Is this record-breaking Murciélago a sign of things to come?

The Murciélago hit the road in 2001 as the next installment of all-conquering, scissor-doored supercars from Lamborghini. As a follow-up to the Diablo, the “Murci” was an improvement in every way, thanks in large part to the solid financial footing provided by Lambo’s new German corporate overlord, the Volkswagen Audi Group.

Styled by VAG’s all-star Belgian designer, Luc Donckerwolke, the Murciélago furthered Sant’Agata’s tradition of handsome wedges first set forth in the Countach nearly three decades before. And in keeping with the heritage of Lambo’s flagship models, including that very same Countach, power came from a stonking V-12 longitudinally mounted amidships.

In the Murci, the 6.2-liter mill put out 572 horsepower at a screaming 7500 rpm. A gated six-speed shifter gave drivers analog control of that output, which went to all four wheels through a viscous-coupling center differential and propelled the car to more than 200 mph.

A roadster came along in 2004, and in 2006 Lamborghini upgraded the Murci to the LP-640 variant, in either coupe or roadster guise, boasting 632 hp from 6.5 liters. But 2004 didn’t just mark the introduction of an open car. It also saw Lamborghini enter the era of semi-automatic transmissions, with the E-gear paddle-shift automated manual. This marked a drastic change not only in production but in the way customers spec’d their new Lambos.

Between 2001 and 2006, total worldwide production of the original 6.2-liter Murciélagos came to 1921 cars, and manual coupes accounted for 985 of them—fully 51 percent. By the time the 6.5L LP-640 bowed out in 2010, that variant’s total worldwide production came to 1675 cars. Only 88 coupes—just 5 percent—were fitted with the six-speed manual. Holy shift!

Our Sale of the Week is one such manual-equipped LP-640, a 2007 model that sold August 8 on Cars & Bids for $710,000, a public record for the Murciélago and the most valuable vehicle ever to sell on the platform.

This bull was no spring chicken, either; the odometer shows 49,800 miles, which is practically daily driver territory for a Lambo. Clad in Monterey Blue, it’s not even one of the orange, green, or yellow hues generally regarded as more desirable. So, what gives?

Well, Ed Bolian gives.

You may know Bolian as the guy who rented exotic cars through his dorm-room business in college. Or as the guy who smashed the Cannonball record in a Mercedes CL55 AMG in 2013. Or as cofounder of the vehicle history reporting app VINwiki. More than likely, however, you might know him from his YouTube videos, either under his own name or under the VINwiki banner, which currently boasts about 2 million subscribers. Bolian is smart, passionate, charming, and all about that Murciélago life. More specifically, his bovid fancy tends toward the gated six-speed variety. Until August 8, he owned two manual Murcis. Now he owns three.

And he loves putting miles on them. In fact, the harder they’ve been driven, the more they seem to appeal to him. In the comments on Cars & Bids, he claims to have driven one of his cars from Atlanta to Miami and back—solely to bring its total mileage above the miles on this one.

There’s a reason Hagerty included the Murciélago on its 2023 Bull Market list of cars positioned to gain value in the next year. Particularly the manual versions. At the time of publication in the January issue of Hagerty Drivers Club magazine, we wrote:

The rush to find analog supercars with manual transmissions overlooked the Murciélago. Shifting owner demographics suggest this is slowly changing, but a couple of big sales could change the perception of the Murci quickly. Values for the Murciélago are up 48 percent since 2019 but have lagged behind those of cars like the Porsche Carrera GT, which doubled in value over the same period. As next-generation enthusiasts are a growing share of owners (approaching two-thirds), values for the Murciélago appear poised for more appreciation.

Now in his late 30s, Bolian is very much a next-gen enthusiast. And this was very much a big sale—big enough that it’s hard to see how perception of the Murciélago doesn’t change moving forward. His YouTube following certainly won’t detract from that perception.

Currently, we value LP-640 Murciélagos with the E-gear transmission at $420,000 for a #1, Concours-condition example. This car was far from Concours—and slightly modified—and it still sold for $290,000 over that value, a 70 percent bump. The manual surely accounts for some of that, but even our pricing model for these cars is getting dizzy. By Bolian’s own estimate, had this car been completely original with fewer than 5000 miles, “I am confident it would bring $1.5 million this afternoon.”

That’s a big claim, for sure. But given the rapidly increasing appeal of rapidly decreasing analog supercars, it may not be long before Bolian is right. And it would surprise no one if he writes the check.

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Via Insider