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Italy to offer Lamborghini 100 million euros to build Urus

The Lamborghini Urus' prospects for production may have just received the impetus they need as the Italian government is preparing to offer significant incentives to produce the high-end SUV in the country. According to a report from Bloomberg, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government is prepared to extend as much as 100 million euros (approximately $112 million) – but not in cash. That'd be a bit much for the borderline bankrupt national government. Instead the motivation is reportedly being offered in the form of tax breaks and other such incentives. In exchange, Lamborghini would pledge to hire 300 new workers to build the crossover. The Urus, for those who may not recall, was a crossover concept which Lamborghini presented way back at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. We caught a closed-door glimpse of it in New York shortly before its debut and saw it again in Monterey the following summer. Ever since, the Bolognese automaker has been petitioning its patrons at Audi and Volkswagen to give it the green light, but the Germans have been dragging their feet at the prospect of investing the necessary capital to pull it off. Lamborghini is reportedly hoping to get a final decision next month, and the government incentives could help it make the business case to its parent company. While the Italy's terms would require final assembly to take place in that country, much of the work could end up being done at the same plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, where the Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7, and Porsche Cayenne are built. Bentley is expected to undertake a similar process for its new Bentayga, with assembly to be finalized in the UK. Related Video: Featured Gallery Lamborghini Urus Concept: Monterey 2012 View 10 Photos News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Earnings/Financials Government/Legal Plants/Manufacturing Lamborghini Crossover Performance tax incentives

VW makes $23K on every Porsche sold, more than Bentley or Lamborghini

It's a good time to be in the luxury car business. In Volkswagen Group's financial report for the 2013 fiscal year, it is revealed that that Porsche enjoyed an operating margin of 18 percent. That means the Stuttgart brand made on average about $23,200 per car sold, according to BusinessWeek. Bentley wasn't far behind, and Audi (which was combined with Lamborghini) posted a 10.1 percent margin. This compares to only around 2.9 percent for the Volkswagen brand.
"Luxury brands are on fire," said Dave Sullivan, an industry analyst at AutoPacific. He said that the average profit margin is between six and eight percent. Brands like Porsche and Bentley have the benefit of competing in rarefied markets. Buyers looking at one their vehicles have fewer models to shop against and don't care as much about price. They can also charge more for options, which further boosts income, according to BusinessWeek.
In a way, we should be more impressed by the continued success from Audi. Its models generally have direct competitors in every segment from the other premium automakers. Plus, their buyers aren't the captains of industry who are shopping for a Bentley. Still, the Four Rings is leading rivals in sales so far this year.

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.