Lamborghini teams with BMC on (very) high-end racing bicycle

While many of us dream of one day owning a supercar, few will ever get the opportunity. The cost of ownership is huge; from the purchase price to the insurance, from the fuel costs to the secure parking. But names such as Lamborghini and Ferrari are revered for a reason. Their automobiles are more like aspirational objets d'art than mere people carriers able to get from A to B. In recent years several of these luxury marques have added their name and design sensibilities to another mode of transport: the humble bicycle. Though these cross-bred beasts are far from humble. We've already seen the likes of Porsche, BMW and McLaren add their expertise to bike manufacturing, and now Italian supercar producer Lamborghini has joined the burgeoning list. The new BMC impec Automobili Lamborghini Edition takes the core of the flagship BMC road bike and adds several expensive bells and whistles. But no literal bells and whistles. Instead we get a suede saddle and handlebars airbrushed in the Argos Orange shade of the Aventador LP 700-4, unbranded carbon fiber rims, the Di2 electronic dérailleur system from Shimano, and the Lamborghini logo plastered on the frame.

This bike will set you back €20,000 (roughly US$26,000), an increase of almost $8,000 over the standard BMC impec (impec, by the way, is short for "impeccable"). So are the improvements made and features added worth that kind of money? I'm not convinced, but then I'm not part of the target audience for this kind of machine. Even if you have got the money, desire, and need to own the BMC impec Automobili Lamborghini Edition, you'll have to fight to get hold of one. Only 30 of these limited-edition racing bikes are being produced in total, all "handmade by machines" at BMC's Swiss factory. To put your name down for one you'll have to head to your nearest Lamborghini dealer, of which there are 120 worldwide. This is expected to be just the first release in a long-term partnership between the two companies. Although I doubt any of the concoctions brought to fruition by this particular alliance will be what us mere mortals consider affordable. Back to dreaming, I guess.