Lamborghini Centenario LP770-4: Ferruccio’s Birthday Present

At Lamborghini, "subtle" is a four-letter word.


Ferruccio Lamborghini would be turning 100 years old this year, had he not passed on to that big garage in the sky back in 1993. The exotic Italian marque that bears his name could've commemorated the anniversary in some quiet, subtle way, with a press release or cocktail party or maybe a tractor precession. Except this is Lamborghini. Inside its halls, "subtle" is a four-letter word.

So instead, dearly departed Ferruccio—and the world—gets the-760 horsepower, 12-cylinder, mega-exclusive Lamborghini Centenario. It looks almost exactly the way we expected, based on the leaked patent renderings that surfaced last week. Which is to say, it's an orgy of sharp lines and creases jutting out in all kinds of pleasing ways, like the world's most impressive piece of origami. The bulging flanks and deep vents at the front end make for a surprisingly compact look, a nice visual bit of trickery. The rear, though, is the real stylistic knockout punch. Here, the Centenario looks almost bumper-less, with enormous, louver-like slats to help move air around behind the tail. It's wild enough to send the B-21 bomber's design team back to the drawing board.

Mechanically, the Centenario is based on the Avendator. That means a naturally-aspirated V-12 bolted to a carbon tub, plus carbon-ceramic brakes and magnetic dampers. Also a four-wheel steering setup, like that in the new Porsche 911 R and Ferrari F12 tdf, which helps this monster hypercar scramble through corners. Curb weight is just over 3,000 pounds, lending a power-to-weight ratio of 4.3 lbs. per pony. So it's quick in a straight line, too. Lamborghini claims the Centenario will rip from 0–62 mph in 2.8 seconds, and from 0-186 in 23.5, eventually running out of poke at 217 mph. Not quite Koenigsegg Regera-level figures, but we wouldn't complain about those numbers if we owned one.

Not that we ever will. You won't, either. Lamborghini is building just 40 Centenarios—20 coupes and 20 roadsters—and all were sold before the car even set a tire on the stand at the Geneva Motor Show. That's at a base price of €1.75 million—roughly $1.9 million, at current exchange rates.