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Lamborghini Super Trofeo one-make racing series coming to America

Starting in June, racing fans in North America will have another way to get their fix. Lamborghini is bringing its Super Trofeo series to the US and Canada in a "long-term" deal that kicks off in a six-race season this year and should bring some extra excitement to the newly formed United SportCar Racing series in coming years.
The inaugural Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America race will be held at Mid-Ohio on June 15 and 16 with most of the rounds running alongside Grand-Am, International Motor Sport Association and American Le Mans Series races; the season finale will be held at the Indy Car event at Fontana, California on October 18 and 19. More importantly, the winners of each round will compete in a world final at a race in Italy against winner from the Super Trofeo races in Europe and Asia.
All competitors will be piloting specially prepared Gallardo LP 570-4 racecars featuring 570-horsepower V10 engines and paired with all-wheel drive. Scroll down for the Lamborghini press release, which gives the full six-race schedule.

Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali talks doubling production and saving the V12

Stefano Domenicali took over the reins of Automobili Lamborghini from Stephan Winkelmann back in February. A few of the most important decisions in Lamborghini history were made shortly before Domenicali's tenure started, like the green-lighting of the Urus SUV, so we jumped at the chance to speak to him about the company's future at Pebble Beach this past weekend. If you don't know the name, a little background: Domenicali's previous job was running the Ferrari Formula 1 team. So not only has he switched from Ferrari to arch-rival Lamborghini, he moved from a racing program to a supercar company that has historically been much less involved in motorsport. That being said, Domenicali has indicated he will stay his predecessor's course. Our interview is below. Alex Kierstein: We're here at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. You were judging this morning – what were you judging? SD: I was an honorary judge of category on elegance, on open cars. I had six cars, actually, 1911 to 1930 supercars, I would say. It's my first time here in Pebble Beach. My previous business [as director of Ferrari's Formula 1 team] I was always busy in that moment of the year. I say that I was impressed by the quality, the presentation, and the level of cars – and the people that are here. AK: And it's a great way to involve the owners. SD: Yeah. It is really super. I have to say that on top of this, I go home with a very, very positive [feeling], and on the other side, a big responsibility. Really, the comments, the things that came out during this weekend are extraordinary. That means that we have taken the right path that's the future. Now is the time where we need to grow in the right dimension, with the right step, both from the technological point of view and the branding positioning point of view. Don't forget that in two years' time, when the new SUV will come, this will represent for us a new challenge ... Even if you can say that we had the LM002. We need to prepare ourselves, the network, the company, and this is what we are doing. For example, so far, in the Sant'Agata plant, we are building the premises for the new SUV. I can assure you that for sure on our side, the super sports car remains the key market. We will never take Lamborghini out of this segment. It's a niche of which we will never push on the volume approach more than the numbers [we expect to see at the end of the year]. It should be, touching wood, another record year.

Lamborghini Asterion could still see showrooms

At the 2014 Paris Motor Show, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann told Maxim after the introduction of the stunning Asterion hybrid, "I strongly believe that this is not a car that will be in production, and we will not do it." However, the Asterion concept came more than a year after Winklemann told that same magazine, at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, that "Lamborghini was not interested in hybrids." He repeated the sentiment in Paris, saying, "We're still not interested." Well, someone at Lamborghini (or the Volkswagen Group?) does appear to be interested. The company's head of R&D, Maurizio Reggiani, told Autocar the story of the Asterion's development "started a couple of years ago" and is still being carried out in order to understand a real world hybrid application that would satisfy Lamborghini brand values – meaning electric assistance for a naturally aspirated engine with a high cylinder count. Reggiani never hints about the Asterion actually going on sale, but does tell Autocar, "The discussions inside Lamborghini now are about the potential cost of the car," and how it would be positioned. Having been told that it could sell for the price of the Aventador plus the hybrid drivetrain, Autocar figures an MSRP of 350,000 pounds ($551K US). The phrase "hybrid supercar" immediately brings three cracking coupes to mind, but the Asterion – were it to make production – wouldn't target that group; said Winklemann in that Maxim interview, "It's not meant to go on the racetrack. The acceleration is good, and the top speed, but in handling it would be out-beaten by the others. It's more a hyper-cruiser." We're fine with that, Mr. Winklemann – we think the Aston Martin Vanquish, Bentley Continental GT and Ferrari F12 Berlinetta could use the company. Bring it.