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'Cannonball Run' Lamborghini Countach LP 400 S turns 45

  Meet the car that turned its single film role into a million bedroom and dorm room posters: the 1979 Lamborghini Countach LP 400 S from the 1981 movie "The Cannonball Run." Back when Lamborghini was making around 50 cars per year and there were only about five regular TV channels, the only way for most people to see a Lamborghini was in a bookstore. And even if you were familiar with the car, you'd never seen one that looked or sounded like this, with 12 exhaust pipes and a rack full of carburetors. We recommend checking out the opening scene as an historical artifact if nothing else, a totem that not only hypnotized hordes of young boys into being car enthusiasts (this one included), but that inspired the cult of modern amateur Cannonballers continues to this day (a dying cult, thankfully): This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Lamborghini celebrated the 45th anniversary of the hero car by reuniting the actresses who drove it for the first time since they worked on the film: Adrienne Barbeau (seated) who played Marcie Thatcher, and Tara Buckman who played Jill Rivers. Barbeau said, "I had never realized how successful the movie was until when people started to ask me for my autograph," and that she still gets requests to sign Countach model cars. Buckman added, "It’s impossible for me, too, to remember how many times I signed a photo or a model car of the Countach!” According to the automaker, the Nero over Senape (black over mustard) coupe left the lines in Sant'Agata for a dealership in Rome, where it got put on a boat for a buyer in Florida. Cannonball director Hal Needham apparently knew the buyer, which is how the Countach ended up being borrowed for the film. To make sure that even those familiar with Lamborghinis at the time knew they were watching something meant to be special, the props department added the front wing and two more headlights, three CB-looking antennas, a dozen exhaust pipes, and in the cockpit, a mobile phone and a set of fake gauges in front of the passenger's seat (since removed).    The original buyer left the coupe in movie spec, minus the phone and fake gauges. Florida resident Jeff Ippoliti said he saw the car in 2007, and after 18 months of negotiations, bought it in 2009.

Hamann gets stealthy with its more powerful Lamborghini Aventador Limited

The tuners at Hamann have gotten their hands on the Lamborghini Aventador and are offering a suite of stealthy upgrades and a boost in power for buyers who don't think Lambo's top model is already enough. The company wants to create a special model with "uniqueness in every way."
The Limited wears a two-tone body kit in Stealth Grey matte paint with Poison Green trim. Hamann adds carbon fiber pieces with new air vent inserts at the front, a two-piece front spoiler and side skirts. The rear receives carbon fiber replacements for the diffuser, engine air intake, spoiler and apron. It is also offering two different sport exhausts - a standard version and a race version... complete with backfire baked in. Finally, the custom Lamborghini is shod with forged, aluminum wheels that are 20 inches in the front and 21 inches in the rear. The interior remains basically stock except for being covered in green leather and contrasting black with green stitching.
Hamann isn't just about style. It is also giving the Limited a boost in performance to 760 horsepower and 542 pound-feet thanks to a few tweaks of the Aventador's software. It seems that if Lamborghini isn't giving buyers enough, then Hamann is happy to take things to the extreme at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. Feel free to read more below.

In some Italian cities, even fast cars can no longer go fast

There’s so much to love about Italy: spaghetti carbonara, Ferraris, tiramisu, Michelangelo, high speed limitsÂ…. Wait. About those speed limits. In Bologna, a town with enormous character and exceptional cuisine, the city fathers only last month imposed a speed limit in the town of 30 kilometers per hour — about 20 mph — to make it safer and “more livable.” Critics of the measure are not contento. According to a recent story in The New York Times, drivers there argue that Bologna is “slowing to a standstill since it became the first major Italian city” to join a growing group of European municipalities that in the past few years have adjusted speed limits downward by half. The new rules, in place in Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen and cities across Spain, mark an effort to cut pollution, reduce energy use, and disincentivize car use. As reported by the Times, BolognaÂ’s mayor, Matteo Lepore, included the new speed limit among the campaign promises that helped to get him elected in 2021. Referring to the lower limit, he said, “Driving at 30 is part of a vision of a more democratic and more sustainable use of public space,” where neighborhoods put children and older people first, and investments favor bike paths and public transportation to work toward carbon neutrality. Adding fuel to the smolder, Bologna is the capital of a region that is home to Ferrari, Lamborghini and Pagani. The action in Italy has spurred protests, and petitions from some commuters that their daily travels to and from the city have grown substantially longer. And recently, the Times reported, a gathering attracted dozens of cranky citizens and cabbies to the streets, where they drove at a snailÂ’s pace in a makeshift parade, loudly honking horns and snarling traffic. The new speed limit “is impossible” to drive at, said Giorgio Gorza, who heads a citizenÂ’s group. “ItÂ’s like standing still, and no one takes a car if youÂ’re going to stay still, if it takes longer than walking. ItÂ’s illogical.” In 2021, according to the story, Olbia, in Sardinia, became the first Italian city to set a broad limit of 30 klicks an hour.