By Ray Wert

Lamborghini Aventador Is The New Jota

Lamborghini's filed a claim with the U.S. trademark office on the name "Aventador." Some believe it's the new name for the Italian automaker's Murcielago-replacing supercar. Below, what the name means and specifications we expect for this new raging bull.

According to a select group of customers who saw the new bull-fighter at a special event this week, we're told the Lamborghini Aventador will look like a replica of the Lamborghini Revent?n. It'll even use the Revent?n's massive 6.5-liter V12 engine and produce a Revent?n-besting 700 HP with a redline of 8,250 RPM. Also, we're told that amazing engine will be mated to a seven-speed single clutch gearbox.

And oh, yes, it'll be light. Thanks to Lamborghini CEO Stephen Winkelmann's clarion call for weight loss, the new bullish beast will feature a carbon fiber monocoque chassis that'll cut the weight 500 lbs. from the Murcielago while upping rigidity by a whopping 70%.

All of this should translate into some seriously mind-blowing performance — it'll supposedly make a 0-to-62 time in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 217 MPH.

But now, to the name. For a while Lamborghini fan-boys have been confused about what to call the new replacement to the Murcielago. Some have called it the Jota. The Jota nameplate finds its roots in one of the most storied Lamborghinis to have ever existed, the Miura. The Lamborghini Miura was produced between 1966 and 1972, and represented what many today believe to be the birth of the two-seater, high-performance, mid-engine sports car. In 1970, a Lamborghini test driver named Bob Wallace used a special test mule that was named Lamborghini Miura Jota. The mule was eventually sold, and was tragically later burned to the ground after crashing on the ring road around Brescia. The name was later revived for a short period of time on the Diablo SE30 limited edition as a power upgrade. Others have merely called it the LP 700-4 — due to the 700 horses under the hood and the all-wheel drive powertrain.

While the numerical designation may be retained, we're hearing now, thanks to folks who attended this week's event at Lamborghini's Italian home, that the name will be Aventador.

Sure, that name sounds cool, but what in the name of Sant'Agata does it mean? It doesn't appear to mean anything in Italian, but in Spanish the word could mean everything from "fan used to blow a fire" to "a wooden fork with three or four prongs, used for winnowing corn." It also means, if we believe Babelfish, "a scourer."

UPDATE: I knew you guys would come to my rescue on the meaning of "Aventador." Commenter a1ek5ant3ri believes it should be used in the sense of "one who dares," while apparently, according to this source, translated via Google, it also was:

"The bull of the Sons of Don Celestino Cuadri Vides, called Aventador, was marked with the number 32, was black, chestnut and weighed 507 kilos of pv was raced in second place in the Plaza de Toros de Zaragoza, (10/15/1993 ), accounting for the skilled Emilio Mu?oz, who cut off his ear. From their behavior in the sand got the trophy of the Rock The bravest bull Madro?era Marketplace Pilar."

Thanks to Carfolio on Twitter for the help with that last link!

When's it coming? Although we're expecting something to be unveiled at the LA Auto Show next week, we're hearing that'll be a drop-top — the Lamborghini Gallardo Performante — basically, a Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera Spyder. So expect the new Aventador to drop in Geneva next year.

What do you think? Will the new Lamborghini supercar be called "Aventador" — or is this just a load of bull designed to "fan the flames" on the new Murcielago replacement?

Rendering: autoevolution