Yesterday I came across a breakdown of year by year Production Numbers for the Murcielago on Wikipedia. The numbers were compiled from annual reports by Volkswagen. There were actually 4,099 produced and this only totals to 3,983.
2001 – 65 Coupes
2002 – 442 Coupes
2003 – 424 Coupes
2004 – 304 Coupes, 80 Roadsters
2005 – 230 Coupes, 234 Roadsters
2006 – 323 Coupes, 121 Roadsters
2007 – 423 Coupes, 206 Roadsters
2008 – 454 Coupes, 183 Roadsters
2009 – 274 Coupes, 57 Roadsters
2010 – 145 Coupes, 18 Roadsters
Total Coupes – 3,084
Total Roadsters – 899
So what do these numbers mean? They certainly demonstrate how rare Lamborghinis are. There are also some discrepancies between these numbers and common beliefs. For instance, Lamborghini said that they would produce 350 2010 LP670-4 SV’s. They actually built approximately 165, making them even more rare than anticipated. There are approximately 30 of them remaining in the US.
It should also provide some guidance as to shopping. Let’s say someone walks into our showroom and wants an 05-06 bright colored coupe with under 10k miles. That seems like a fairly open request. Let’s see how many choices they should have.
Narrowing down to 2005 and 2006 Coupes would bring the field down to 353 cars. Approximately 20% of the cars were brought to the US. If they only wanted a US car in one of the bright colors (yellow, orange, green) which is a common request, then they would rule out at least 60% of the 20% imported, leaving around 28 cars eligible. Then, if you assume 10% will have been in some kind of accident, you would have 25. If you wanted a car under 10k miles with the average car being driven 2-5k miles per year, it might take out another 30%, leaving 20. That of course would not be the number of cars on the market. With Lamborghinis, we typically see between 5-10% of the cars available for sale at a time. That means 1 or 2 cars would meet that specification. This means shopping takes time and patience. With Murcielagos that are worth between $100,000 and $450,000, buyers are sure to exclude certain years based on the cost but that will inevitably limit choice as well.
Shopping for an exotic car is a fun and exciting process but it is something that should be entered into with open eyes and realistic expectations. Understanding simple things like production numbers can be a big help to make the process more enjoyable and less maddening. Let me know what you are looking for and it will be our pleasure to help.