Ten years ago, Top Gear’s Richard Hammond headed to Abu Dhabi and tested the extreme Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4 SV for an episode that premiered on June 28, 2009 and is, to this day, maybe one of the most memorable tests in the history of the show.
Ordinarily, the British TV show would perform its latest supercar tests at the Dunsfold Aerodrome, but for the hardcore Murcielago, they went half way across the world to the Middle East and Hammond had the opportunity to test the Italian exotic on a number of closed roads in and around the wealthy city of Abu Dhabi.
I remember having this review saved on my iPod all those years ago and would watch it on repeat. It was Top Gear at its absolute finest and the SV is perhaps one of the greatest to ever leave Lamborghini’s Sant’Agata factory.
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Shortly after Hammond tested out the SV’s abilities through the deserts just outside the city, he hit the city streets to drag race a Mercedes-McLaren SLR 722 Coupe. The race proved to be extremely close, and while the SLR did take the victory, at the time it was a cool $100,000 more than the SV, which itself was no slouch.
Lamborghini initially intended to build 350 examples of the Murcielago SV. However, it’s reported that just 186 units were ever made as Lamborghini quickly shifted around its production facilities for the incoming Aventador. This means the Murcielago SV is significantly rarer than its successor, the Aventador SV, and even the subsequent Aventador SVJ. And while the newer cars might be better in most respects, it’s still an awesome supercar; plus, you really can’t put a price on exclusivity, can you?