Lp 550-2 Bicolore Coupe, Grigio Telesto/nero Perseus, Nicely Option'd on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen Group sales down 15% in pandemic year, but EV sales up 214%

FRANKFURT, Germany — German automaker Volkswagen said its global sales fell 15.2% during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but showed significant recovery toward the end of the year. The company more than tripled its sales of battery-only vehicles. Global sales for all of Volkswagen's brands amounted to 9.3 million vehicles. The fourth quarter showed a smaller decline of 5.7% and within that quarter the month of December was still further improved, showing a shortfall of only 3.2% from the same period the year before. Volkswagen said Wednesday that sales fell the most in Western Europe, by 21.6%, while China, the company's largest single market, was down 9.1% Sales of battery-only cars jumped 214% to 231,600 from 73,700 across all the company's brands. The company's electric sales leaders included the Volkswagen ID.3 compact, with 56,500, the Audi E-Tron SUV with 47,300, and the high-end Porsche Taycan with 20,000. Volkswagen said that its sales fell by less than the overall market, meaning it had slightly expanded its market share. “The COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 an extremely challenging year,” said group sales chief Christian Dahlheim. “The Volkswagen Group performed well in this environment and strengthened its market position." Volkswagen Group's brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, SEAT, and Skoda as sell as truck makers MAN and Scania.

Barn-find 1969 Lamborghini Miura S headed to auction for its 50th birthday

Car collectors who have caught barn find fever show no sign of healing from it anytime soon. An unrestored, barn-found 1969 Lamborghini Miura S will sell for big money when it crosses the auction block in the fall of 2019, and it might return to the road in time to celebrate its 50th birthday. Auction house RM Sotheby's explains the Miura S it will sell in London on October 24 has only covered a little bit over 10,000 miles since it rolled off the assembly line in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy. German advertising executive Walter Becker purchased the car in 1971, according to CarBuzz, and sold it to racing driver Hans-Peter Weber in 1974. He drove the Miura, maintained it, and went to great lengths to keep it original until he died in 2015. It has been parked in a German barn since, so it's a freshman barn find that likely doesn't need a ton of work to once again move under its own power. We'd be more worried if it spent 25 years in a barn. The front turn signals aren't original, and the seatbelts are aftermarket units, but the rest of the car is 100% authentic. Its body has never been repainted, the seats have never been re-upholstered, and the 365-horsepower, 3.9-liter V12 engine has never been opened. It's complete, and there are no signs of obvious damage or neglect. We've seen 10-year old supercars in worse shape than this one. The Miura is one of the most sought-after 1960s Italian cars, only 338 examples of the S variant were made from 1968 to 1971, and finding an unrestored example that hasn't been completely destroyed by people, rust, or both is rare. RM Sotheby's expects the 1969 model scheduled to cross the block in London will sell for anywhere between 800,000 and one million British pounds, sums that represent $965,000 and $1.2 million, respectively. We'd get the V12 running, keep the rest original, and enjoy it, but the next owner might be tempted to give it a full restoration, especially now that Lamborghini sells a full catalog of Miura parts via its Polo Storico division. Featured Gallery 1969 Lamborghini Miura S barn find View 18 Photos Auto News Lamborghini Performance Classics

Lamborghini's Centenario Roadster has arrived and it's already sold out

We love a good crazy Lamborghini design. While Pagani and, arguably, Koenigsegg have overtaken Lambo in the crazy department lately, Lamborghini still has its magic touch. For evidence, let us introduce you to the Centenario Roadster. It was unveiled this afternoon at Pebble Beach. Based on the Centenario coupe that was built in honor of Ferruccio Lamborghini's hundredth birthday (if he were still alive today), the roofless version is essentially the same supercar, but with the added luxury of unlimited headroom. Both Centenarios are based on the underpinnings of a Lamborghini Aventador and built around a carbon monocoque with a 759-horsepower, 6.5-liter V12 in the middle. Thanks to the naturally aspirated V12, the Centenario Roadster can sprint to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, which is only a tenth of a second slower than the coupe. Not bad. Only 20 Roadsters will be built, the same number as the coupe, and, according to Automotive News, they've all been sold. While the hardtop went for $2 million, the Centenario Roadster, in all of its roofless glory, will run roughly $2.3 million. To us, even though we can't afford it, the insane price tag somehow makes sense. Related Video: Featured Gallery Lamborghini Centenario Roadster Debut View 17 Photos Related Gallery Lamborghini Centenario Roadster News Source: Lamborghini, Automotive News-sub. req.Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Misc. Auto Shows Lamborghini Convertible Performance Supercars Pebble Beach lamborghini centenario