2006 Lamborghini Gallardo Base Coupe 2-door 5.0l on 2040-cars

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Lamborghini could be sold or spun off from the Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen is reportedly considering a sale or stock listing for its high-end Lamborghini brand. The German automaker is looking to fold the Italian supercar brand into a separate legal entity, reports Bloomberg, which cites "people familiar with the matter" who don't want to be identified "because the deliberations are confidential and no decisions have been made." Any of this sound familiar? The goal of spinning off Lamborghini would be to stockpile more cash and other resources for VW's massive planned push into electric vehicles. Back in March, reports circulated that Volkswagen's "Vision 2030" corporate plan might include plans to focus on the brand's core brands — VW, Audi and Porsche. That means the futures of fringe players like Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, motorcycle brand Ducati and design firm Italdesign (and note this isn't a comprehensive list of brand's under the expansive VW Group umbrella) are up in the air. VW, according to the report, is targeting a market value of $220 billion, which is a big jump from the brand's current $89 billion valuation. Bloomberg pegged Lamborghini's valuation at around $11 billion back in August, buoyed by sales and profits generated by the introduction of the Urus sport utility vehicle. On the flip side, Lamborghini is currently grappling with how best to update its supercar lineup in the face of ever-increasing emissions regulations.

Actor Eric Bana returning to Bathurst 12 enduro race

Eric Bana joins the field of the 2014 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour race next month, driving for the Australian FXD Workwear team. Bana's done the race twice before, coming in tenth overall in 2009 in his Love the Beast Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo X, posting a DNF in the same car in 2010.
This year he'll be in Class B behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 prepared by Racing Incident, joined by teammates Peter Hill and Simon Middleton. The race happens during the weekend of February 7-9, you can find a press release with the announcement below. You'll want to take the time to get to know it this year, because it's been widely reported that Eric Bana will return next year to share a Porsche 911 GT3 with Mark Webber.

Watch a Lamborghini change color thanks to thermochromic paint

German artist Rene Turrek went from being a punk kid using spray paint to illegally tag walls to a global celebrity artist working with clients such as Mattel and Nikon. He may have become a little more corporate, but he still finds a way to do some playful work for himself. Recently he has turned his attention to creating incredible paint jobs on some pretty cool cars. Turrek released this video last week of his Lamborghini Gallardo, which at first just seems like a pretty purplish color. But a little bit of water splashed on the hood reveals an awesome tribute to that most awesome of crimefighters, Captain America. Turrek isn't some sort of nerdy witch. The car is coated in thermochromic paint, which reacts to temperature changes. When not activated, the Lambo is disguised as a mild-mannered purple supercar. A cup or two of warm water thrown on the special paint and it becomes translucent, revealing the car's true colors. After a few moments the paint becomes opaque again. Turrek calls the work 'The First Avenger.' We've seen a similar use of the paint on a R33 Nissan Skyline, which allowed the car to turn from orange to black and back to orange again. This isn't the first superhero supercar Turrek has produced. He also created a BMX X6 that looked blue under normal conditions, but revealed The Incredible Hulk on the hood when hit with warm water. Unfortunately the disappearing effect fades once the paint is exposed to too much sunlight, so to keep the paint job safe these cool cars would have to be kept in the dark. And at $400 a pint, Thermochromic paint can cost thousands of dollars to coat a car. It may not be the most cost-effective way to enhance your ride, but certainly one of the coolest. Related: Video: