2012 Lamborghini Gallardo Lp570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale on 2040-cars

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Watch an Aventador, Viper and LFA play the songs of their people

Our friends at Road & Track recently stopped by Cars and Coffee in Irvine, California, with the 2013 SRT Viper and found themselves a place to park between a Lamborghini Aventador and a Lexus LFA. Those machines might as well be the three musketeers of ludicrous exhaust notes, and rather than keep those 24 raging cylinders muffled, R&T set about conducting an orchestra of internal combustion. On seeing these three lined up, we were more than prepared to call the Viper victorious when it came to tickling our ear drums, but the latest domestic V10 sounds down right civilized in this company.
If we're picking favorites, we have to say the LFA takes the cake. There's something about the noise of a street-legal V10 that can wrap it's tachometer all the way to 9,000 rpm that turns our knees to quivering dollops of jelly. Check out the clip below for a listen. We shouldn't need to tell you to get frisky with the volume.

The rationale behind Lamborghini's Urus

If you've been following developments in Sant'Agata Bolognese lately, you'll know that the world's most unabashed supercar producer is adding an SUV. Code-named "Urus," it will join the brand's existing two-model (Aventador/Huracan) lineup. It's a bold move for a company with a reputation built on iconic two-seaters including the Miura, Countach, and Diablo, and by its CEO's own admission the decision "will radically change Lamborghini." Why risk the company's exclusive, extroverted image on a vehicle associated with mundane tasks and parents who can't bear the thought of driving a minivan? Two reasons, says CEO Stephan Winkelmann. "The SUV Segment is still fast growing worldwide," he notes. Indeed, global demand for SUVs is up 88 percent since 2008, making utility vehicles the fastest-growing segment around the world, according to IHS Automotive. Utilities now comprise 19 percent of the global vehicle market. In addition, "sales can be equally distributed over our three major regions...the Americas (the US is Lambo's top market), EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), and Asia Pacific." Lamborghini expects Urus to double sales from its current 2,500 cars per year to nearly 5,000. Adding a third model line "supports more consistent volumes and competitiveness of the company and our dealers," he continues. Further, Winkelmann maintains that an SUV fits the DNA of Lamborghini. "Our brand has a history of many types of cars such as GTs, super sports cars, and with the LM002 from 1986 to 1992, even an SUV. We learned together with our designers and product people that the SUV represented this opportunity the best." Structural implications include an expansion of the diminutive company's roughly 1,200-employee workforce by 50 percent, or 500 new hires, and the construction of a new facility near its headquarters to build the Urus. Building the new Lamborghini in Bologna is key to differentiating Urus from the other Volkswagen Group premium SUVs (Bentley Bentayga; Porsche Cayenne; Audi Q7 and Q8; and Volkswagen Touareg) that will share the same platform, and Winkelmann put great effort into persuading VW the move made economic sense. "We worked many months building the business case for approval because we are convinced the SUV will be a success and the best place to build it is in Sant'Agata Bolognese," Winkelmann stresses. "We are not simply adding another line in an existing building. Rather, we are talking about greenfield construction.

Aventador sales drive record revenue at Lamborghini

Let it never be said that there isn't money to be made selling high-end exotic sports cars. Last month Ferrari revealed that it had recorded record profits despite selling fewer vehicles than the year before. Now arch-rival Lamborghini has reported record revenue.
For the 2013 fiscal year, Lamborghini has announced that its revenue has increased for the third year straight - rising from 469 million euros last year (just short of $650 million at today's rates) to a record 508 million euros (over $703 million). Lamborghini reports that it has reinvested 20 percent of that turnover back into R&D.
The increased revenues come despite having discontinued its top-selling model, the Gallardo, which wound up its ten-year production run back in November to make way for the new Huracán. The increased revenues came from a higher proportion of Aventadors sold, a rise of 9 percent from 922 units in 2012 to 1,001 in 2013, representing a record for V12 models sold in the company's history and a waiting list of 12 months for a new Aventador.