The Murciélago could have been the beginning of the end for a brand like Lamborghini. Before it was launched, in 2001, the Italian company’s cars were seen as operatic masterpieces, but the trouble was, for all the drama and passion on stage, behind the set production and direction were something of a shambles.

Murciélago was the first model that the Italian supercar maker developed under the ownership of Audi, and despite reservations from some purists the pairing proved a successful one.

None of the Italian flamboyance and sense of occasion was sacrificed in the pursuit of more efficiently making Lamborghinis with a good deal more dependability built in.

It proved a resounding success, both critically and commercially. It endured in showrooms for nine years (a modest innings by Lamborghini standards) and evolved along the way. In all, 4099 Murciélagos were made. And today it looks more attractive than ever, the sort of modern-classic that could enhance any collection of Lamborghinis or significant supercars. But how is its standing in the market trending, after launching as a £170,000 plaything?

Let’s remind ourselves of what the Murciélago is and look at how the original, standard version is performing in the market, with data-informed views from Giles Gunning, founder of The Classic Valuer.

Potted history: Lamborghini Murcielago

The Murciélago had big boots to fill. Its predecessor, the Diablo, had earned the respect of critics and owners alike. Not only that – it had earned the respect of the competition too. Over its 11 year production run – which saw 2884 built – the Diablo evolved into a formidable supercar, and for the last years of its life its was honed into the VT, with considerable input and investment from the Volkswagen Group.

Replacing it would be no simple matter. The original design for ‘P147’ – the car that would become Murciélago – was the work of Zagato and is said to have been rejected by the Volkswagen Group’s CEO, Ferdinand Piëch. So invitations were to dispatched Gandini, IDEA, Stile Bertone, Hueliez and one of Volkswagen’s own designers, Luc Donckerwolke.

As we know, it was Donckerwolke’s design that won over Piëch, and within little more than a year the new flagship was ready to take its bow at the 2001 Frankfurt motor show. Clean, unfussy and every bit as intimidating as a V12 Lamborghini should be, it used technology to its advantage, with motorised rear air ducts that would raise above 81mph or as and when the air-hungry V12 was getting hot and bothered.

Beneath the taut, flat surfaces was a 6.2-litre V12, an evolution of the Diablo's Giotto Bizzarrini 6.0-litre V12, and managing delivery of all 572 horsepower was a six-speed manual gearbox and all-wheel drive. That tuneful engine had received new electronic management, drive-by-wire throttle, dry sump lubrication and a bigger, broader spread of torque. With 479lb ft at 5,400rpm, and 400lb ft from 2,000rpm, it had muscle to spare no matter what the conditions.

The result was a 206mph machine, one capable of 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds. Better still, the structure – still a steel spaceframe with double wishbone suspension – was 60 per cent stiffer than the Diablo, thanks to the use of carbonfibre honeycomb reinforcement. Helping further still, that longitudinally-mounted engine was dry-sumped, meaning it could be mounted 50mm lower in the chassis than in the Diablo.

For all the drama of the exterior and its scissor doors, the interior is comparatively sober – practical, even. The sills are lower than a Diablo’s, and the doors open slightly wider, so getting in and out isn’t such a balancing act.

The dashboard is topped by a relatively ordinary-looking instrument binnacle and the driver’s area cascades into a passenger grab-handle to the left of the aluminium gearlever, while the fly-off handbrake nestles by the sill. The seats are thin but well bolstered, the driving position pleasingly sound and the view ahead and behind is as spine-tingling as you’d hope from a mid-engined, V12-powered Italian supercar.

What were the Murcielago’s rivals?

By golly, the Murciélago monstered its rivals of the day. If Top Trumps power is your thing, the Italian brought 572bhp to the party, a sum that put competitors in the shade.  

An Aston Martin Vanquish S mustered 520bhp and 426Ib ft from its 6-litre V12. The 5.75-litre lump in Ferrari’s 575M managed 508bhp and 434Ib ft. Yet the Lamborghini was also appreciably lighter than both, at 1650kg. Meanwhile, a Porsche 911 Turbo (996) churned out 414bhp and 414Ib ft. (The GT2, revisited here, lifted those figures to ‘only’ 462bhp and 457Ib ft.

And that’s just the ‘standard’ Murciélago we’re talking about. It truly is a raging bull, albeit – as we’ll come to – one that has been tamed.

What’s a Lamborghini Murcielago like to drive?

You have to remember that with any car like this from the turn of the millennium, driving it at speed is like wrestling a bear – albeit, in the case of the Murciélago, a bear that’s not so hungry it wants to bite your head off.

There were some who criticised the Murciélago for being fitted with all-wheel drive as standard. Yet Lamborghini’s engineers ensured the sweaty-palmed, blood-rushing driving experience wasn’t entirely neutered, by sending 70 per cent of power to the rear wheels and a trifling 30 per cent to the fronts.

This meant the animal instinct was still lurking. I tested the original Murciélago, for Top Gear magazine’s Car of the Year shootout, in 2001, and around the high-speed banked turns at Rockingham race circuit, and fiddly infield, it displayed brutal speed – like, 0-100mph in less than 10 seconds – and just about enough agility to work around its predominant trait of understeer in slower corners and induce a slide with a quick lift followed by a large helping of throttle.

That V12 really sings above 4000rpm, and once on cam it charges with a potency that no contemporary can match, both acceleratively or musically, as the V12 sounds sublime and is louder and more intrusive than front-engined V12s.

There are things to be aware of, though. The gearchange doesn’t like to be hurried, and each shift must be timed with deliberate thought. And the brake pedal (backed by ABS) needs quite a shove, which can take a little acclimatisation if coming from a different or more modern supercar.

The big improvement over a Diablo is the way the car rides down a typical country road. The lower centre of gravity, superior damping and body control and lighter steering mean you can make haste more comfortably.

Car and Driver roadtest results, July 2003

Power 572bhp at 7500rpm Torque 479lb ft at 5400rpm 0-60mph 3.8sec 0-100mph 9.5 Standing quarter mile 12.6sec at 116mph Top speed 205mph Economy 10mpg

Tracking the values of the Lamborghini Murcielago

Average values of Murciélagos have been slowly but surely increasing over the past decade, writes Giles Gunning of The Classic Valuer.

If we wind the clock back to 2014 base Murciélago were selling for circa £100,000. Today, average prices have rocketed up to £203,528, that’s a 103 per cent climb.

What we tend to see with many vehicles that have risen in value over the past decade is when you strip out inflation (35 per cent over the same period) many in real terms have barely risen. This certainly isn’t the case here.

Prices have levelled off in the past couple of years though but low mileage cars are selling for significant sums. Collecting Cars sold a standard, 2005 Roadster which had done less than 6000km for £374,916. A sub 5000-mile, 2003 Murciélago fetched £403,788 in April, on Bring A Trailer.

The future is particularly bright for the Murciélago and that’s down to three reasons. Firstly, the 2001 launch of the Murciélago means in just a few years they’ll begin to satisfy the all-important 25-year US import rule meaning a likely rise in prices.

Secondarily, the large number of cars declared SORN (nearly twice as many as are registered on the road) could be an indication of collectors setting these aside for future gains.

Thirdly, there is a tendency in collector cars to go for the next best thing when you’re priced out of the most desirable market. With Murciélago SV prices rocketing, people are being priced out and naturally will look further down the pecking order of Murciélagos for something in budget - driving prices of these northwards.

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