2020 Lamborghini Sian Fkp 37 on 2040-cars

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1998 Lamborghini Diablo SV Roadster, a unicorn bull, heads to auction

  Lamborghini made only two Diablo SV Roadsters, and RM Sotheby's is putting this one up for sealed auction running December 13-15. It's not only a rarity, it's a throwback to a time just 23 years ago that people who were there have to make an effort to remember. A time when Lamborghinis barely sold; Chrysler put the Lamborghini Diablo on the market in 1990, Audi took it off the market in 2001, Lambocars puts the entire Diablo run over those 11 years at around 2,500 cars including prototypes and factory specials. Today's Lamborghini moved more than double that number in the first half of this year. The products back then also weren't all that good; yes you could enjoy them, but you were going to sweat and work for it, and a yellow example was driven only by a tycoon or the loosest of cannons. This SV Roadster in Giallo over Nero "Torpedo" Alcantara with yellow piping has undoubtedly seen more pearls clutched than Oyster Bay.  In 1995, just after Chrysler sold the Italian outfit, Lamborghini launched the Diablo VT Roadster, a convertible version of the all-wheel-drive Diablo VT, and the Super Veloce (SV) Coupe, a pared-back rear-driver with more power from the 5.7-liter V12 than in the standard Diablo VT. The new Malaysian and Indonesian owners wanted to lure more American buyers, so they funded development of an SV Roadster to be a lighter, lither RWD version of the AWD VT Roadster. Three years later, a Pearl Orange SV Roadster show car went on display at the Geneva Motor Show in 1998. U.S. dealers wanted the car. However, the Malaysian and Indonesian owners sold Lamborghini to Audi the same year, and Audi canceled all rear-wheel-drive projects. A Milanese Lamborghini dealer asked Lamborghini's CEO to make one more example; the CEO agreed. Having created market demand then stiff-armed it, Lamborghini dealers and distributors in various regions removed the AWD system from some VT Roadsters to create something like an SV Roadster. However, the SV Roadster show car and the example for the Milanese dealer are the only two factory-official SV Roadsters in existence.  This one's been in the hands of four European collectors and shows 42,842 kilometers (26,621 miles) on the odo. Its V12 makes 530 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of torque. Lots of spendy options on this one, including exposed carbon fiber for the roof and intake blades, the optional rear wing also in exposed carbon fiber, the front suspension lift system, and the sports exhaust.

Lamborghini Huracan Superleggera tests new wheels for a dash through the snow

The top-end Lamborghini Huracan Superleggera was caught testing in the snow this week. While most of the car looks similar to the test vehicles seen at the Nurburgring, there are a few differences. Most notably with the wheels. This is the first time we've seen a Huracan with these spindly five-spoke wheels, which look sharp, and are probably lightweight. They also wear bright red center-locking wheel nuts. This is a distinct difference from earlier prototypes that wore conventional wheels with five lug nuts. As for the rest of the car, there isn't much new to report. The large front and rear vents and rear diffuser remain the same, as do the relocated exhaust and giant rear wing. What is a bit odd is that this winter tester appears to be missing the deep chin spoiler and side scoops of the Nurburgring cars. We assume these pieces were removed only on this test car, since even the standard Huracans feature the large side scoops. Lamborghini probably removed these bits of body work to avoid damaging them in deep snow. When the Superleggera is finally unveiled to the public, we expect it will likely have at least 611 horsepower, like that of the Super Trofeo race car. This would also make sense since the standard model already makes 602 horsepower, so an extra nine shouldn't be a stretch. The Superleggera will also bring the total model count for the Huracan to five, now that the company has revealed the rear-drive LP580-2 convertible. Considering the fact that the previous head of Lamborghini hinted there might be a total of five models, there probably won't be any other Huracan variants coming. Related Video:

2019 Lamborghini Urus First Drive Review: The prodigal son of Rambo Lambo

If you're fascinated by the absolutely bonkers, 1980s-era Lamborghini LM002 like we are, it's hard not to hope the new 2019 Lamborghini Urus is a proper sequel to the late, great, notorious sport 'ute. The new silhouette is far friendlier than the '80s-era jumble of trapezoidal planes and, more crucially, this time around motivation comes from a much more powerful twin-turbo V8, not a massive V12 as it was the wild, Countach-powered LM. So where does the Urus sit in the supercar-on-stilts spectrum? We traveled to Rome and tackled road, track and trail to find out. While the Cheetah that begat the LM002 was intended to serve as a legit military vehicle, the Urus's faceted sheetmetal is wrapped around the Volkswagen Group's MBL EVO platform, a modified version of the steel and aluminum chassis found in the Audi Q8, Bentley Bentayga, and Porsche Cayenne. Though you'll find some Lamborghini styling elements sprinkled throughout including the jagged nose, angular wheel arches, hexagonal cues and Y shapes, there's also a vague VW Group family resemblance that has triggered a vigorous online debate about the overall Lamborghini-ness of the effort. View 58 Photos Climbing into the cabin reveals a painlessly un-supercar-like ingress and egress, and there's a good amount of space all around, from the front seats to the rear leg and headroom. The cabin can be ordered with 2+2 style rear bucket seats, or a five-seat configuration with a folding rear bench. Also un-Lamborghini-like is the rear cargo area, a 21.8 cubic foot space that can swallow two full size golf bags. There are a few familiar elements about the cabin from Sant'Agata, like the hexagonal vents and the missile launcher-style ignition button. But other parts, such as the twin touchscreen displays, betray the Audi/Porsche roots — not necessarily a bad thing, as the haptic screens works simply and intuitively, even if they lack the tactile pleasure of pushing physical buttons. Driving modes are controlled via what Lamborghini calls the "Tamburo," two toggles on either side of the Start button. The left determines the Anima (drive mode) setting, calibrating a slew of variables like throttle response, shift patterns, four-wheel steering and damping/ride height through six modes: Strada (road), Sport, Corsa (race), Sabbia (sand), Terra (offroad) and Neve (snow). Curiously, the paddle only scrolls in one direction; to select the previous mode, you'll have to flip through the five modes ahead.