Lamborghini and Technics Get Bullish on Vinyl With a New Turntable and LP

In Lamborghini parlance, “LP” is short for Longitudinale Posteriore, referring for the first time to the positioning of the mid-rear-mounted V-12 engine running lengthwise in Lamborghini’s LP500, the Countach prototype that shook the world when it was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March of 1971. Now, 53 years later, there’s a Lamborghini LP that captures the sounds of Raging Bulls past and present, and it spins on a new Technics turntable.

The latter is the Technics SL-1200M7B, a collaborative audio component based on the brand’s SL-1200MK7/SL-1210MK7 DJ models from the SL-1200 turntable series. Anybody old enough to remember seeing the Countach prototype in magazines of the day may remember that the original Technics SL-1200 came out the following year. And both the Lamborghini and the turntable were all the rage within their respective circles.

As a penurious college student, I could only ogle the Italian supercar, but the Technics was the first quality direct-drive turntable that was within reach. I bought mine in 1974 for $309.95 plus tax (I still have the receipt). Within the next decade, the Technics SL-1200 went on to become a favorite of DJs, no doubt for its industrial high-tech look and its rock-solid speed accuracy, robust chassis, and sophisticated S-shaped tonearm.

Those familiar with Technics will appreciate the fundamentals that the more recent SL-1200 brings to the DJ party, including a torquey, core-less direct-drive motor, a two-layer platter with excellent vibration damping, a rigid plinth with superior vibration isolation, speed, and pitch control, and a novel reverse-play function suited to DJ playing styles. In addition, the cartridge-friendly tonearm is as easy to use as it is durable.

Indeed, a Technics turntable’s performance is all about the musical sounds it reproduces, and for Lamborghini, much the same holds true. That’s because every Lamborghini has a distinctive soundtrack. Especially unique is the sewing-machine-smooth cadence of an early 4.0-liter Lamborghini V-12, breathing through a sextet of Weber 40s and expressing its mellifluous voice through a steel Ansa exhaust system. It’s impossible to mistake the sound of that engine for anything from Ferrari, for example: the early, front-engined Lamborghini mill’s dignified refinement versus the Prancing Horse’s sound of ripping silk. Lamborghinis to follow—the Countach, Diablo, Murciélago, and Aventador—would not carry as soft-spoken a power plant.

While this new turntable’s functions are based on variants of the SL-1200, the design is inspired by Automobili Lamborghini’s signature Y-shape pattern. This design motif appears on the exterior and interior of various 12-, 10- and 8-cylinder models wearing the automaker’s badge. For the turntable, that distinctive graphical device is employed in orange, green, and yellow—common colorways for the marque’s supercars.

Accompanying the component is an exclusive LP featuring the engine notes and driving sounds of six V-12-powered Lamborghini models, recorded especially for this project. These comprise the 400GT 2+2, the Miura SV, the 25th Anniversary Countach, the Diablo 6.0 SE, the Murciélago LP 640, and the new Revuelto. As for the LP’s aesthetic, it’s a picture disc illustrating the hybrid Revuelto’s wheel. Priced at $1,599, the Technics Special Edition Lamborghini SL-1200M7B Direct Drive Turntable System is currently available to order and should reach the market by the end of June.