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Surviving Countach from 'The Wolf of Wall Street' headed to auction

The Lamborghini Countach’s rarity and status as the bedroom wall poster car of the 1980s has made it exceedingly valuable as a collectorÂ’s car. That said, a few examples of the car have risen above the rest as incredibly rare and expensive, and one of these super-special Lambos is headed to auction in December. RM SothebyÂ’s recently announced that it would auction a 1-of-12 white Countach that starred in "The Wolf of Wall Street." The 1989 25th Anniversary Bianco Polo Countach is one of two cars used in the film, but the other was badly damaged during production. With its U.S.-spec bumpers and Bianco (white) interior, the car is considered exceptionally valuable – at up to $2 million by some estimates. The damaged car still wears its scars, but SothebyÂ’s pointed out that the Countach in its auction sustained no damage during filming. The location and current condition of the other Countach are unknown, but as far as we can tell, no one has attempted to restore or auction it in the years since filming.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. With a 5.2-liter V12 under its rear hatch, the Countach was like something from outer space at the time. That sizable powerplant made 449 horsepower and 370 pound-feet of torque when new, which reached the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. Its performance isnÂ’t all that impressive by todayÂ’s standards – it takes around 5 seconds to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) from a standstill. The 190 mph top speed is quite stout, but the CountachÂ’s appeal is about more than its specs. From its debut in the early 1970s, the Countach has commanded the imaginations of car enthusiasts, young and old. Many of us grew up in the 1980s with the car plastered on our bedroom walls, and its staggering 26-year production run is the stuff of legends. The 25th Anniversary models had styling touches designed by Horacio Pagani, and this car is breathtaking, even with its goofy U.S. bumpers — safety regulations here required the addition of awkward bumper guards on the carÂ’s nose. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lambo Urus to stay true to concept, but almost didn't happen

Lamborghini has been making noise about adding a third model line for years, and it's finally going to happen now that the Urus concept has been approved for production. It'll likely be a while yet before all the details are sorted out and revealed to the public, but while visiting the factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Autoblog was able to glean some intriguing details about the Italian automaker's forthcoming crossover and its path it is taking from concept to production. "It's good to have heritage, but the LM002 is not the reference or the blueprint." - Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann We first saw the Urus concept back in 2012, and Lamborghini has been lobbying its parent company Volkswagen ever since for the go-ahead to put it into production. Now three years later, it finally has the green light. A company representative told Autoblog the production version looks "very" close to the concept. (No ground-up redesign here, then, like sister-brand Bentley did with its inaugural crossover project.) Speaking with a small group of journalists in Sant'Agata, the company's chief executive Stephan Winkelmann confirmed that "the SUV could be the [company's] first car with a turbo, and it could be the first car with a plug-in, if we have the opportunity to have more than one engine." The Urus (or however it's ultimately labeled for production) will also be decidedly geared towards on-road performance – unlike the Rambo Lambo on display in the museum next door. "It's good to have heritage," said Winkelmann, "but the LM002 is not the reference or the blueprint" for the new model. As to the question of why it has taken three years to get approval, and why it will take another three to put it into production, Winkelmann was frank: "Basically if you look at our numbers, we are a company which is growing at a fast pace, but we are very small," said the affable executive. "We had to find a way to almost double our efforts, because it's not the exchange of a model line, with the Gallardo and Huracan, it's adding a model line. And not out of 20 to come to 21 models, but from two to three is a major effort, and you have to have a rock-solid business case." "Putting 500 more people inside a company which is now at 1,200, you can imagine what it means. Doubling almost the size of the area here where we are sitting today. Investing hundreds and hundreds of millions.

Lamborghini Accademia heading to Laguna Seca

If you want to learn how to get the most out of your Lambo, who better to teach you than Lamborghini itself. That's why the Bolognese automaker has launched the Lamborghini Accademia. Developed by the factory's Squadra Corse competition department, the Lamborghini Accademia is set up to show customers how to handle their supercars on a closed track and with the expert tutelage of factory instructors.
The trouble for American customers, though, is that the Accademia has (this year, at least) only held sessions at European tracks like Imola in Italy and Hockenheim in Germany. Not that the cost of a transatlantic flight would deter someone splurging six figures on a supercar, mind you, but we're glad to report now that the program is coming to North America for the first time.
Between September 14 and 17, the Lamborghini Accademia will be setting up shop at California's legendary Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. That's where instructors will run groups of 24 students through the finer points of slalom, acceleration, braking, drifting and section-by-section learning of the famous track, from the Andretti Hairpin to the famous Corkscrew... all from behind the wheel of the new Huracán LP 610-4. Not a bad place to experience the Raging Bull marque's latest creation, or a bad car in which to experience one of America's finest racing circuits.