Newport Beach is known for its vibrant harbor and extensive yachting community, but when you step back on land, our little slice of heaven becomes a sea of fast cars.
Take a drive down PCH on a sunny weekend and marvel at some of the sexiest automobiles in the world. The coast becomes a virtual seaside showcase of Ferraris, Maseratis, Corvettes, Porsches, Vipers, McLarens, Aston Martins, Jaguars and Lamborghinis.
So as you can imagine, the new Lamborghini Newport Beach showroom was packed with VIPs, owners and enthusiasts this past Tuesday during its official grand opening. The dealership is now the largest in the United States, at 5,000 square feet, featuring more than 45 new and pre-owned Lamborghinis.
Just back from an impressive showing at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, enthusiasts and company executives were palpably happy, but they also had another reason to celebrate: the star of the grand opening evening, the Sesto Elemento, had arrived from Italy just in time.
One of the Italian brand’s newest hyper cars, the Sesto Elemento, which takes its name from carbon, the sixth element of the periodic table, was made with the help of Lamborghini’s Advanced Composites Research Center in Italy. Right now, the one on display at Lambo NB is the only in the world.
I was told that the innovative carbon-fiber technologies being used to build the Sesto allow it to have an overall weight of just 2,202 pounds. With a V10 power unit, permanent all-wheel drive, and 570 horsepower, the vehicle accelerates from 0-62 mph in only 2.5 seconds.
The price tag: a cool $2.2 million.
“The Newport Beach community is one of the strongest markets for Lamborghini worldwide, and we are excited to share the Sesto Elemento with our dedicated customers here,” said Stephan Winkelmann, president and CEO of Lamborghini, who was in attendance at the event.
He continued, “The team at Lamborghini Newport Beach is making a serious commitment to the brand and we are delighted to support them and their customers as we move into our 50th anniversary year.”
Among the various VIPs joining Winkelmann for the stylish reception were Lamborghini America COO, Michael Lock, and Newport Beach dealership General Manager, Pietro Frigerio.
Lamborghini also had its flagship vehicle, the Aventador LP 700-4, on display for guests to view. The Aventador, which was featured in the latest Batman film, “The Dark Knight Rises,“ reaches 60 mph in only 2.9 seconds and boasts a top speed of 217 mph.
During Pebble Beach, Lamborghini Newport Beach hosted a special driving tour to Santa Cruz, which culminated in to a sumptuous Saturday brunch for 85 members of the Lamborghini Club America.
Also on display at the grand opening was the pink-wrapped, Chandon-sponsored Lamborghini which had been driven by Andrew Romanowski, president of Lamborghini Club America, from Los Angeles to Monterey as a mobile promotion for Lamborghini’s “Serata Italiana” event during the Concours. Proceeds from the event went to support the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade.
It would seem Lamborghini has taken the area by storm. It will be interesting to see what they come up with for their 50th anniversary in 2013, which they are already gearing up for in Italy.
Columnist Lynn Selich is also the founder and editor-in-chief of OCSocialScene.com. She an be reached at lynn@ocsocialscene.com.
