Before the Lamborghini Sian, There Was the Reventon
Limited-edition car was first of brand’s ‘Few-Off’ lineup, and YouTuber ‘Schmee’ demonstrates what Sant’Agata crew can do in one machine.
When Audi acquired Lamborghini in 1999, the only model in the whole lineup was the Diablo. A few years later, the last of the all-Italian bulls was put out to pasture, making room for the first of the Italo-Teutonic supercars, the Murcielago. The car’s styling took a few pages from the military aircraft playbook, bringing the angular looks of the F-117A and B2 to the road.
But that car had nothing on the Reventon, the first of Lamborghini’s ‘Few-Off’ lineup. Introduced in 2007, the limited-edition model went full-stealth fighter in appearance. One such model, owned by Nick Brown, gets to exercise its 6.5-liter V12 on the streets of Los Angeles with none other than Tim Burton (a.k.a. Shmee150) behind the wheel.
“The Lamborghini Reventon, it is, of course, the name of a Spanish fighting bull, as of all the Lamborghinis pretty much are named,” said Burton. “They made 20 of these as coupes, and then 15 also as roadsters, which followed that. Based at the time upon the LP640, the Murcielago, the facelift version, and that means the 6.5-liter, naturally aspirated V12, making about 650 horsepower and almost [516 lb-ft] of torque.”
The 221-mph Lamborghini’s styling has since found its way into more accessible machines like the Aventador and Urus, as well as every car in the ‘Few-Off’ line, including the upcoming Sian. It also packed a ton of then-new technology onboard, from digital gauges to carbon fiber wheels, bits that have been since refined over the years.
“You’ve got this olive Alcantara,” Burton says of the Lamborghini’s interior styling, “a really kind of just-off dark green Alcantara with the black leather inside the car, fixed bucket seats– it’s a pretty awkward seating position when you’re actually inside the car, but very Lamborghini.”
Burton adds that the Reventon “really triggered what has become a bit of a trend” of hypercars and subsequent successes, including the debut of the Sian at the Frankfurt Motor Show in early September, a car which could foreshadow what the Aventador’s successor will resemble down the road.
Speaking of heading down the road, Burton takes his place behind the driver’s seat of Brown’s Lamborghini, making sure to pop the AC, as the cabin is sweltering in the California sun. He also gives us a good look at the high-tech (for the time) digital gauge cluster, looking more like it was born from a jet than Saab’s cars in the company’s final days. And of course, there’s the lovely sound of the V12 emanating from the rear.
“It feels like proper raw, old-school Lamborghini,” said Burton. “The steering wheel is offset to the right. The pedals are also to the right. It feels awkward. The shape of the car’s really funny… you feel like you’re almost falling forwards.”
Despite its rawness, the Lamborghini is quieter inside the cabin, thanks to double-pane glass all around, among other anti-NVH materials. It’s also more comfortable to drive than Lambos of the past. That’s what happens when the Germans take Italian styling, and give it a proper foundation.
“What’s interesting enough is you could have optioned this car with a manual gearbox,” said Brown, “but no one did. No ever opted it, because — obviously, at the time — the paddle shifter was the new technology [everyone] wanted. Can you imagine a Reventon with a manual gearbox? It would have been crazy.”
Near the end of their journey, Burton and Brown put up the Lamborghini’s doors while waiting to make a left turn, holding them in place with their hands. For Burton, it felt like he was driving a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, if it were powered by a rear-mounted V12. The silliness was short-lived, as they opted to bring the doors down before finally make the left turn.
“When this came out,” said Burton, “these things didn’t really exist. The height of crazy hypercar was the Bugatti Veyron, the Enzo, and the Carrera GT. And then, this. And isn’t it insane how now we’re looking at cars… to stand out now, you go to such extremes. [The Reventon] was extreme at the time, but nowadays, it’s actually relatively sanitized.”
It’s not every day one experiences a rare car like the Lamborghini Reventon. One can only wonder what the Sian will bring to the table, and what it will inspire in the next decade to come.
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