These days just about every carmaker is doing some limited edition model, usually packed with just about the entire options list, but at a more exciting price, with or without a numbered plaque to show your friends you didn’t just get another car from the showroom floor, but a limited edition, something special, a numbered collector’s item, on many occasions we’re talking about a ‘fully loaded’ model at the end of the production life, just to sell some more ‘old’ models before the new one comes around, and lately we’ve been even seeing ‘first edition’ models, cars made at the start of the production cycle of a new model, most of the time also getting some bespoke options or other ‘telltale’ items so you can show off your new car as being the first one in your neighborhood to get hold of it.
Usually a few years down the line these ‘specials’ aren’t really worth a lot more than their regular production counterparts, but there are exceptions, such as a 2008 Lamborghini Reventón like the one that is currently being listed on BringATrailer, with less than 24 hours in the auction, the high bid is at $1,450,000, but that might go a lot higher before the hammer comes down, as the Reventón is one of Lamborghini’s first ‘few off’ models, and it set a trend that continues today with models like the Sián and the Countach LPI 800-4, but the Reventón was different in many ways from the Murciélago LP640 she was based upon.
You might consider the 2008 Lamborghini Reventón as the first of the few-off models Lamborghini made, sure there have been other ‘numbered’ models like the Diablo SE30, but at 150 units in the Nineties, that wasn’t really a few-off anymore, more of a limited production model, and yes, I know about the Diablo Momo Roadster, the Diablo SV Monterey Edition, or the Diablo Alpine edition … but none of those come with quite the same pedigree as a Reventón, which is a complete restyle of the Murciélago, with a slight increase in power over the LP640 model, the Reventón Coupe came with 650 hp, but more importantly, only 20 units of the Coupe were ever built, and rumor had it all 20 cars are actually already sold when the first prototype was shown in Frankfurt at the 2007 IAA, with an MSRP of about $1,500,000.
Each single Lamborghini Reventón came with an individual, serialized plaque between the two seats, xx/20, the car on these photos which is currently being offered by BringATrailer is 05/20, and the only one to have been delivered to Canada at the time, chassis ZHWBC77S58LA03237 has only traveled a little over 450 miles over the last 15 years and currently resides in California, USA, and some regard the Reventón as a preview of the Lamborghini Aventador that would be unveiled a few years later, but more importantly, and showcased by the official Lamborghini video on the Reventón was the fact they took inspiration from the F22 jet fighter for the design of this very special model, with very angular styling, and innovative graphics for the dashboard cluster, and a lot of LED for the exterior lighting.
On the Reventón Lamborghini went with satin paint, a special mixture just for this model called Grigio Reventón, a kind of matt fighter grey paint with a slight green hue to it, all 20 units were finished exactly the same, satin grey metallic over a black and green combination of leather and Alcantara for the interior, complete with sports seats that became an option on the 2010 Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 Superv Veloce, and while we got an e-Gear transmission in this model, the most impressive part of the interior must be the dashboard itself, complete with a G-force display and fighter jet inspired graphics right in front of the fortunate driver, Lamborghini really went on the military look for the Reventón, and just in case a Coupe isn’t really your style, in 2009 Lamborghini revealed the Reventón Roadster, which was a little more expensive, but also limited to just 15 units, making it one of the rarest modern Lamborghini to date.
The new instrument cluster for the Reventón was milled from a single piece of aluminum back in 2008 and was encased in carbon fiber showing a trio of LCD screens that could show two different layouts, something we are used to these days, but back in 2008 on a Lamborghini, that was groundbreaking, to say the least, but other than that the interior looked a lot like the one from the regular Murciélago LP640, but that didn’t keep people from buying the Reventón anyway, but if you look at the prices for this one of 20 Lamborghini, it hasn’t increased too much over the initial MSRP 15 years ago, which does seem odd, I think the market hasn’t caught up to this model yet, it’s too new right now, I’m sure when this car is 25 years or older, prices will have increased considerably.
I was fortunate enough to be present at the press conference in Frankfurt back in 2007 when the covers came off the Lamborghini Reventón, and I instantly loved the model, sure it’s just a re-bodied Murciélago with about five times the price tag, but it was, and still is, a limited edition factory original, only 20 were made, and I for one really like this angular, military-style design with the fighter jet looks, and yes, I guess over time all the groundbreaking bespoke items for the Reventón could become difficult to maintain or replace, as the LED in the headlight, or the triple arrow LED setup for the taillights, let alone the bespoke 18-inch wheels with their carbon fiber air fins to increase cooling for the carbon ceramic disk brakes.
And how about the fuel filler cap on these Lamborghini Reventón? Did you know that was milled from a solid piece of aluminum too, I’m sure those LED screens in the dashboard will get a pixel or two going out over time, but that’s all part of owing a very special car like this, and if you buy into this kind of supercars, you will have to expect things like that, it comes with the territory of owning a few-off Lamborghini, and I have stated it before, it was the Reventón in 2007 that started the trend for Lamborghini, which would bring us the Veneno (just 3 Coupe and 9 Roadster), the Centenario (100 Coupe and 100 Roadster), the Sián (63 Coupe and 19 Roadster) and the last one for now, the Countach LPI 800-4 at 112 units … but the Reventón officially was the first one, and that’s part of the reason I like it so much.
I wonder what the final high bid for this 2008 Lamborghini Reventón will be when the auction ends tomorrow, but I sure hope the new owner will enjoy driving it instead of parking it up again, a garage queen is nice, but a Raging Bull wants to be on the road, roaring down the pavement with that 6.5-Liter V12 behind the two occupants, bringing a smile on their face each time they take her out of the garage, but if you are putting down nearly $2 million on a car, I also understand you don’t want to run the risk of having someone crash into it on the streets … but it would be a pity to cage this beauty up.
