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2023 Lamborghini Sterrato First Drive: Ridiculous obliteration of boundaries

DESERT CENTER, Calif. — Lamborghini knows something about its buyers: They like to be able to appear, and to perform acts that are, ridiculous. Normally, thatÂ’s meant scissor-hinged doors and unhinged performance on pavement. On occasion, though, Lambo has taken its boundary-obliterating show off-road – and not just because stability control spectacularly failed. The legendary LM002 was a V12-powered luxury pickup largely meant from Emirati sheiks to power-slide up sand dunes, while the brandÂ’s best-selling Urus is more than capable of doing silly things in places more rugged than the Starbucks drive-thru. And now, plowing sideways through a dirt track and into the pantheon of LamboÂ’s bat-shit off-road vehicles comes the 601-horsepower, V10-powered, $273,000, limited-edition 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato. It is lifted 44 mm or 1.73 inches for greater ground clearance and suspension travel. The track is widened by 30 mm up front and 34 mm in the rear, enough to require bolted-on fender flares. Its tickly underside is armored with aluminum skid plates. The body is safari-fied with nostil-like driving lights, roof bars to support a gear-toting rack, and a snorkel so it can breathe more readily when drawing lines in the sand. It looks less like a supercar and more like the getaway vehicle for a pair of tomb raiders, looking to sneak out of Giza ahead of the cultural police, and whatever curse the thieves may have uncorked. Just a few weeks before driving the Sterrato through  —  literally, through  —  the Southern California desert, I had been behind the wheel of its slightly-cheaper and alternatively-missioned sibling, the Huracan Tecnica, in twisty Italian mountain roads. With 30 more horsepower, rear-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-steering, a tuned exhaust system, and Bridgestone Potenza Race tires, it was surprisingly delightful and easy to drive quickly, even/especially through technical turns and blasting curves. The Sterrato was a whole different bullfight, but remarkably similar in its capacity to elevate my driving skills. It was so simple to drive well through bounding hairpins, arcing sweepers, and elevation-switching chicanes — usually utilized by dirt bike racers — that it was actually startling. I have driven all manner of trucks and SUVs in the sand, but IÂ’ve never had this experience with a “safariÂ’d” performance car. The Sterrato is a revelation in this respect.

Bertone goes bust

The famous Italian coachbuilder and designer Bertone may be on its deathbed. The company that penned the beautiful shape of the Lamborghini Miura has been facing financial hardships for months, and Autocar is reporting that the Turin, Italy firm has just declared bankruptcy. The last we heard from Bertone, it was showing the Jet 2+2 station wagon based on an Aston Martin Rapide at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The Turin-based carrozzeria became famous for its wild designs like the BMW Spicup concept, Lancia Stratos and the initial shape of the Lamborghini Countach. In recent years, it had been limited to creating mostly one-off vehicles. The company has slowly been shrinking recently. It sold its small factory to Fiat a few years go and let go of 165 employees and 10 interns in December. Bertone has been shopping itself in hopes of finding a new owner. According to PistonHeads, even with the money problems, the business generated 20-million euros ($27.9 million) in revenue in 2013 and has been working on projects in China. A Turkish firm was rumored to be interested in buying it for just $2.7 million, and GT Spirit claims that there are also seven Italian companies potentially interested in purchasing it. Bertone has a long and proud automotive history, and it wouldn't be surprising if it were bought just for the value of the brand – perhaps we haven't seen the last of its stylized B logo. Featured Gallery Bertone Jet 2+2: Geneva 2013 View 10 Photos News Source: Autocar via Pistonheads, GTSpiritImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Design/Style Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Plants/Manufacturing BMW Lamborghini Lancia Concept Cars Luxury Special and Limited Editions Performance Classics bertone lamborghini miura Lamborghini Countach

Lamborghini Urus S adds Performante power and new styling

The Lamborghini Urus just got a new performance variant in the Performante, but now the standard Urus is going through a mid-cycle upgrade of sorts and being renamed the Urus S. So, for the time being there won’t be any Urus models beyond the S and Performante. The Urus S is being treated to the same power upgrade and powertrain calibration as the Performante. That means itÂ’ll have the more potent 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that produces 657 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque — that is 16 ponies more than the base Urus itÂ’s replacing. The 0-62 mph time lags behind that of the PerformanteÂ’s by a couple tenths at 3.5 seconds. However, thatÂ’s 0.1 second quicker than the old Urus. The S gets a re-tuned exhaust system that Lamborghini says is “more distinct” at startup and has a “sharper note” in each drive mode. And speaking of drive modes, you get seven in the Urus, including four on-road modes and three off-road modes for any possible scenario. What the Urus S doesnÂ’t get from the Performante is that modelÂ’s fixed suspension. Instead, Lamborghini carries over its air suspension from the pre-refresh Urus that allows for a wider breadth of use cases than the singular-minded Performante. A number of minor design updates give the Urus S a fresh look. It gets a new front bumper and a new matte black-painted stainless steel front skid plate. The hood is now made of carbon fiber and has matte black-painted air vents, and a new optional carbon fiber roof brings even more sportiness to the table. Lamborghini says its new rear bumper design is meant to make the car look more “streamlined and elegant.” Plus, the updated exhaust system features a new twin-pipe exhaust exit design. Additional wheel options are available in 21-inch, 22-inch and 23-inch flavors. More customization options abound, too, as Lamborghini says itÂ’s greatly expanded its options list of colors, trims, wheels, style packages and “special details.” The same can be said for interior customization, as the Urus S offers all new colors and trims. The Urus S is set to start at ˆ195,538, but U.S. pricing wasnÂ’t provided at reveal time. Expect it to arrive soon and be sold alongside the Performante model here in America. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.