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At the 2013 Geneva Auto Show Lamborghini suprized just about the entire automotive world with their insane looking Veneno LP750-4, only three would be available to the public at €3,000,000 each, all finished in the same Metaluro paint with only small details to differntiate between the three ... even with that high price tag all three cars were sold before the public even got to see the show car in Switzerland.

Somehow I guess Automobili Lamborghini SpA didn't think they would sell all three cars so quickly, which is probably the reason why during the summer of 2013 a select group of Lamborghini owners was contacted about something even wilder ... a Veneno Roadster, priced at €3,300,000 each before taxes Lamborghini decided to build 9 units this time, officially released in October 2013 the Veneno Roadster was presented in a stunning Rosso Veneno shade, which looked a lot like the one-off Aventador J from 2012.

While over the last few years the Aventador Roadster has outsold her closed counterpart 3 to 2, the Veneno Roadster seemed a little more difficult to sell, it took until early 2015 for the last of the nine to be sold, but still the factory demo car for this multi-million super exotic with her red metallic dress would be the one to get when made in scale model form.

AutoArt is usually the one to wait for, and when they released the original 2013 Geneva show car Veneno I naturally had to get it, check out the in depth review of the 1/18 Lamborghini Veneno by AutoArt for more information on that model ... but up to now AutoArt has not confirmed they would also be building the Roadster version of the Veneno, so I was really happy when Kyosho came up with the great idea of creating a series of sealed models ... which included the Veneno Roadster in 1/18 scale.

I know many collectors are a bit reluctant when it comes to sealed models, but if you take a look at the success MR is having with their models I guess a lot of collectors are ready to spend some serious money on a model, even if it is sealed ... keep in mind a 1/18 MR made Lamborghini Veneno Roadster would be between €350 to €450 to buy these days, and nothing opens or turns on those either.

Back to the 1/18 Kyosho made Veneno Roadster, I managed to obtain this model from a small shop at the 2015 Geneva Auto Show, paid €95 for her, which in retrospect was a bit too much as a few weeks later this model became available in the European online shops for prices between €69 and €79 ... but still I had mine early, and I could put her next to the AutoArt Veneno when I arrived home in early March ... a stunning pair to say the least.

Unlike the Veneno which was only built in Metaluro, grey metallic the Veneno Roadster could be ordered in any shade the fortunate customer requested, Lamborghini introduced the car finished in Rosso Veneno, but customers ordered her in white, matte black, glossy black, green metallic ... while the final production Veneno Roadster was ordered in a really special finish ... a first for Lamborghini.

But you know I always try to get the shade used for the show car and in the official press release, and in this case that is the amazing looking red metallic shade on this 1/18 Kyosho model, note that they also released a 1/18 version in white (in 1/43 you can buy the Veneno Roadster from Kyosho in matte black) ... and the paint finish is really very nice on this Kyosho.

In fact, if we look closer at this Kyosho model it really is very good value for money, sure the MR version is better, and more detailed, but at €400 it should be, this Kyosho model is sold for €69 in many shops, and it sure isn't bad compared to the much more expensive resin model from Italy ... so did Kyosho do a great job or have they made a few mistakes along the way.

I guess no model is perfect, and yes, this 1/18 sealed Lamborghini Veneno Roadster from Kyosho has a few flaws too ... for one the carbon fiber isn't really that nicely done, it has a 3D feel to it, but it is too coarse for this 1/18 scale, on the AutoArt Veneno the carbon looks a lot better ... but then again ... once on display you hardly see the diffence between the two unless you look at them from a very close distance.

And then I started noticing the mistakes Kyosho made ... don't worry, AutoArt made some on their Veneno too, so I should probably call them 'oversights' instead of mistakes, but still ... take a look at the 50th Anniversary badge mounted on the side of the lower rear diffuser, it says '50' just like on the Aventador LP720-4 Anniversary mode ... but on the real Rosso Veneno Roadster this plaque states 'Prodotta a Sant'Agata Bolognese' and shows the Tricolore.

Also note the side lights on the real car are from the United States version of the Veneno Roadster (the original car was first shown in Beverly Hills by the way, in the US), orange at the front and red at the rear ... Kyosho made them white all around, while they also missed the script on the side of that massive rear wing, now that may be due to scale issues ... the small script 'Alto, Medio, Basso' might have become too small anyway in 1/18, so I'm going to let that one slip by (AutoArt did put it on their Veneno model however, so it can be done).

Another small detail are the wheels, when Automobili Lamborgini SpA was showing their Veneno Roadster it did not always show the aerodynamic rings on the wheels, on several occasions they were removed from the car ... but on other shows they were there, so I'm not saying Kyosho missed this one, it depends on what moment they used to create their model.

One more item that is missing on the Kyosho model are the small red reflectors at the rear, those amazing looking LED taillights are great and function nicely, but in many markets around the world you need some kind of reflector at the rear, so even on the normal Veneno Lamborghini has installed small rectangular, red reflectors to keep the Veneno and Veneno Roadster street legal all around the world.

Now Kyosho did get the red pin striping right on the fins, spoiler and rear wing, so that's a plus for them, and all in all this 1/18 scale Lamborghini Veneno Roadster sure doesn't look bad, the stance and height are just about spot on ... and the 'shelve presence' is amazing in this shade.

Now being a sealed model means you can't open the doors, which in case of this Roadster isn't such a problem as there is no roof anyway, so you can still admire the interior, dashboard and all the small details that differentiate the Veneno from the Aventador she was based on. In case of this Kyosho that does show a few strange things however.

Take a look at the seats and door panels of the Kyosho model, on the real car the seats have a stunning alcantara upholstery with a red metallic back panel and red stitching, also the door panels show a combination of carbon fiber and black alcantara on the real deal ... Kyosho went for a strange shade of grey plastic on the seats which looks nothing like alcantara, they did put the red Raging Bull logo on the headrest but the red piping has been lost in the scale down I guess.

If you take a closer look at the photo of the real Veneno Roadster you will notice the central console is finished in the same Rosso Veneno shade as the exterior of the car ... while in the Kyosho scale model this console is black ... which isn't a mistake, in fact the factory Veneno Roadster has received a serious audio upgrade with Monster parts, during that upgrade that central console was changed from the original black to this red ... so it isn't a mistake from Kyosho, they based their model on the initial version.

Which happens to be the reason for just about any 'mistake' I mentioned here, if you take a look at the initial renders released by Lamborghini on the Veneno Roadster you will notice they show white side marker lights, no reflectors at the rear and the '50th' logo on the rear diffuser ... so it is really evident Kyosho used the concept renders to create their 1/18 scale model of the Veneno Roadster instead of photos showing the actual car when it was finally built.

So is the Kyosho 1/18 Lamborghini Veneno Roadster a must have for your collection? Priced at €69 I would say yes, the only other option at this time is the much more expensive MR model, and I'm not sure the massive price difference translates into a massively better model ... sure the MR one will look better up close, but think about this : my models are on display in the hallway, I pass them several times every day, and this Kyosho model is parked next to the Veneno LP750-4 and the Aventador J, both made by AutoArt ... the Rosso Veneno Kyosho model doesn't look any less than those two ... so I'm happy with her, very happy in fact.

If you have any interest in getting a 1/18 scale model of the rare Lamborghini Veneno Roadster ... get one of these Kyosho made models, they are great value for money!

Originally released in May 2015.

our RATING

Overall rating

8/10

Original price : € 95