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eBay Find of the Day: 1992 Minardi-Lamborghini M191L

Think of Italian Formula One teams and Ferrari is first and foremost to come to mind. But the Prancing Horse team is not the only game in town. What is today known as Scuderia Toro Rosso was once, and for two decades, known as Minardi. And for one (unfortunately unsuccessful) season, it was powered by Lamborghini.
That season was 1992, when Christian Fittipaldi (Emerson's nephew) drove for the team, substituted by Alex Zanardi for a few races and teamed up with Gianni Morbidelli - the Italian driver who just took the Superstars championship this past weekend.
Alongside the Modena team it supplied the year before (to even less success), the Minardi partnership was one of only two Italian teams which the F1 division established at Lamborghini under Chrysler ownership would motivate power. It yielded a sixth-place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix as its best result, but the coupling of an Italian engine in an Italian chassis is what makes it stand out in history. Valentino Balboni drove it for demonstration events at Road Atlanta and Sebring, and now that car is up for auction on eBay Motors.

All 12 Lamborghini Venenos have been recalled for risk of fire

From time to time, the fiery personality of Italian cars becomes a bit too literal, and this is one of those times. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has acknowledged a recall for fire risk on the 2012–2017 Lamborghini Aventador, as well as all of its variants, including all three customer Veneno coupes and nine customer roadsters. We imagine the fourth non-production Veneno coupe is also affected. The recall involves 1,453 cars in the US, and Bloomberg reports that it also affects cars in other markets, for a total of 5,900. The report Lamborghini submitted to NHTSA says the issue lies with the gas tank's EVAP system. Liquid fuel can get into the EVAP system if an owner overfills it or in "particular handling situations," which we assume includes hard acceleration and cornering that sloshes the fuel around. If the fuel gets into the EVAP system, flammable vapors can escape. These vapors could potentially ignite, and the report states that high revving at a stop or using an aftermarket exhaust increases the danger due to the possibility of flames coming from the exhaust. According to NHTSA documentation, owners of affected vehicles will be notified of the issue by Lamborghini, and they will be able to schedule a time at the dealer to have the EVAP system fixed. The remedy includes a new type of purge valve, and the change will be done for free. Also, owners of the new Aventador S and the latest versions of the Aventador SV have nothing to worry about, since their cars already have the new parts. As for other Aventador and Veneno owners, we'd recommend not filling up your cars quite so full, and maybe don't show off at stop lights too much until the car is fixed. Related Video:

Lamborghini confirms Urus SUV will be its only plug-in hybrid

According to Autocar, we'll be seeing the first production hybrid Lamborghini soon. The publication reports that Lamborghini's research and development chief, Maurizio Reggiani, confirmed that the Urus SUV will be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. This would also makes sense considering former Lamborghini CEO Stephen Winkelmann's statement that if the company ever produced a hybrid, the Urus would be "the logical place for it to launch." Aside from this, Reggiani revealed nothing more about the gas-electric Urus. Reggiani did, however, provide some insight to Autocar into Lamborghini's powertrain decisions. He told the publication that the Urus's already confirmed twin-turbo V8 was chosen because of a need for torque in an SUV. With this in mind, it will be interesting to see what the company does with the hybrid since a big enough electric motor (or motors) could provide a remarkable amount of torque and, in turn, some impressive performance figures. Lamborghini has even shown this potential in the Asterion concept, which produced 910 horsepower from a 5.2-liter V10 and three electric motors. Of course we'd expect an Urus hybrid to be much less potent and probably connected to a version of the turbocharged V8. Reggiani also told Autocar that, just as the Urus has specific powertrain needs, the supercars do as well. He said that the company has no intention of adding turbocharging to any of its cars. On this subject, he told the publication, "A supercar is completely different; you need the responsiveness of the engine, to feel the spark of every cylinder." It will be interesting to see how long people like Reggiani can keep turbocharging and hybrid assistance out of the sports cars in the face of stricter emissions targets. He hints that future advancements in weight reduction and other areas may be key to that. It's certainly nice to hear that there are people at Lamborghini that still value the subjective aspects that make sports cars great. It's also news that's sure to put fans of Lamborghini's classic, naturally aspirated sports cars at ease. Related Video: