2004 Gallardo Cpe * Only 7k Miles * Egear * Pearl Yellow * Fresh Service!! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

The Lamborghini Centenario is sold out

Lamborghini is expected to unveil a new supercar at the Geneva Motor Show in a couple of months. Tipped to be called the Centenario, the limited-run special will commemorate the hundredth anniversary of company founder Ferruccio Lamborghini's birth. But before it makes its public debut, the company has reportedly sold every last one. The Centenario (or whatever it's ultimately called) will be the latest in a line of limited-production supercars rolling out of Sant'Agata, following in the footsteps of the Reventon, Sesto Elemento, and Veneno. It's expected to be based on the Aventador, but with unique bodywork and a more potent version of Lambo's 6.5-liter V12 engine. The company is expected to produce 40 examples – 20 coupes and 20 roadsters – all of which have reportedly already been spoken for despite a price tag of nearly $2.4 million. The trend of selling out such high-end machinery prior to their debut is picking up steam at the top end of the supercar market. Manufacturers like Lamborghini, Bugatti, Pagani, and Koenigsegg typically show their most dedicated customers plans for what they have in store behind closed doors and start taking deposits before the vehicle is ever shown to the public. And with such limited production numbers, they sell out rather quickly, no matter how many millions the company charges for the privilege. As Autocar points out, 2016 also marks the 50th anniversary of the Miura – one of Lamborghini's most legendary models. Ten years ago the company marked the model's 40th anniversary with a one-off concept that never saw production. While Lamborghini is more forward-looking than prone to retro throwbacks, we wouldn't be surprised to see some form of tribute resurface this year.

Audi: record profit as 'biggest product initiative' in its history gets underway

Audi Group CEO Markus Duesmann   Even as the Audi Group (VOW.DE), VW’s luxury division, is in the midst of a huge EV transformation it still needs to perform where it counts — the bottom line. And so it is doing just that.  On Thursday the Audi Group - which is dominated volume-wise by Audi, but also includes Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ducati - posted record revenue and operating profit in 2022. That shouldnÂ’t be a surprise given what the industry has been seeing at the highest end of the market - record performances despite macroeconomic jitters across the globe. But that it's happening as the group is noteworthy.  “We are on the verge of the biggest product initiative in our history,” Audi Group CEO Markus Duesmann said at a news conference earlier on Thursday. “By 2025, we will have launched around 20 new models, more than 10 of which will be all-electric. We have set the course to go 100% electric. By 2027, we seek to offer an all-electric vehicle in each core segment.”   This is all part of Audi GroupÂ’s Vorsprung 2030 plan, which seeks to have all of the groupÂ’s new models be electric by 2026 — and to end traditional gas-powered engine production by 2033. To that end, the group saw EV deliveries jump 44% (in 2022) compared to 2021 to over 118,000 vehicles, with the share of EVs rising to 7.2% from 4.8% in the prior year. Audi is also launching its first EV using the PPE (premium platform electric), which was developed together with Porsche. That EV, the Audi Q6 e-tron, will be unveiled later this year. (Past Audi EVs shared corporate parent VWÂ’s electric platform.) “With the Audi Q6 e-tron, e-mobility is coming from Ingolstadt (Audi HQ) for the first time,” Duesmann said in a statement. “To this end, weÂ’re also building a dedicated battery assembly facility on site. This will enable us to retain important know-how here in Germany and train our employees in future fields.” AudiÂ’s German rivals of course are also leaning in hard on their EV transformations. That makes it all the more important that Audi get its EV strategy right—and launched in a timely manner.

Lamborghini Huracan STO Road Test: If death metal was a car

MALIBU, Calif. — If heavy death metal music were a car, it would be the Lamborghini Huracan STO. This is not your run-of-the-mill Lamborghini. It doesnÂ’t have all-wheel drive. The floor and doors are essentially bare carbon. It has a complex clamshell front end/hood you manually open with a plastic prong — under it, thereÂ’s barely room for a racing helmet. There are only three drive modes, a pittance for a modern supercar. A super-low, zero-forgiveness full carbon fiber front bumper/splitter is fitted that will torment your mind on every grade change. Its dry weight (the only one Lamborghini quotes) is only 2,942 pounds. That last bit — its low-for-a-Lambo weight — is the secret ingredient in what makes this STO drive like a special machine. Forget any stereotypes you may have about todayÂ’s Lamborghinis being the porky, easier-to-drive Italian supercar. The STO is pure, old-school Lambo. It looks those preconceived notions in the face and slaps them aside as quick as the 5.2-liter V10 can rev to its 8,500 rpm redline. That is, very, very quickly. The death metal begins as soon as you drop into the carbon buckets. In proper race car fashion, there are no traditional grab handles on the bare carbon door. Instead, a flexible piece of fabric is fashioned as a pull, and it works quite well. Getting out could be confusing for those new to track-focused machines like the STO, as the red strap suspiciously poking out of the door is actually a handle that you pull to activate. Adjusting the seat is all manual work — every extra electric anything would just add weight.  YouÂ’ll quickly learn that thereÂ’s a reason carpeting is the floor material of choice for every car out there, as the optional $4,600 carbon fiber floor mats optioned on this STO make for a SlipÂ’N Slide-themed pedal box. It can be acclimated to (your shoe choice has never mattered more), but good old-fashioned carpeting canÂ’t be beat. Everyday functionality was the last thing on LamborghiniÂ’s mind when creating the STO, though. One quick look at the rearview mirror makes this abundantly clear. While youÂ’ll see flashes of trailing traffic in between the louvers of the STOÂ’s engine cover, this design largely limits rearward visibility to the side mirrors. And before you ask, no, it doesnÂ’t have blind-spot warning.