Please welcome Lamborghini Jota, the 2012 Murcielago replacement!
It has been going around the internet for a while now, but finally something tangible has been seen of what very well could be the next super car from Sant’Agata.
On a snowy test track spy photographers have been able to take images of a test car that clearly shows some special lines that could be interpreted as belonging to a new Lamborghini to succeed the by now aging Murcielago flagship.
It has even been given a name : the Jota, derived from that amazing and legendary Miura from the early Seventies and revived for a short period of time on the Diablo SE30 limited edition as a power upgrade, the Jota could now become a model on it’s own.
Naturally no official details are available, it hasn’t even been confirmed what this test car represents, but from the images we can see it has the massively wide rear wheels as seen on the Murcielago, so it probably isn’t a Gallardo successor although it does use the exterior rear view mirrors from the V10 model at this time, but I’m sure these will be replaced by the time we see it being unveiled in Geneva or Paris in 2010.
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The Jota will be lighter and come with a direct-injection V12 engine with around 700 hp
Here are some of the very first spy shots of the Lamborghini Murcielago successor in full body form.
The supercar, allegedly to be renamed the Jota, was caught doing some winter testing in sub-zero temperatures on a VW/Audi test track somewhere in Scandinavia. Our spy photographer reports that the temperature was around -25C (-13F).
The Jota is expected to be about the same size as the Murcielago – as judged by our spy photographer. But it will come with some serious upgrading, including a new V12, direct-injection engine with around 700 hp. The successor to the Murcielago will also be lighter, substituting the current steel tube latticework for an aluminum space frame. Body paneling will be made of carbon fiber and the doors and roof possibly out of aluminum.
A new all-wheel drive system from Swedish supplier Haldex is also rumored.
Design-wise the Jota will be borrowing some styling cues from the Estoque and Reventon. But as is obvious from the photos here of an all-in-black test vehicle, the car remains the archetypal, lane-straddling Lamborghini.