The Lamborghini Aventador LP 700–4 is a two-door, two-seater sports car publicly unveiled by Lamborghini at the Geneva Motor Show on 28 February 2011, five months after its initial unveiling in Sant'Agata Bolognese. Internally codenamed LB834, the Aventador was designed to replace the ten-year-old Murciélago as the new flagship model in the Lamborghini lineup starting in 2011. Soon after the Aventador unveiling, Lamborghini announced that it had already sold over 12 months of the production vehicles, with deliveries starting in the second half of 2011. The suggested retail price is €255,000 in Europe, GB£201,900 in the UK and US$387,000 in the U.S. Not cheap, but the car will do 217 mph if you can find a road smooth enough to allow it to reach that velocity.

This latest super car kit from Aoshima is molded in a variety of colors, though most sprues are white. Red and orange clear bits are provided as are nicely plated aluminum parts. It is not a simple build, though it should not be difficult if the instructions are closely followed. The care is a semi-curbside in that it does not have a complete engine, but there is plenty of upper engine detail as it will be quite visible through the opening hood.

There is not a ton of suspension visible on this car thanks to a nearly enclosed under tray. However, there is well defined brake detail and each corner of the car is supported on stub axles. Tires are very nicely molded and they are handed so one has to pay attention to the instructions when assembling these parts. Most of the building will be in assembling the interior and the various body parts. The interior is quite well appointed and there are decals for the instruments, seats and steering wheel. Typical of car models, there is no driver or passenger seat harness.

The glass on this car is quite extensive and Aoshima have provided the builder with masks to place over these parts when it is time to paint. The doors have metal hinges so that they may be posed open or closed as one wishes. A metal stay for the hood is also provided so that can be displayed open as well.

Instructions are very well drawn providing clear images of how the kit is assembled. Included in the kit is an alternate method of installing the metal door stays that looks to be a better alternative. For colors, Aoshima provides a chart for the available interior and exterior colors. Since these are fairly unique shades, mixing guides for the Gunze paints are provided for those who wish to keep the combinations at factory specs. The decal sheet (not shown) is basically logos and instruments and is quite well printed.

This is a super kit of a very cool looking super car. I like Lamborghinis for the same reason I like Ferraris and am always pleased when I see a well designed kit for one of these. I can guarantee that this one will be a talking point when shown to friends and at shows. If you can't afford the near $400,000 for the real thing, this is a good substitute.

As an additional note, your editor thinks this would be a great car to replace his 89 Pontiac so any kind reader who would like to mail me a cashier's check for the price of one of these would be held in great esteem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Aventador

December 2012