* Lamborghini launched Aventador at Geneva Motor Show * Aims to sell more than 4,099 of these cars * Says has booking orders for more than 12 months * Oil price spike not affecting its sales-CEO By Lisa Jucca Wards.com MILAN, March 3 (Reuters) - Italian car maker Lamborghini is targeting sales above those of its best-selling Murcielago for its new supercar model Aventador, which it launched at the Geneva Motor Show this week, Lamborghini's boss told Reuters. The Aventador, named after a fighting bull according to Lamborghini tradition, is already sold out for the first year of production and the car maker is hopeful it can sell more than the 4,099 Murcielago it has sold by now. "We already sold more than 12 months of production," equivalent to around 700 units, Lamborghini Chief Executive Stephan Winkelmann said in an interview shortly after the launch of the 700-horse-power car. "It's a very expensive car and we have to balance the production and the cycle so that we do not have a drop after the first couple of years," he added. "We would be happy to sell over the life cycle a bit more than the Murcielago." Lamborghini, a unit of Volkswagen's Audi brand, stopped producing its $400,000 Murcielago in May 2010. Rival Ferrari also unveiled the FF, a new sportscar model, at the Geneva Motor Show, and had already sold all the units it wanted to sell, the Fiat Spa unit's chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said without giving numbers. OIL PRICE NOT A PROBLEM Winkelmann said Lamborghini was being affected, in line with other car makers, by rising commodities prices on the purchasing side. But oil spikes did not appear to be a problem for its wealthy clientele. "It's not affecting the purchasing of our cars," Winkelmann said. "We are not producing everyday cars. It's a dream becoming true and our owners have more than one car in their garage." Founded in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini, the company has been hit hard by the global economic crisis. It sold 2,430 cars in 2008, its record year. Lamborghini's boss said the luxury car market was bouncing back from the lows hit after the global credit crisis of 2008-2009, especially in Asia and in the South Pacific area. "(In Asia-Pacific) we are selling like we have never done before. The market is reacting very positively to all that is new," Winkelmann said. "Europe and North America are still not back at the level of late 2007 and early 2008. It will take some time."
It looks like a Murcielago and Gallardo.... I was hoping for something more creative. But 700hp is fun no matter what it looks like
I'm a hard core Lamborghini guy and I find this car pretty exciting, - New in house 7 speed single clutch transmission, shifts faster and lighter than a dual clutch. - First all new engine since Countach, 700hp! - Carbon Fibre tub, state of the art technology - The interior is up to date with the new cars The looks are starting to grow on me, but these cars need to be seen in person, expecially the colors as cameras can not cature who brilliant they are!
