Item: Used Lamborghini Murcielago Coupe 2002 - 2011
Author: What Car? Team

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Lamborghinis have been adorning bedroom posters since the mid-1960s. Not bad for a company whose origins lie in making tractors.

Today, Lamborghini is part of the Volkswagen Group, and as well as bolstering its core sports car portfolio, it has branched out to launch the Urus – a luxurious SUV that’s a rival to the similarly rapid Bentley Bentayga W12 and Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

LAMBORGHINI

MURCIELAGO

A proper Lambo, but with none of the headaches

Used Lamborghini Murcielago Coupe 2002 - 2011

There aren't many used cars that have the potential to break the bank quite as much as the Lamborghini Murcielago, despite the fact that its residual values aren't all that terrific when compared with those of other supercars.

The Murcielago will be worth only 50% of its original value after three years, but considering the most basic car cost £175,000 in the first place, you'll still be forking out a king's ransom.

Fuel economy is probably the last thing on your mind if you're considering a Murcielago, but the stats are still pretty grim. Lambo's big coupe will return an average of just 13.1mpg, and that's if you treat it carefully.

Insurance costs, obviously, will be astronomical. It's wedged firmly in the most expensive group 20 classification. Servicing will be expensive, too - the car needs attention every 7500 miles.

A proper Lambo, but with none of the headaches

There's no denying the roadster is a pretty thing, but it'll cost you a lot more than this coupe, not least because it hasn't been out all that long so prices won't have had a chance to come down as much yet.

The basic (if you can call it that) coupe comes with a ballistic 6.2-litre V12 that pushes out a mind-blowing 570bhp, meaning the 0-60mph dash is dispatched in 3.8sec and the car won't top out until you're doing more than 200mph.

There's also an E-Gear version that comes with an automatic gearbox, and an LP640 version that squeezes 631bhp out of a 6.5-litre V12 for even scarier performance. But, the standard car is plenty fast enough for anyone, though.

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Ride comfort shouldn’t be sacrificed at the altar of handling sharpness</li> <li>Plenty of power from a melodic engine</li> <li>Handling that doesn’t come at the expense of a back-breaking ride​​​​​</li> <li> Practicality is not essential but nice to have </li></ul>

Driving fun is right at the top of any sports car buyer's priority list, and every one of our award candidates has backroad entertainment coded into its DNA.

The Mazda MX-5 embodies sports-car spirit without wearing an exotic price tag, and has deservedly gained a strong following over the years. Much newer to the scene is the mid-engined Alpine A110. It may carry a name from the past, but this potent, mid-engined sports car was designed with the very latest lightweight thinking.&nbsp;

Rounding off our shortlist, though, is a name that'll be familiar to even those to whom sports cars hold little interest. The Porsche 911 was born an icon in 1964, and the latest generation bridges the gap between sports car and supercar. Yet, somehow, it manages to preserve a distinctly civilised character.

Sports

Lamborghini has gone through a lot of changes in recent years. Although it's still an Italian icon, the company is owned and run by Audi.

While this has failed to dilute the Italian flair with which the modern Lambo goes about its work, the Audi connection has paid huge dividends in reliability. Old Lambos were creaky and shoddily assembled. Not any more. The materials are high quality and are very well screwed together.

However, cars costing this much are always very thin on the ground, so there isn't enough data available to build up an accurate picture of how reliable the car will be in the long term. With Audi's reputation for solidity, though, the Murcielago should behave as long as you take care of it.

There aren't too many supercars that can break the 200mph barrier, but the Lamborghini Murcielago is one of this very elite group.

The brutish performance isn't the only thing that's good about it, though. The handling is every bit as awesome, thanks to unfailing four-wheel-drive traction and light, responsive steering. The ride is better than many will expect, too.

The Murcielago's styling has all the in-your-face aggression of Lambos of old, but thanks to parent company Audi, the characteristic squeaks and rattles have been banished from the plush, high-quality cabin. The most important noise remains, however: the outrageous howl of the V12 engine.

Be under no illusion - even as a used car, the Murcielago will be amazingly, jaw-droppingly expensive. When a car looks, sounds and drives this well, though, most petrolheads that have the cash would part with it in a heartbeat.

Used Lamborghini Murcielago Coupe 2002 - 2011 review

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