2020 Lamborghini Urus on 2040-cars

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Lamborghini Urus prototype spied lapping the Nurburgring

The Lamborghini Urus is coming on December 4, just days after the end of the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show. The Italian automaker's first SUV has been in development for years, but things are finally coming to a climax. Crossovers are hot, so we wouldn't be surprised at all if the Urus becomes Lamborghini's best-selling model. As such it needs to look, sound and drive like a vehicle worth of the charging bull badge. Thanks to YouTube channel Stateside Super Cars, we have some new video of the new Lambo lapping the Nurburgring. The Urus will be powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 making 650 horsepower. This is likely to be a hopped-up version of Audi's 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. In fact, you can see a new Audi A8 with that engine lapping the 'Ring just behind the Urus prototype. The video gives us a small taste of the exhaust note, giving a deep low burble with a few cracks and pops on lift-off. The 'ute is still covered with a wrap, but you can make out the basic appearance. It doesn't look too far off the concept we saw a few years ago, with an aggressive roofline and a distinctly Lamborghini front fascia. Look for full details in just over a month. Related Video:

Maserati and Lamborghini pull out of Iran

Daimler is out, Toyota is out, Porsche is out, Hyundai, PSA Peugeot-Citroën are out and when it comes to selling cars in Iran, now Maserati and Lamborghini are out, too. The definitive pullouts of those last two automakers are said to be reactions to a press conference held by a group called United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). The group highlights businesses that sell in both the US market and Iran, and works to get those businesses to choose one market or the other.
UANI said it had sent letters to Maserati and Lamborghini about their dealings in Iran, but that the letters went unanswered. Mark Wallace, head of UANI and a former US ambassador to the United Nations, held a press conference in October of last year that referenced the two companies. Apparently Lamborghini contacted Wallace just after the press conference and told him "they were out, they weren't doing any business in Iran anymore."
Discussions with Maserati then took place, and the Italian automaker said it had been out of Iran ever since Fiat announced it was leaving the country in May 2011. UANI said Maserati had been in talks with an Iranian distributor, however, and that distributor was continuing to use the Maserati name. The carmaker has since cut all ties with Iranian interests and has prevented its name from being used, adding that its new models will not be able to be sold there because they won't pass regulations the country's regulations.

Lamborghini prototype's exhaust suggests Aventador Performante is in the works

Lamborghini made waves with the introduction of its Huracan Performante, and more specifically, its stunning Nurburgring lap time that challenged million-dollar hypercars. Now, based on these new spy shots, it seems Lamborghini will build upon the success of the Huracan with a Performante version of the bigger, more powerful Aventador. Although the early roadster and later coupe look stock, they feature an exhaust that gives away what's under the skin. At the back, we can see the standard center-exit exhaust used on every normal Aventador, and even the previous top-tier Aventador, the SV. But above that is a strange metal box with slats and a pair of circles cut out. This box appears to hide the car's real exhaust. And if that's the case, they're positioned in the very same location as on the smaller Huracan Performante. Using the Huracan Performante as a model, we expect the Aventador version will make more horsepower than the regular Aventador S. The Huracan Performante made 28 more horsepower than the standard all-wheel-drive version, so we wouldn't be surprised to see just as much of an increase for the Aventador, which would put it at about 770 horsepower. The Aventador Performante will also likely use the Huracan's fancy active aerodynamics that can adjust downforce on the left and right sides independently in corners, and naturally there will be a giant wing at the back. Another interesting thing to note about these prototypes is the use of both a coupe and a roadster. We've seen a nearly production-ready Huracan Performante Spyder out testing, so it wouldn't be out of the question for Lamborghini to do the same for the Aventador. But it's surprising to see Lamborghini testing one this early when we only ever saw Huracan prototypes in coupe guise ahead of the coupe's full reveal. Related Video: Featured Gallery Lamborghini Aventador Performante Spy Shots View 15 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Spy Photos Lamborghini Convertible Coupe Future Vehicles Supercars