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Lamborghini Murcielago SV reverse-engineered by a team from Iran

Iranian engineers successfully made themselves a copycat Lamborghini Murcielago SV. In looks, if not in performance, that is. The most interesting aspect behind the project is that they say it was created using Lamborghini's original data. They took a serious left turn when it came to the powertrain though, because sitting behind the driver is a 3.8-liter Hyundai V6. Not quite the 6.5-liter V12 monster in the actual Murcielago SV. Massoud Moradi, the director of the project, thinks that nobody would be able to tell the difference between this car and Lamborghini's from an appearance standpoint. "All parts of the body, inside the car and precise mechanics of the car are manufactured and mounted based on the original ... Murcielago platform. Its chassis is also one and one with the original," Massoud says. One of the reasons Massoud and his team embarked on this project was to learn how Lamborghini made its supercars. They made their replica after taking apart a real Murcielago and designing new parts based on the original Lamborghini bits. The project to make this thing started four years ago, and the team didn't spend "any time planning or testing the car." Now that's a clear indication you probably don't want to drive this thing. Just because it's designed to be a copy of the Murcielago doesn't mean it's going to perform anything like it on the road. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. We'll admit the exterior design is pretty spot-on compared to the actual Murcielago SV, as you can see in the video above (which comes from RT, a network funded by the Russian government). Everything apparently lines up to the original dimensionally, and it uses a bunch of carbon fiber and composite components throughout. Moradi claims a top speed of at least 174 miles per hour — there's no word on what, if any, modifications have been done to the Hyundai engine and transmission to achieve such a speed. So count us skeptical for the time being. The Iranian team wants to make more of them too. Moradi suggested that the small company could make 50-100 units per year if they were to go into production. He'd like future iterations of the car to have larger V8 and even V10 engines, too. Might we suggest some testing first? And what does Lamborghini think of this whole operation? These guys purposefully copied one of Lamborghini's designs with an intent to eventually make money off of it.

Lamborghini Urus S adds Performante power and new styling

The Lamborghini Urus just got a new performance variant in the Performante, but now the standard Urus is going through a mid-cycle upgrade of sorts and being renamed the Urus S. So, for the time being there won’t be any Urus models beyond the S and Performante. The Urus S is being treated to the same power upgrade and powertrain calibration as the Performante. That means itÂ’ll have the more potent 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that produces 657 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque — that is 16 ponies more than the base Urus itÂ’s replacing. The 0-62 mph time lags behind that of the PerformanteÂ’s by a couple tenths at 3.5 seconds. However, thatÂ’s 0.1 second quicker than the old Urus. The S gets a re-tuned exhaust system that Lamborghini says is “more distinct” at startup and has a “sharper note” in each drive mode. And speaking of drive modes, you get seven in the Urus, including four on-road modes and three off-road modes for any possible scenario. What the Urus S doesnÂ’t get from the Performante is that modelÂ’s fixed suspension. Instead, Lamborghini carries over its air suspension from the pre-refresh Urus that allows for a wider breadth of use cases than the singular-minded Performante. A number of minor design updates give the Urus S a fresh look. It gets a new front bumper and a new matte black-painted stainless steel front skid plate. The hood is now made of carbon fiber and has matte black-painted air vents, and a new optional carbon fiber roof brings even more sportiness to the table. Lamborghini says its new rear bumper design is meant to make the car look more “streamlined and elegant.” Plus, the updated exhaust system features a new twin-pipe exhaust exit design. Additional wheel options are available in 21-inch, 22-inch and 23-inch flavors. More customization options abound, too, as Lamborghini says itÂ’s greatly expanded its options list of colors, trims, wheels, style packages and “special details.” The same can be said for interior customization, as the Urus S offers all new colors and trims. The Urus S is set to start at ˆ195,538, but U.S. pricing wasnÂ’t provided at reveal time. Expect it to arrive soon and be sold alongside the Performante model here in America. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Why Italians are no longer buying supercars

Italy is the wound that continues to drain blood from the body financial of Italian supercar and sports car makers. The wound was opened by the country's various financial police who decided to get serious about superyacht-owning and supercar-driving tax cheats a few years ago, by noting their registrations and checking their incomes. When it was found that a rather high percentage of exotic toy owners had claimed a rather low annual income - certain business owners were found to be declaring less income than their employees - the owners began dumping their cars and prospective buyers declined to buy.
Car and Driver has a piece on how the initiative is hitting the home market the hardest. Lamborghini sold 1,302 cars worldwide in 2010, 1,602 cars in 2011 and 2,083 cars in 2012 - an excellent surge in just two years. In Italy, however, it's all about the ebb: in 2010, the year that Italian police began scouring harbors, Lamborghini sold 96 cars in Italy, the next year it sold 72, last year it sold just 60. The declines for Maserati and Ferrari are even more pronounced.
Head over to CD for the full story and the numbers. What might be most incredible isn't the cause and effect, but where the blame is being placed. A year ago the chairman of Italy's Federauto accused the government of "terrorizing potential clients," this year Luca di Montezemolo says what's happening has created "a hostile environment for ­luxury goods." Life at the top, it ain't easy.