X

What does a $6,000 phone look like? The Lamborghini 88 Tauri, of course (hands-on)

The Torino Lamborghini 88 Tauri is crafted of calfskin and steel, and topped with sportscar-grade shatterproof glass. We take it for a test drive at CES 2015.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Director, Commerce & Content Operations
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
Expertise Content strategy, team leadership, audience engagement, iPhone, Samsung, Android, iOS, tips and FAQs.
Jessica Dolcourt
2 min read

LAS VEGAS -- The lap of luxury evokes actual laps in the Torino Lamborghini 88 Tauri, an ultrapremium Android smartphone from the family of storied car-makers.

Lambo isn't new to the smartphone game, and this latest effort outpaces previous models in both size and specs. What the 88 Tauri's $6,000 or £4,000 price tag (that's $AU11,255) gets you is mostly a name and a designer decal (plus a really cool ostentatious case that opens like a Lamborghini hood, and a set of expensive headphones).

However, it is also outfitted with its share of premium materials, like nine different colors of calfskin leather over three treatments of stainless steel. These include black, silver, and genuine gold-plate.

Enlarge Image
The Lamborghini 88 Tauri in all its leather-and-metal glory. Dan Graziano/CNET

The glass covering the phone's 5-inch 1080p display is also special. Lamborghini says that the company customized it to be shatterproof and scratch-proof; in fact, it's the same glass used in Lamborghini's own cars.

Hardware specs

For a phone so pricey, the specs are good, even quite good, but not cutting-edge. That's just not what you pay for in a stupid-expensive smartphone.

It runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat, not the latest 5.0 Lollipop, and its cameras shoot 20-megapixel photos from the rear and 8-megapixel snaps from the front. The 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor is proven to be very fast (though we're now on Snapdragon 810), and the 3GB RAM is a healthy dose.

Lamborghini's high-octane 88 Tauri phone for pure fans (photos)

See all photos

You'll also get a 3,400mAh battery and 64GB of possible expandable memory on this dual-SIM device. We're told that the phone, which just went on sale today, will be sold in extremely limited quantity: 1,947 models to commemorate the 1947 birthday of Tonino Lamborghini, the famous carmaker's son.

The phone is larger than I thought it would be for a 5-incher, mostly because it's layered in all those fancy fabrics and such. It doesn't feel liquidy sleek or satiny smooth. Rather, it's a little rough and angular, very square and boxy, and fairly hefty to hold. It's a phone to be noticed, especially with all its stitching along the back and glinting decals.

Die-hards can buy the collectible from select high-end stores (like Harrods in London), or direct from the company's site.

All the cool new gadgets at CES 2015 (pictures)

See all photos