FOUR INCHES IS WELL WITHIN THE NORMAL RANGE
Over a 16 year production run, Lamborghini built 2042 Countach supercars.
I will admit that the word "iconic" has been horribly overused since Superman Returns, but in terms of exotic sportscars and teenage lust, very little compares to Lamborghini's iconic Countach. The Countach is an icon in the same sense that the venerated images of the saints are, mounted on walls by true believers, and looked to for hope and inspiration.
This post, however, is not about the Countach. It's about that car's corporate grandson - the Murcielago.
The Murcielago brings to mind a particular saying that I heard in some cartoon or movie years ago. The source never stuck with me, but the message did, which is to say: everything valuable is rare, but not everything rare is valuable.
Which brings me to today's announcement from Lamborghini (via Autoblog).
Italian Super sportscar manufacturer Automobili Lamborghini proudly celebrates a historic event: an LP 670-4 SuperVeloce version of its current flagship V12 Murciélago, carrying series number 4,000, has just left Lamborghini's factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese, destined for a Chinese buyer.
That's right. There are 4000 (four-thousand) Lamborghini Murcielagos running around out there, and all of them were built in the last 9 years.
SO, I'd like to ask: how many is too many?
Would you call a Volkswagen Passat W8 a more exotic car than a Murcielago? There are more Murcis out there now than W8 Passats.
THERE WERE ONLY SIX MADE WITH TRANSPARENT ALUMINUM
I'm not sure how that line about everything valuable being rare plays out in the case of the Murcielago, but I can tell you this: 4000 seems like a lot of cars ... and there are even more Lamborghini Gallardos out there than there are Muricelagos.
In a few short months, the current batch of Lamborghinis will be more common than Fox-bodied Mustang Cobras, 4th-gen SS Camaros, and Buick GNXs. We are living in a world where late-model Lambos probably outnumber street-worthy US Lancias and Alfas by a wide margin, and yet ...
... I don't know, exactly, but that charging bull on the hood just doesn't seem so special anymore.
Congratulations, then, to Lamborghini, for making our icons a little more ordinary.
