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Road & Track goes inside Lamborghini's Sant'Agata engine factory

While it's fair to think that the Lamborghini factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese is a place where mustachioed Italian sorcerers weave spells into hypercars, the truth is sadly far less magical (although the results are just as impressive). Road & Track took a peek behind the curtain and toured the home of Lamborghini's engine works, where the 691-horsepower thumper from the Aventador is bolted together. Not only is it an interesting look inside the facility, R&T's host provides a great contrast with the current facility and its low-tech past.

Volkswagen Group's Vision 2030 strategy could bring revolution to the brands

One would expect a corporate plan called "Vision 2030," looking 11 years ahead through wildly tumultuous times, to involve great change and numerous forks in numerous roads. According to Automobile's breakdown of Volkswagen's path forward, though, the plans contain some lurid potential surprises. The ultimate aim is return on investment, and that means ruthless reorganization of a conglomerate with eight primary car brands, two car sub-brands, and Ducati motorcycles. The first two Vision 2030 cornerstones Automobile mentions are near boilerplate: Production network restructuring, and "streamlining of key technologies." The latter two are the ones that could upend what we know as the Volkswagen Group: focusing on the Group's core brands — meaning Audi, Porsche, and VW — and transitioning to EVs, autonomy, and other mobility solutions. Based on the report, a quote from Audi's CTO referring to the Audi brand could cover how the Group plans to handle all of its brands: "We need to find a sustainable solution for the indefinite transition period until EVs eventually take over." The boutique divisions adjacent to carmaking, Ducati and Italdesign, look likely to be spun off. For the halo car brands — Bentley, Bugatti, and Lamborghini — apparently shareholders want double-digit returns on investment, and the trio doesn't have long to hit the target. One eyebrow raiser is when the report states, "Bugatti is tipped to be gifted to [ex-VW Group Chairman] Ferdinand Piech." Piech fathered the Veyron during his tenure at VW, and it was thought he commissioned the La Voiture Noire, but he's lately stepped so far back from VW that he sold all his shares in the Group. Automobile quoted a senior strategist as saying of money-losing Bentley, "Why invest on a backward-looking enterprise when you can support a trendsetter? A proud history and excellent craftmanship alone don't cut it anymore." We guess no one at Ferrari, McLaren, or even Porsche got that memo. Bentley is reportedly close to being put in time out, and if brand CEO Adrian Hallmark can't right the Crewe ship, the hush-hush Plan B is to prop the Flying B up enough to lure a buyer. As for Lamborghini, caught between two masters at Audi and Porsche, even record-breaking numbers at the Italian supercar maker barely staved off sacrilege. It's said that VW brand CEO Herbert Diess considered putting a 5.0-liter Porsche V8 into the Aventador successor.

Watch a 1,000 hp twin-turbo Lamborghini Huracan dyno run

AMS/Alpha Performance, known for their Audi R8 V10 Alpha 10 Twin Turbo package, have laid their eager hands on the Lamborghini Huracan. In this short and sweet video, the newly improved prototype Huracan struts its stuff on the dynamometer. Like the Audi, the Huracan also gains a pair of Garrett ball bearing turbos coupled with intercoolers, and the car has been built as a prototype of their stage one turbo system. It is virtually identical to the production version of AMS's twin turbo package for the Huracan, and the system has been devised to be a bolt-on system. The AMS package can be shipped out to anyone in the Alpha dealer network and installation has been made straightforward enough. "There is no hacking or cutting up the car", says Alpha's VP and lead engineer, Arne Toman. "It has been designed to be safe for the stock engine and transmission, and the only driveline improvement is an upgraded clutch pack which we include in the package." With pump gas, the Huracan TT Alpha 10 has a Veyron-baiting 1,000 horsepower, with the fuel system "maxed out" according to Arne. The Stage 2 setup, which will include forged engine internals, will go for 1,500 hp, while the third stage package dishes out more than 2,000 horsepower according to AMS. The prototype Huracan will run at the Gold Rush Rally next month, from Boston to Los Angeles. It should be a proper shakedown to prove the car's reliability, which is one aspect AMS Performance has been going for. Related Gallery AMS Alpha Lamborghini Huracan Twin Turbo Image Credit: AMS Performance Aftermarket Lamborghini Supercars Videos alpha