Solid Gold Lamborghini Aventador Model is Beaucoup Bookshelf Bling
When we first laid eyes upon Mercedes-Benz-engineer-turned-craftsman Robert Gülpen’s solid gold 1:18 scale Bugatti Veyron model three years ago, we were in awe. The details inside and out looked just as accurate as the ones on a conventional Veyron model, except they were, you know, replicated in gold, platinum and precious gems. Naturally, it was quite expensive; like more-than-twice-the-price-of-the-real-thing expensive.
And last year, we caught wind of 1:8 scale Lamborghini Aventador model made of solid gold. Conceptually, it’s the same, but because it’s larger, it contains more precious metal and gemstones. So it’s worth more money. A lot more. And now it’s for sale!
The model will start out as a 1,100 lbs. block of gold. We’d be curious to know what that thing is worth, but we aren’t sure we can count that high. In any event, a CNC machine will shave that big-ass block of bling down to Lamborghini Aventador body eight times smaller than the real thing. No word on how much the body itself will weigh, but Gülpen reckons the finished model will check in at about 55 lbs.
Notice how we keep referring to this model in the future tense; that’s because this megabuck model hasn’t been built yet. Gülpen says he’s holding off on building it because he wants the buyer to be able to personalize it. But regardless of what options the buyer ends up picking, chances are this little-ish Lambo will set a new Guinness World Record for the most expensive model car ever.
How expensive are we talking? Well, it will actually be auctioned off, and the starting bid is $7.5 million. For the sake of comparison, the base MSRP for a real Aventador Coupe is about $400,000. But before you start carping at the price, be aware that Gülpen has pledged that $650,000 of the model’s hammer price will go to charity. And if you win you will not only be the first on your block, but the only one on your block to have one, because Gülpen is only making one of these babies.
Source: Robert Gülpen Engineering