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Lamborghini still working on SUV, no decision yet

If Lamborghini adds another model to round out its supercar portfolio, it will be a sport utility vehicle, CEO Stephan Winkelmann said. "We are working on it, but there is no decision taken," he told Autoblog in an interview in April. The Italian automaker currently has the V12-powered Aventador and V10-powered Huracan in its lineup. Both are two-seat supercars that cater to a niche of sporting-minded enthusiasts. Lamborghini has flirted with several kinds of vehicles in recent years that could add to its volume and customer base, including the hybrid Asterion revealed at the Paris Motor Show last year, and the Estoque sedan that debuted in Paris in 2008. It also showed the Urus SUV prototype at the Beijing Motor Show in 2012. Seemingly a sure thing three years ago – the Urus even had sales projections of 3,000 per year – the project's future has remained uncertain to enthusiasts. "If we do a third model, then it's better to have the SUV as this is a growing segment, a more emotional segment, a segment which is very well-distributed in terms of volume all over the planet," Winkelmann said. And therefore this is a car which is more likely." While Lamborghini has focused on building high-powered, carbon-fiber intense supercars lately, it has also produced iconic grand tourers, like the Espada and 350GT. And of course, it once made an SUV, the LM002, from 1986-1993. The potential new SUV, however, would be different than the Rambo Lambo. The Urus had a contemporary design – more Porsche Macan or Cayenne than military grade – and it would appeal to Lamborghini owners that also have an SUV in their garage. It would also add significant volume for the company, which delivered 2,530 cars in 2014. The SUV offers Lamborghini a logical platform for a hybrid system. "Due to packaging, due to the weight of the entire vehicle, it's more likely that the hybridization is getting in place," Winkelmann said. "It's less a car which is about absolute performance. So this could be an opportunity." Put it all together and it seems likely a hybrid SUV is in Lamborghini's future. We're just not sure when. Related Video:

Supercar parade entering highway is mesmerizing

In what must have looked and sounded to motorists on the M6 like an invasion of The Swarm, a parade of 50 enthusiast gems leaving a charity event were caught shooting down the on-ramp and merging into traffic. There were plenty of Porsches joining the 959 and Ducktail above, Aston Martins going back to the badboy V8 of the last millennium, a Ferrari Testarossa, a TVR and numerous other Easter eggs.
There were not, however, plenty of turn signals, with someone counting just five among the fifty engaging in proper use of the blinker. One reason put forth for that is the same reason we're posting this video, which is from last Summer, below: "because supercar." Enjoy.

Lamborghini chief stands by V12s

Despite the push for fuel efficiency and low carbon emissions, the V12 is still a staple of high performance. Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, and yes, Lamborghini maintain fleets of these monstrous dinosaur engines. And for the final entry on that list, that's not going to change. Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali sat down with Autocar and explained in no uncertain terms that his company will continue to offer V12s for the time being. "Our major customers and dealers around the world say: 'Please do not touch the V12'," Domenicali told Autocar. "So we will continue to work in that direction." But there's more than just customer demand driving Lambo's V12 loyalty. According to Domenicali, the company's niche is small enough to weather V12-ruining storms. "In the short term, there is still a lot of development potential in the V12," Domenicali told Autocar. "Of course, we need to understand what the market is doing in terms of emissions and legislation, but I don't see that will be a problem. We are always very open to how the market might evolve." That evolution, lately, has tended toward electrification. The flagship of Lambo's arch-nemesis Ferrari pairs a 12-cylinder engine with a hybrid system for blistering performance. Then there's the stuff happening with the V8-powered Porsche 918 Spyder and McLaren P1. These three hybrids are in an entirely different and more potent performance (and price) class than Lamborghini's hottest model, the Aventador LP750-4 SV. Hybrids are the future of performance, for Lamborghini included... Eventually. "We cannot be disconnected to the world of the future but we want to be balanced," Domenicali said. "We need to make sure that as soon as the technology of electrification is relevant to our car at a cost level, and will add value, we are flexible to shift in that direction." Finally, Domenicali addressed advanced connectivity systems while parrying Autocar's question about autonomous vehicles. "If you own a Lamborghini, you want to have the passion of driving it and we need to keep that. But new technology could have some relevance to the driver. For example, if you are on a race track, you could have a head-up display which shows you how to maximize your performance [around a corner], using the telemetry we have now," Domenicali told AC. "That's an approach where I see that technology could be very useful for our customer." Related Video: