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Felicity Ace sinks with thousands of VWs, Porsches, Lamborghinis

The stricken ship Felicity Ace sank overnight after a week of salvage efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful. The ship, which was carrying up to 4,000 VW Group cars, went to the bottom unexpectedly while a salvage team was attempting to tow it to shore, Bloomberg reports.  "Initial reports from the local salvage team state that the vessel had sunk at around 9AM local time having suffered a list to starboard," Mitsui O.S.K. Lines transportation company (MOL), which owns the Felicity Ace, said in a statement released early Tuesday.    "The last vessel position was around 220nm off the Azores," MOL said. "The salvage crafts will remain around the area to monitor the situation. Further information will be provided as it becomes available." The ship sank after being battered by waves and listing 45 degrees to starboard, the ship’s operator said. “The weather was pretty rough out there,” Pat Adamson, a spokesperson for MOL Ship Management (Singapore), a unit of Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd., said by phone. “And then she sank, which was a surprise.” VW, Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini-branded models were aboard the ship, which was headed to Rhode Island from GermanyÂ’s Emden port when the fire broke out on Feb. 16.  Rough seas and ongoing fires fueled by the lithium-ion batteries of EVs onboard delayed the ship's salvage and recovery operations for the better part of a week. While the likelihood of salvaging the smoke and potentially fire- and water-damaged vehicles from Felicity Ace's hold was slim to none, some had held out hope that their special-ordered vehicles might survive the mishap.  The Panama-flagged Felicity Ace was safely evacuated of its 22 crew members by the Portuguese navy after a fire started in its hold more than a week ago. The ship can carry up to 4,000 cars. European carmakers declined to discuss how many vehicles and what models were on board, but it appears to have been transporting approximately 2,500 cars, including roughly 1,100 Porsches and an undetermined number of Volkswagens.  The cars aboard were on order. Porsche customers in the United States were being contacted by their dealers, the company said. “We are already working to replace every car affected by this incident and the first new cars will be built soon,” Angus Fitton, vice president of PR at Porsche Cars North America, Inc., told The Associated Press in an email. The ship sank in water nearly 10,000 feet deep, the Portuguese Navy said.

Lamborghini Centenario possibly revealed in patent photos

Newly published Lamborghini patent images might give us a preview of the upcoming Centenario, which celebrates the hundredth anniversary of Ferruccio Lamborghini's birth. The low-slung design features a pointed nose, and the profile has an arc running from the tip of the front to the rear. The shape looks like it would slice through the air, and the massive diffuser is definitely attention grabbing at the rear. From the top, there appears to be a small, roof-mounted vent into the engine compartment. Three exhausts poke out the rear, including a slightly smaller one in the center. In traditional Lamborghini fashion, visibility out the back seems practically nonexistent. Hopefully, the company mounts a camera back there to make life easier. Lamborghini reportedly bases the Centenario on the Aventador, which seems likely from these renderings. The company allegedly plans to build 20 coupes and 20 convertibles for $2.4 million each, and power would come from a more potent version of the supercar's V12. Rumors suggest we might see the Centenario launch at the Geneva Motor Show in early March, but the debut might be perfunctory. Even at the astronomical price, they're supposedly already sold out. These renderings come from the Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market, which handles patents and trademarks in the European Union. The documents with this listing unfortunately don't give away the model name, but it shows Lamborghini registered for the design patent on October 26, 2015. The renderings were just published on February 17, 2016. Related Video:

Lamborghini Super Trofeo one-make racing series coming to America

Starting in June, racing fans in North America will have another way to get their fix. Lamborghini is bringing its Super Trofeo series to the US and Canada in a "long-term" deal that kicks off in a six-race season this year and should bring some extra excitement to the newly formed United SportCar Racing series in coming years.
The inaugural Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America race will be held at Mid-Ohio on June 15 and 16 with most of the rounds running alongside Grand-Am, International Motor Sport Association and American Le Mans Series races; the season finale will be held at the Indy Car event at Fontana, California on October 18 and 19. More importantly, the winners of each round will compete in a world final at a race in Italy against winner from the Super Trofeo races in Europe and Asia.
All competitors will be piloting specially prepared Gallardo LP 570-4 racecars featuring 570-horsepower V10 engines and paired with all-wheel drive. Scroll down for the Lamborghini press release, which gives the full six-race schedule.