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Lamborghini unveils customer-commissioned one-off SC20 barchetta

Lamborghini unveiled the mysterious roof-less supercar it has been testing on and off the track for the past few months. Called SC20, it's a one-of-a-kind model positioned at the intersection of road cars and track cars. Developed by Squadra Corse, the firm's in-house racing division, the SC20 was built at the request of a customer who eagerly participated in nearly every step of the design process. Lamborghini explained the project's goal was to transfer some of the lessons it learned on the track (notably those related to aerodynamic technology) to a street-legal car that falls in line with its current design language without copying an existing model. Mitja Borkert, the head of the company's design department, cited the Diablo VT Roadster, the Aventador J, the Veneno Roadster, and the Concept S as sources of inspiration. Up front, the SC20 is less angular than the Aventador S, though it's still immediately recognizable as a member of the Lamborghini family, and its vents are modeled after the Huracan Evo GT3's. Out back, the rear lights are reminiscent of the ones fitted to the Sian, but the fascia wears a markedly more aggressive design that incorporates a sizable wing with three positions called low, medium and high load, respectively, a deep diffuser and vents that let hot air escape the engine bay. Viewed from the side, the SC20 is characterized by the complete lack of a windshield, a layout which provides an unobstructed view of the Alcantara upholstery on the dashboard and of the carbon fiber panel that covers the digital instrument cluster. All told, the SC20 is much closer to a barchetta than to a conventional convertible. Bare carbon fiber on the dashboard, the firewall, the door panels and the center console hints at the SC20's lightweight construction. Lamborghini used the composite material to make the seat shells, too, and it machined the door handles out of solid aluminum. The center console houses a slanted touchscreen which displays the infotainment software that the Italian company developed in-house and released on the Huracan Evo. Although the Aventador's replacement will go hybrid, the SC20 eschews electrification. It's powered by a naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V12 which produces 770 horsepower at 8,500 rpm and 531 pound-feet of torque at 6,750 rpm. It spins the four wheels via an Independent Shifting Rod (ISR) seven-speed automatic transmission linked to a pair of shift paddles and a central electronic differential.

Lamborghini confirms next-gen Aventador and Huracan to be PHEVs

It's official, Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali confirmed to Top Gear magazine that the next-generation Aventador and Huracan will get plug-in hybrid powertrains. Autocar reported last October that the next Huracan would get "next-generation" batteries to aid its naturally aspirated V10 when it debuts around 2022. The fate of the Aventador S's successor, however, was unclear beyond the certainty of it featuring a mid-mounted V12. Now we know it will get a naturally aspirated V12 with electric help when it arrives in 2020 or so, and both cars will boast a small all-electric range. Top Gear imagined how much each coupe could gain — both in weight and in power — by mating each car's current engine with the 134-horsepower electric motor and 14-kWh lithium-ion battery pack from the Porsche Panamera Turbo S e-hybrid. TG figures the Aventador S replacement would go from 730 hp and 508 pound-feet of torque to 860 hp and 566 lb-ft. That's the good news. The bad news is that Porsche said the hybrid system adds 661 pounds to the weight of the Panamera. Tack that onto the Lamborghini, and an Aventador S goes up a weight class to 4,354 pounds. The new Huracan output stretches from 602 hp and 412 lb-ft to 728 hp and 471 lb-ft, and 3,796 pounds. Judged on the results of that purely imaginary fancy, Top Gear says the numbers "well and truly stack up." We think that given the chance to add 130 horsepower at the price of putting a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy in the trunk — or the weight of second complete engine — we might ask if there were other tradeoffs available. We're certain Lamborghini's working all the angles, though, and confident the Sant' Agata carmaker will translate its actual figures into another duo of brutal, bewitching sports cars. The brand is looking beyond the near-term hybrids to what could come after, as well. Domenicali said he doesn't believe there will be sufficient potential in electric powertrains until 2026, but he's ready with concepts like the Terzo Millennio whenever the powertrains are. Lamborghini's also working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to "write an important page in the future of super sports cars for the third millennium," suspected to center on lightweight materials, solid-state batteries, and alternative fuels. On that last note, Domenicali's already eyeing the potential of using hydrogen fuel cells in the distant future.

Dax Shephard, Lamborghini Super Trofeo racer?

Dax Shepard is no Paul Newman, nor even Patrick Dempsey, but he has a pretty cool gig mixed with plenty of acting and racing. While you might know him from Hollywood comedies like Employee of the Month and Hit & Run, the Michigan native now seems to be dabbling in road racing after competing in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America, and to celebrate, Lamborghini has issued a new short video introducing Shepard and kicking off its new pro-am racing series.
Like many kids of the '70s and early '80s, Shepard's love of cars can be traced back to a Lamborghini Countach, and, fittingly, his first time road racing in a car happened to be in a Lamborghini - an experience he comically suggests would be like another sort of "first time" with Selma Hayek. In addition a few chuckles, the video posted below also gives us some of our first racing footage of the Super Trofeo North America's opening weekend at Lime Rock in early July, in which Shepard grabbed a third-place finish.