2012 Lamborghini Aventador Coupe Bianco Isis 10730 Miles on 2040-cars

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Top Gear names BMW i8 Car of the Year, Corvette, Ferrari, Mercedes also win big

The lads at Top Gear have released their listing of the finest cars of the past year, handing the ultimate honor to BMW's revolutionary i8 plug-in-hybrid supercar. "The i8 is a milestone in the annals of automotive history and a glorious statement for an exciting and positive future. The i8 delivers - and then some," the British mag wrote. The i8, though, was far from the only hybridized car to take victories. James May and Richard Hammond both highlighted hybrids as their personal cars of the year, with May saluting the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Hamster, unsurprisingly, heaping praise on the Porsche 918 Spyder. Jeremy Clarkson, meanwhile, opted to shock many by selecting not only an American car as his best of 2014, but giving the honor to of all things, a Corvette. Clarkson wasn't the only person to honor the USA's iconic sports car, with the new, 650-horsepower Z06 variant being named TG's Muscle Car of the Year. Other big winners include Mercedes-Benz, which TG honored for S-Class Coupe (Luxury Car of the Year), the new AMG GT (Sports Car of the Year) and the not-for-US C-Class Estate (Family Car of the Year). The 458 Italia Speciale A snagged a second win for Ferrari. The best of the rest include the Citroen C4 Cactus, Renault Twingo, Volkswagen Golf R, Lamborghini Huracan and Audi TT. Take a look below for the celebratory press blast from BMW. The BMW i8 wins Top Gear Car of the Year The BMW i8 has been named as Top Gear magazine's global Car of the Year 2014. The plug-in hybrid performance vehicle beat off some stiff competition from a host of other premium and luxury manufacturers to win the overall award. The editorial team of Top Gear commended the BMW i8 for its breadth of abilities. Its 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine combined with an electric motor gives searing acceleration and driver enjoyment but all wrapped in a package that takes BMW's EfficientDynamics philosophy to the extreme courtesy of CO2 emissions less than 49g/km and a 135mpg combined cycle figure. Charlie Turner, Editor in Chief at Top Gear magazine, said: "The BMW is a milestone in the annals of automotive history and a glorious statement for an exciting and positive future. The i8 delivers – and then some. It's the kind of car we should celebrate, a beautiful vision of the future, delivered now.

Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Squadra Corse brings one-make series to the road

Lamborghini announced a new Gallardo model today, the all-wheel-drive LP 570-4 Squadra Corse, and it's almost identical to the LP 570-4 Super Trofeo single-series race car. Its world premiere will be held at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
The street-legal Squadra Corse shares key components with the Super Trofeo - both of which are based on the Gallardo Superleggera - including the 570-horsepower V10, carbon fiber rear wing and removable engine hood made in the same material. The rear wing produces up to three times more downforce than what's found on the LP 560-4. Through the generous use of weight-saving materials and components, the Squadra Corse weighs in at 2,954 pounds, which is 154 pounds lighter than the LP 560-4. To stop all of that mass, standard production carbon-ceramic brakes are used.
Carbon fiber bucket seats with Alcantara center inserts replace the regular seats, though buyers can option them back in. Alcantara also covers the underside of the dashboard. The door panels, center console cover, handbrake frame and lower section of the steering wheel are all made in carbon fiber.

This is Lamborghini's evil-looking new racecar

As a part of the festivities to launch its Aventador Roadster model, Lamborghini has announced that is returning to racing with the new Gallardo GT3 FL2 and its in-house race team, Lamborghini Squadra Corse. The new race-spec Gallardo, co-developed with Reiter Engineering, will initially compete in motorsports series such as the Italian GT3 Championship, Asia Le Mans Series and the single-make Blancpain Super Trofeo Championship. Additional series will be announced later including races in the US next year - possibly as a part of the new Grand-Am/American Le Mans Series series.
Reiter Engineering has been building racing Lamborghinis since 2000, but this will be the first time it has worked in cooperation with the automaker to create a car.Other than the obvious aero changes such as the front splitter, rear diffuser and massive rear wing, the 2013 Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 FL2 also received some weight reduction, better brakes and engine cooling and, surprisingly, improved fuel consumption. The car dropped about 55 pounds compared to a standard Gallardo, and since it was designed to compete in endurance races, it was given "24-hour" brakes, although we don't actually know what changes were made.
Deliveries of the Gallardo GT3 FL2 will begin in March with a starting price of 320,000 euros, or around $430,000. Scroll down for more details about Lambo's newest racer.