The final Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae, exiting the gates of Automobili Lamborghini’s Sant’Agata home for delivery to its Swiss owner, is a special Roadster. The left-hand drive Aventador Ultimae Roadster pays homage to its V12 open-top ancestor through a special Lamborghini Ad Personam project that sensitively and articulately mirrors the one-off Miura Roadster.
The Ultimae’s body color is in a specially created color Azzuro Flake, replicating the original special color of the Miura while updating the glitter element for homologation purposes. The rocker cover is in Grigio Liqueo with a Nero Aldebaran pinstripe, extending from front to rear of the Aventador and complementing the visible carbon fiber of the sill, front splitter and rear diffuser. The roadster’s roof and rear engine cover are in shiny, black-painted carbon fiber, reminding that the original Miura Roadster is roofless. Black air intakes and additional Nero Aldebaran livery on the Aventador’s bonnet emulate the Miura’s black-painted bonnet scoop; the tailpipes are matt black; and the Ultimae’s rims in shiny silver with black brake calipers reflect the Miura’s original silver rims.
Inside, the Aventador Ultimae is as exclusive as the Miura Roadster. The leather seat style, and the trim throughout including dashboard and center console are inspired by the Miura Roadster, finished in Bianco Leda leather with complementary Nero Aldebaran around the headrests. A minimalist dashboard in Nero Ade Alcantara with Bianco Leda stitching sports a unique embroidered Miura badge, with the same Miura badge applied to the side rocker denoting the inspiration for this Aventador Ultimae.
The Miura P400 Roadster that has inspired the very last V12 Aventador, was a one-off show car unveiled at the Carrozzeria Bertone stand at Brussels Motor Show in April 1968. More than simply the coupé with the roof removed, the Roadster sports several differences to deliver the most aesthetic solution and ensure the necessary torsional rigidity of the chassis. It was painted in a spectacular, and very shiny, Lamè Sky Blue Acrilico paint, on Pelle Bianco interior paired with red carpet. With a low roofline, large side air intakes and a sharply-raked windscreen and all other glass removed, the Roadster was well-received but never entered production. After also being shown at the 1968 Geneva Motor Show the show car, after being test-driven in Sant’Agata Bolognese, returned to Bertone and was sold to the International Lead and Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO) who replaced every possible component with zinc or lead and repainted in olive green with green interior. It was used as a demonstration show car and renamed ZN 75. It travelled the world promoting the lead and zinc materials, and was shown to several car design centers. The rust protective zinc treatment, still now considered mandatory on every new car, can be directly related to the work of the ZN 75. After different owners all over the world, the ZN 75 was returned to its original Roadster configuration in 2008. Fully restored to its original Brussels motor show condition, it was shown at the Pebble Beach concours d’élegance in 2008 where finished second in the Lamborghini class.
