Reiter Engineering has recently been testing a totally-revised version of the Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT sports car at the Salzburgring, which is set to be unleashed on the tracks in 2007, as this dramatic V12-engined racer goes hunting success at the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours.

The Murciélago R-GT, has been developed from the outset, with factory input, by German preparation outfit Reiter Engineering. The racing car looks fearsome, but it has often struggled to deliver on its initial promise during its two and a half year long competitive track career. However this year it finally won a race when Marco Apicella and Yasutaka Hinoi raced the Team JLOC (Japanese Lamborghini Owners' Club) entry to a comfortable GT300 class victory in the Japanese Super GT series season opener at Suzuka back in March. This car then went on to claim a first-ever pole position for the Murciélago R-GT during round 5 of the same series. Meanwhile in the 2006 FIA GT Championship, while the All-Ink team’s Murciélago R-GT claimed several top-ten finishes before posting a fastest practice session time at the Adria Raceway. Hans Reiter, boss of his eponymous company, now wants to build on this promise and the great amount of development that has already gone into this car.
 

Recently at the Salzburgring track, a long-favoured testing ground for the Reiter Engineering concern, a 2007-specification dark-grey Murciélago R-GT hit the track as the team gear up to tackle the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours next year, and in doing so thrust the "Raging Bull" name firmly into the most fierce arena of long-distance international sports car competition. The 4.2-km Austria track, east of Salzburg, lies in a narrow Alpine valley and despite its simple layout it is blisteringly fast with several very demanding turns.

The new car, known as the "Le Mans Edition" pumps 520bhp out of its V12 powerplant and has totally revised aerodynamics. The front spoiler section has been heavily modified compared to the original R-GT which had a nose that drew in style on the production model. Low-level spotlights are fitted for the first time, positioned either side of the large honeycombed air intake. Other changes include a modified rear wing which offers less drag than the earlier one, closed air intakes in front of the rear wheels, closed air outlets in the side skirts, fixed 'shoulder' air intakes and a ground clearance of between 8 and 4 cm: this car is extremely low. At the beginning of the testing session the Reiter mechanics parked the new version next to one of the original 2004 machines, still in its orange 'Scream R-GT' livery and it was clearly noticeable just how low the new 2007 edition R-GT sits on the tarmac.

Photos & additional reporting: LamboCars