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Artist gives Lamborghini Huracan fierce rattle-can paint job

It is nearly impossible to make a car as flashy as a Lamborghini even more so, but Miami-based artist and car customizer Rich B Caliente did just that. Caliente recently unveiled a piece where he painted an Imperial stormtrooper helmet from Star Wars in a striking mixture of matte blues, silvers, and golds. Not long after, Caliente was contacted by an artist known only as ZEVIGG who saw the customized stormtrooper helmet and wanted the same treatment for his Lamborghini Huracan. "I asked him to give me a day to think about this project since it involved major amounts of time and effort, on top of that it had never been done before as far as color blending an entire car. After some careful thought, I felt confident that I could knock it out of the box even though it was a $200,000-dollar car I'd be using as my canvas," Caliente told DUB Magazine. Dubbed "Project Inspire", the work took place over the course of three days in a paint booth at Exclusive Motoring, a high-end customization shop in Miami. Using nothing but spray paint cans, Caliente hand painted the Lamborghini like a grafitti artist spraying an underpass. The mixture of paints gave the car a rich patina and provided a base on which the car's owner added his own personal artistic touches. The car's look was capped off by Vossen Precision Series wheels, which were painted to match the car, and a set of grippy Toyo Proxes to keep the powerful Lambo planted. Soon after completion, the car was driven at the Miami leg of the Bullrun Rally. It now resides with its owner in New York City, where ZEVIGG parades it around as a rolling piece of art. Related Video: News Source: Motor Trend, DUB Magazine, @raymondneice Weird Car News Lamborghini Ownership Coupe Supercars Videos paint huracan street art

Volkswagen breaks 40-year-old sales record in 2012

The last time Volkswagen moved this many vehicles in America in one year, Richard Nixon was still a President in good standing, Let It Be was a radio hit and each car wearing the VW badge boasted an air-cooled engine. That's right, with a grand total of 580,286 vehicles sold in the US last year, the VW Group has broken its own four-decades-old sales record by 2,899 vehicles.
Of that 580k total sold, 438k were Volkswagens and 139k were Audi products - increases of 35.1 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively, in year-over-year sales. The ultra-premium members of the VW group also fared well; Bentley delivered 2,315 vehicles for a 23.3-precent increase, and Lamborghini delivered 520 units for a 52.9-percent jump. Bugatti, we're told is "right on track."
Jetta (pictured) sales paced the marque with 170k models sold, and Passat also finished very strong with sales of 117k total. Tiguan also racked up its best year on file, with 31,731 models shifted.

Performance cars old and new are headed to auction at Las Vegas Grand Prix

Auction house RM Sotheby's is hosting a sale ahead of the 2023 Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix, and most of the lots that will cross the block were designed with performance in mind. Whether you want a supercar or a Formula One car, there's a chance you'll find it in Sin City. One of the highlights from the sale in terms of rarity and price is the Mercedes-AMG Petronas W04 that Lewis Hamilton drove in the 2013 F1 season. Assigned chassis number F1W04-04, it's the team's last car powered by a naturally-aspirated V8 engine, and you're on the wrong track if you're thinking of the 4.0-liter unit that powers AMG's road cars. The engine in question is a 2.4-liter unit that develops 750 horsepower and is capable of revving to a screaming 18,000 rpm. The KERS system injects 80 additional horses into the driveline. Hamilton drove F1W04-04 in 14 of the 2013 season's 19 races, and he won that year's Hungarian Grand Prix in the car. RM Sotheby's notes that F1W04-04 is "the sole example to be sold outside of the Mercedes-Benz organization," which explains why it expects the car will sell for anywhere between $10 million and $15 million excluding the buyer's fee and a 2.5% import duty that applies to American residents. That's a lot of money, but modern Formula One cars rarely come up for sale. Several other cars are expected to sell above the $1 million mark, including a 1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR ($8 million to $9 million), a 1988 Porsche 959 Komfort ($1,650,000 to $1,850,000), and a 1996 Bugatti EB110 Super Sport ($2,500,000 to $3,250,000). The 1990 Ferrari F40 GT (one of 21 units built) could bring up to $4 million. You can take home a rare, high-end classic even if you cap your budget at $1 million. How about a 1984 Lamborghini Countach 5000 S that was delivered new to Ralph Lauren and that has been in the hands of its second owner since 1986? RM expects the coupe will sell for up to $900,000. The auction house is also giving enthusiasts two distinctly different ways to spend a six-digit sum on a 30-something-year-old Mercedes-Benz. There's a 1990 190E 2.5-16 Evolution with about 3,400 original miles that could fetch up to $700,000. That's a lot to pay for a W201, but this isn't a run-of-the-mill Baby Benz: It's one of 502 examples built for homologation purposes. Alternatively, the 1989 560SEC AMG 6.0 Wide-Body could sell for up to $900,000. It's one of the most emblematic cars designed by AMG before it joined Mercedes-Benz.