The new Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster is the most outrageous model to come from the extreme Italian automaker in five decades, a car so wholly and magnificently over-the-top that it presides over a market segment of one.

The Aventador coupe, which debuted to great acclaim at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show and went on sale that summer, has emerged as one of Lamborghini’s great success stories. The company says it has already delivered some 1,300 cars to customers. The unspeakably charismatic Roadster is sure to extend that success in a big way.

The hallmark of the new Roadster is naturally its two-piece removable roof. Each composite panel—which must be removed by hand and stowed in the front luggage compartment—weighs in at a very manageable 13 pounds. Naturally, the topless Aventador gives up little to its closed-roof stablemate in terms of outright performance. Its midmounted, normally aspirated 6.5-liter V-12 belts out a stupefying 700 hp and 509 ft lbs of torque, delivered to all four wheels via a lightning-quick 7-speed automated manual gearbox. Sixty-two mph arrives in 3.0 seconds flat, and the car’s top speed is a world-blurring 217 mph. And that’s with the top on or off.

The Avendator LP 700-4 Roadster is available for order now from any of Lamborghini’s more than 120 worldwide dealers. It is priced a cool $44,100 higher than the Aventador coupe at $445,300, including the gas-guzzler tax. (lamborghini.com)