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Lamborghini reveals Asterion LPI 910-4 hybrid hypercar concept

There are automakers that roll out concept cars regularly as a matter of course, and there are those that rarely do. Lamborghini falls squarely in the latter category, which makes the vehicle you see here - revealed just a day before the Paris Motor Show - such a rare treat.
It's called the Lamborghini Asterion LPI 910-4, and if you're familiar with Sant'Agata nomenclature, you're probably already picking apart its specs based on those letters and numbers: LP for longitudinal posterior, telling you this is, like all other contemporary Raging Bulls, a mid-engined supercar. 910 tells you how much metric horsepower it packs. The 4 tells you it's all-wheel drive. But along with the name Asterion, borrowed from a mythical minotaur (a hybrid man-bull, for those unschooled in Greek mythology), it's the letter I - standing for "Ibrido" - which speaks of the novelty of this concept.
That's right, you're looking at the first gasoline-electric hybrid Lamborghini. A plug-in hybrid, in fact, that can travel 31 miles on electricity alone. The powertrain combines the 5.2-liter V10 and seven-speed DSG from the Huracán (good for 610 metric horsepower) to a trio of electric motors (good for another 300) to bring total output up to a claimed 910 - equivalent to 897 hp by our standards - assuming all four motors are running at peak output at the same time. That makes it the most powerful Lamborghini we've ever seen, and puts it in league with the McLaren P1 and LaFerrari. The result is a 0-62 time quoted at three seconds flat and a top speed of 199 miles per hour, or up to 78 mph in pure electric mode.

Watch a Lamborghini change color thanks to thermochromic paint

German artist Rene Turrek went from being a punk kid using spray paint to illegally tag walls to a global celebrity artist working with clients such as Mattel and Nikon. He may have become a little more corporate, but he still finds a way to do some playful work for himself. Recently he has turned his attention to creating incredible paint jobs on some pretty cool cars. Turrek released this video last week of his Lamborghini Gallardo, which at first just seems like a pretty purplish color. But a little bit of water splashed on the hood reveals an awesome tribute to that most awesome of crimefighters, Captain America. Turrek isn't some sort of nerdy witch. The car is coated in thermochromic paint, which reacts to temperature changes. When not activated, the Lambo is disguised as a mild-mannered purple supercar. A cup or two of warm water thrown on the special paint and it becomes translucent, revealing the car's true colors. After a few moments the paint becomes opaque again. Turrek calls the work 'The First Avenger.' We've seen a similar use of the paint on a R33 Nissan Skyline, which allowed the car to turn from orange to black and back to orange again. This isn't the first superhero supercar Turrek has produced. He also created a BMX X6 that looked blue under normal conditions, but revealed The Incredible Hulk on the hood when hit with warm water. Unfortunately the disappearing effect fades once the paint is exposed to too much sunlight, so to keep the paint job safe these cool cars would have to be kept in the dark. And at $400 a pint, Thermochromic paint can cost thousands of dollars to coat a car. It may not be the most cost-effective way to enhance your ride, but certainly one of the coolest. Related: Video:

Ken Block and friends race light in silly-beautiful Castrol commercial

How does one make fast, loud, drifting cars better? Well, you can add more fast, loud, drifting cars or you can add lasers. Either or, really. In this case, Castrol did the right thing and added both, creating a highly stylized commercial for its Edge Titanium motor oil starring South African racer Adrian Zaugg, BMW factory driver Augusto Farfus, Audi DTM and Le Mans staple Mike Rockenfeller and some bloke named Ken Block.
Their cars? No surprise, but Block is in his Ford Fiesta GRC, while Zaugg samples a Lamborghini Aventador and Farfus and Rockenfeller drive along party lines, with a BMW M4 and an Audi R8, respectively. And those cars look good, too, thanks to the creative light and laser work on display.
Take a look below for the video from Castrol.