiber hardtop that can be stowed in the cargo compartment, giving the driver and a passenger access to 93 million miles of blue sky. Perfezione.

Lambo boss Stephan Winkelmann says the car "represents our commitment to satisfying our passionate clients with immensely emotional driving dynamics combined with an extraordinary open air experience." In other words, his team has built a stupefyingly fast convertible that it hopes will beat the pants off anything that other Italian supercar company might build.

All we know is that, even with a starting price of $530,075, the Italians shouldn't have trouble selling all 500 Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce Roadsters. And a few more bedroom posters, too.