DUBAI // A car enthusiast in the UAE has bought one of only four Lamborghini Veneno special-edition supercars that are being built by the Italian manufacturer to mark its 50th anniversary.
One of the cars is being retained by Lamborghini and will be displayed at its museum near Modena. The other three have all been sold at an eye-watering $3.9 million (Dh14.4m) each – and Lamborghini distributor Al Jaziri Motors has confirmed that one has been bought by a customer in the UAE. The car costs almost ten times as much as the Aventador model it is based on.
However the UAE owner wishes to remain anonymous – which might be difficult once the stunningly styled, 355km/h Veneno hits the roads here.
The other two buyers live in America.
“Al Jaziri Motors are proud distributors of the Lamborghini brand in the UAE, and we welcome this extreme and uncompromising Veneno to the region,” said a spokeswoman. “We look forward to looking after this owner in true Lamborghini style.”
The Aventador, the model bought recently by Dubai Police, costs Dh1.5 million.
The Veneno was unveiled last month at the Geneva Motor Show. The metallic grey car on display was the test version that will be kept by the manufacturer. The production versions will each feature a different colour from the Italian flag – red, white or green.
A Lamborghini spokesman said at the show: “The trilogy of three unique vehicles will be produced in the course of the year 2013 and handed over to their future owners.”
The two-seater, which Lamborghini describes as a ‘road-going super sports car’, has a 6.5-litre V12 engine that produces 750bhp that enables it to rocket from zero to 100km/h in 2.8 seconds.
Its body is made from carbon-fibre, which helps it weigh in at 1,450kg – 125kg less than the Aventador. It has Lamborghini’s trademark scissor doors.
Sports car fan Shaima Al Sayed, one of the organisers of an annual parade of women drivers that travels through the emirates on National Day, said she was looking forward to seeing the Veneno on the UAE’s motorways.
“I saw pictures of the Veneno and it looks awesome, it’s an amazing car, really beautiful,” she said. “It’ll be awesome to have this car in the UAE.”
Not everyone is impressed by the Veneno’s dramatic looks, however. US car authority Edmunds, while conceding the car is a “true collector’s item from Lamborghini”, has placed it at number one in a list of the 100 ugliest cars of all time.
As with most Lamborghinis, the name comes from the world of bullfighting – Veneno was the name of a bull that gored a matador to death in 1914.
csimspon@thenational.ae