So you've attained the high life, and picking your exotic supercar is this week's dilemma. In your search, it's natural to first turn to the Italians, makers of such exotic items as Lamborghinis and Monica Bellucci. In order to better attract the latter, may we humbly suggest a selection from the former.
As a newly minted multimillionaire (with perhaps a fondness for superheroes), it may interest you that the 2007 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 is the closest thing you can get to actually being Bruce Wayne. Not only was a Murcielago Roadster the vehicle of choice for the millionaire-turned-crime fighter in "Batman Begins," but quite literally, Murcielago (pronounced Mer-see-ah-lah-go) is Spanish for "bat." If only all product placement were so subtly clever. In more practical terms, the premier Lambo is now more powerful and better in most respects for 2007.
The new addendum to its name, LP640, refers to its engine position en Italiano (longitudinale posteriore) and that it makes 640 horsepower. Well, actually it's 632, but Lamborghini at least came close, redesigning the Murcielago's V12 engine to crank out 52 additional horses. The result is a claimed 0-60-mph sprint in less than 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 211 mph. If you want something more extreme, you'll have to conduct a more obscure search for something like a Pagani Zonda F -- or better yet, trade in the yacht for a Bugatti Veyron 16.4.
Yet there's more to the LP640 than the engine. Lamborghini also updated just about everything else, specifically the clutch and shifter, which makes it less of a chore to drive smoothly. Interior appointments were also upgraded, while keen observers will spot the mild changes to the styling. Replacing the twin tailpipes that aimed up into the air like a pair of mortars is a new jumbo single pipe that resembles a torpedo tube -- or the rump of the Batmobile. Either way, it looks like fire should come out of it.
Two varietals of the 2007 Lamborghini Murcielago are available: the standard Coupe and convertible Roadster. The latter features a cloth roof panel that plops atop the cockpit like a toupee and takes several minutes and a degree in civil engineering to erect. It also tends to fly off at speeds in excess of 100 mph -- the owner's own hairpiece will follow shortly thereafter. Considering the Roadster commands nearly $34,000 more than the Coupe, that canvas roof is essentially the costliest toupee since Paramount shelled out a rumored 22 grand for Sean Connery's rug in "The Hunt for Red October." However, when the LP640 is "bald," nothing can match the drop-top experience of 632 stampeding Italian horses screaming into your ears through the optional glass engine cover. Besides, once you're paying more than $300,000 for a car, what's another $34,000?
The same philosophy will have to be applied to the options. Carbon ceramic brakes are $13,000, the "e-gear" automated-clutch manual transmission is $10,000 and that glass engine cover is $7,020. Want carbon fiber or titanium interior trim? That'll be $6,500. A nav system? $2,600. A variety of other customizing options skyrocket the price even further, making it possible to spend upwards of $60,000 on options alone. If that doesn't make you blink, it's a safe bet you really have attained the high life. Congratulations, and should you actually be Bruce Wayne, may we drive your other car? We promise not to touch any buttons.