Geneva 2013: Lamborghini Veneno finally breaks cover (officially)

This is Lamborghini’s radical new hypercar — a machine that the company says is the most fearsome it has yet built. It costs £3.1m and is called Veneno, which means poison in Spanish.

The most powerful production car to roll out of Lamborghini’s factory, it packs 740bhp and can hit a top speed of 220mph. The car has been designed not so much to catch people’s attention as to grab them by the collar and shake them. The edges alone look sharp enough to draw blood if you were to idly run your hand along its flank.

Power from the 6.5-litre V12 engine is directed to all four wheels, and there is little to weigh it down. The carbon-fibre monocoque chassis comes from theAventador and there is more carbon fibre in the jagged, jet-fighter inspired bodywork. Each wing, fin and scoop — even the angular wheelarches — is said to enhance the car’s aerodynamics for track use. The car is road-legal too (but it’s best to avoid speed bumps).

The Veneno, which will be unveiled at the Geneva motor show this week, has been built to celebrate Lamborghini’s 50 anniversary this year. It will be available only in green, white or red, the colours of the Italian flag (the car in the pictures is the test model and will not be sold) and only one of each will be made.

You read that right: three in total. They have been presold to anonymous collectors.