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Lamborghini Aventador J: A windshield-less roadster unveiled in Geneva

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Khatir Soltani
At the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Automobili Lamborghini is presenting the most uncompromising open super sports car of its entire history. The Lamborghini Aventador J is a force of nature on wheels – supremely powerful and supremely open. The Aventador J offers its pilot and co-pilot an utterly indescribable experience of power and dynamics. At the same time, the 515 kW / 700 hp two-seater is a first class technology showcase, combining innovative solutions and brand new materials and demonstrating Automobili Lamborghini’s enormous expertise in carbon fiber technology.

The Lamborghini Aventador J is a radically open automobile – exterior and interior meld into each other. The designers and engineers in Sant’Agata Bolognese have not only dispensed entirely with the roof, but also with the front windshield. This requires that drivers of the Aventador J must have the right equipment for driving at top speeds higher than 300 Km/h.

Lamborghini Aventador J
Photo: Lamborghini

This kind of driving at the limit is a highly exclusive experience – the Lamborghini Aventador J is fully functional for road use. It is an absolute one-off: a one-of-a-kind piece of art.

“With the Lamborghini Aventador J, we have molded our brand DNA into its most definitive form to date. This automobile is as extreme and as uncompromising as only a Lamborghini can be,” says Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini. “The new Lamborghini Aventador J is the most radical open supersports car of Lamborghini’s history. Its name comes from our tradition and combines an unconventional design with technology innovation. Nowadays we are confronted with several regulations that we face in the spirit of challenge. The Aventador J is the proof that, despite the rules, Lamborghini will always make people dream, even in the future.”

Continuation of a glorious tradition
With the Aventador J, technically based on the Aventador, Automobili Lamborghini is carrying on its glorious brand tradition. The 1970 Jota, for instance, was the stuff of legends – a Lamborghini Miura with improved performance and virtually redesigned in every detail. It remained a one-off; although some owners subsequently had their Miuras modified to look like the Jota.

The letter J is derived from the sporting rules of the FIA world motorsport organization. Its “Appendix J” defines the technical specification of race cars in the various classes.

The Aventador: Extremely open, overwhelming power
The Lamborghini Aventador J is a super sports car of positively dramatic single-mindedness and openness. It combines the overwhelming performance of the Lamborghini Aventador with the most intense experience of power and dynamics imaginable in an automobile.

The technical basis for the Aventador J is the Aventador LP 700-4, Lamborghini’s new twelve-cylinder model. Presented in 2011, the Aventador has been acclaimed by customers and journalists alike. The Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4’s technology package is unique – its structure is based on an innovative monocoque made from carbon fiber reinforced polymers that combines systematic lightweight design with optimum stiffness and safety. The new twelve-cylinder with a displacement of 6.5 liters and 515 kW / 700 hp combines the best in high-revving thrills with mighty pulling power. Its super-fast ISR transmission, permanent all-wheel drive and push-rod suspension combine this potent power with the utmost handling precision.

Systematic lightweight design – considerable weight reduction
Naturally, the Aventador J benefits enormously from this unique technology package. Yet the Aventador J has a significantly different interpretation to the Aventador coupé. In this open version, the monocoque has a largely new design, including the two safety bars behind the seats. The absence of a roof, of the large windshield, of the air conditioning system and of the navigation system obviously takes it to an even lower weight. With a dry weight of 1575 kilograms, the series production Aventador LP 700-4 is already extremely light for its performance class thanks to its carbon fiber construction.

Rear view mirror like a periscope
Virtually every part of the outer chassis was redesigned for the Aventador J, yet it shows the spirit of Lamborghini in its most concentrated form. The car’s dimensions are extreme: the overall length is 4890 mm, the overall width (excluding mirrors) is 2030 mm while the height is 1110 mm.

The highest points are marked by the rear view mirror, which is perched on an arm like a periscope, and by the two safety bars behind the seats. In place of the classic front windshield there are two small wind deflectors. The occupants of the Aventador J are confronted by the element of the wind in much the same way as a superbike rider – therefore the right clothing is prerequisite for every trip.

Red with chrome effect, wheels with CFRP fan
The black of the carbon fiber parts is visibly evident throughout the car – the significantly wider sill elements and the mighty rear diffuser form a perfect contrast to the rich red body paintwork. The special red color was developed specifically for this Aventador - a highly intensive red with a slight chrome effect.

The wheels, of course, were also developed specifically for this car, with 20-inch rims at the front and 21-inch at the rear. The five-spoke aluminum wheels have a central lock system and an additional carbon fiber insert that functions like a small fan for optimum brake ventilation.

Naturally, the doors on the Aventador J also open upward. They are considerably thinner than on the Aventador and are fitted with a tiny, fixed side window. The muscular flanks around the rear wheels are hallmark Lamborghini and make it immediately apparent where this particular bull keeps his power.

The outside comes inside
The Aventador J’s exterior and interior forms flow seamlessly into each other. This supersports car turns its inside outward and is as open as it can possibly be. Conversely, the exterior ‘flows’ through the interior – a red stripe runs from the front hood, between the two wind deflectors, over the dashboard, down the console to the center tunnel and back up between the seat backs, before leaving the interior and heading for the engine cover panel.

Interior is minimalist and single-minded
This band of color connects the front and the rear of the car, creates a visual separation between the driver and passenger space and is interrupted only by a small control panel housing the starter button and the switches for lights and transmission. The Aventador J is equipped neither with a navigation nor car audio system, nor does it have the associated screen or air conditioning controls – these would simply detract from its one and only raison d’être as an extreme driving experience. What remains, of course, are two programmable TFT displays behind the steering wheel.

The engine cover also brings the inside to the outside. To be more precise, it is not so much a cover but more a framework. This part has a new geometry (X shape) and is made of carbon fiber. Two large openings lay bare both cylinder banks of the mighty V12 power unit with its 6.5 liters of displacement – a truly stunning sight for every automobile aficionado.

A unique work of art licensed for the road
However, at the end of the Geneva Motor Show, this sight will be the preserve of just one – the future owner of the Lamborghini Aventador J. There is only one of them, no prototypes and no others for the Lamborghini Museum. The buyer can look forward to a truly unique, street-legal work of art. He will possess the most extreme expression of Lamborghini DNA in existence and a real masterpiece of high technology. But the many other fans of the super sports cars from Sant’ Agata Bolognese can rest assured - the Aventador success story has only just begun.


As reported by Lamborghini

Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
As a car enthusiast, he tests and compares vehicles from different categories through the eyes of the consumer, ensuring relevant and objective reviews.
  • Over 6 years experience as a car reviewer
  • Over 50 test drives in the last year
  • Involved in discussions with virtually every auto manufacturer in Canada