Lamborghini Reventon Roadster

Lamborghini has chopped the top off its Reventon supercar and declared it the company's most extreme model yet.

It will certainly be extreme in price, because the Reventon Roadster - unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show - can be expected to cost even more than the $2m Reventon coupe released in 2008.

The Roadster will be extremely rare, too, with just 20 being built - just like the coupe.
It looks more stealth fighter than supercar, promises more power than a dictatorship, and is so exclusive that you're unlikely to ever see one on the road.

The Reventon's already angular body - which looks more stealth fighter than supercar with its huge air intakes and low-swept, ground hugging form - are carried over into the roadster.

But what makes the roadster look even better than the coupe is the glimpse of the alcantara-clad two-seat cabin revealed once the cloth roof folds away.

Inside, there's a similar cockpit to the year-old Reventon coupe. As with the original, the driver's instruments are set in an aluminium facia carved from a single block of aluminium.In case it all goes wrong, roll-over hoops shoot up from behind the driver's and passenger's heads in the blink of an eye.

Powering the roadster is the same 6.5-litre V12 as the coupe, producing 493kW of power and 660Nm of torque.

Packaged with all-wheel-drive grip and enough technology to shame a Formula One car before they were forced to strip out the driver's aids, it's enough to propel the roadster from 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds, with a top speed of 330km/h.

Lamborghini chief executive Stephan Winkelmann says the Reventon Roadster is "the most extreme car in the history of the brand".

"The new roadster adds an extra emotional component to our combined technological expertise - it unites superior performance with the sensual fascination of open-top driving," he says.

The first of the roadsters is expected to roll off the production line in October.

The Reventon Roadster continues Lamborghini's quest to unveil a new model at every major motor show.