Why are all the fancy European carmakers building these track-day cars? Track cars are purpose-built for aggressive track driving. These cars are often not road-legal and sometimes kept by the manufacturer and not the owner. Most of the major marques like McLaren, Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Mercedes have all done it. Now Lamborghini is joining in the topless fun with this mysterious, orange, camo-ish, potentially Aventador-based track creature. 

What’s in the box?

The news broke about this mystery Lamborghini on its Instagram account, Thursday afternoon. Lamborghini gave no information about the car whatsoever, only the caption, “Attenzione macchina veloce aperta,” which, in my rough estimation of guessing Italian words, says “attention, fast car” or some such. 

The ultimate track-day toy

Roadshow says that we might be seeing a topless version of the radical SCV12. This new track-day bull is as much a purpose-built asphalt eater as it is a celebration of the V12 engine. The “plain” Aventador SVJ has a 6.5-liter V12 putting down 759 hp, but the SCV12 takes that and cranks it up to a colossal 830 hp, earning the title of Lamborghini’s most powerful, naturally aspirated engine.

If the power wasn’t enough to show that Lamborghini was serious about building a true track car, they paired that V12 to a six-speed sequential gearbox, as reported by Roadshow in a separate article about the SCV12. 

Not only did Lamborghini give the SCV12 and extra 71 hp more than the Aventador SCV, but they also shed around 300 lbs by ditching the hybrid motor from the SCV. So, more horsepower and lighter – sounds like a track car to me. 

Built to race but not for racing

Interestingly, Lamborghini is not going to enter the SCV12 into FIA racing nor rip a Nurburgring lap. In an interview with Roadshow, Lamborghini CTO Maurizio Reggiani said that they wanted to focus on the customers for this car.

It would be a hard car to compare to other road-going cars, so Reggiani tried not to muddy the waters and risk confusing potential customers. That’s the deal with track cars – they don’t compare to other cars. They aren’t meant to be comfortable, efficient, or really anything you would want out from a normal vehicle. They are simply meant to be driven as fast as possible around the track a handful of times a year.

We still don’t know anything about the mysterious, topless orange car from Lamborghini’s Instagram, but if it has anything to do with the SCV12, it will be a hell of a ride. Until Lamborghini gives us more info, we will just have to wait and see.