- New Lamborghini Jota was spotted during testing.
- The Jota is expected to replace the Murcielago.
- Lamborghini will officially unveil the new supercar at the Paris auto show this fall.
SANT'AGATA BOLOGNESE, Italy — The new Lamborghini hypercar, expected to be named the 2012 Jota, has recently been caught in action on the road. AutoExpress spied the vehicle in a nearly camouflage-free state that is likely to be very similar to what the production car will look like.
Lambo's Jota is the Murcielago replacement and was designed in-house at the Italian automaker's headquarters. It's the first production model to be made under design and brand director Manfred Fitzgerald.
As the flagship vehicle in the company's stable, the Jota is set to possibly be the fastest production car ever made by Lamborghini. That is, in part, thanks to the new carbon-fiber chassis that brings weight down from 3,670 to just about 3,300 pounds. Combine that with a new 7.0-liter V12 engine that makes 700 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, and you have a beast that can sprint to 60 mph in less than 3.0 seconds and top out upward of 220 mph.
We also know that power will be routed through a seven-speed paddle-shift automated manual gearbox to all four wheels. Even though a lot of weight would be saved with a simpler rear-wheel-drive layout, Lamborghini has confirmed that the Jota will indeed be all-wheel drive. Fuel economy is improved to about 23 mpg with the addition of an active fuel management system that shuts down some of the car's cylinders when they are not needed.
The interior will still include standard Lamborghini features like scissors doors, a mixture of leather, Alcantara and carbon fiber and a head-up display. Plans are for the Jota to cost around $380,000 and to debut at October's 2010 Paris Auto Show.
Inside Line says: Lamborghini improves on all — power, fuel economy and looks — with its next-generation hypercar. — Mike Lysaght, Correspondent
