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Lamborghini profiled on 60 Minutes for 50th anniversary

Even though we (meaning car enthusiasts as a whole) don't spend our days driving Lamborghinis, they're somehow a familiar, known quantity. We know we'll be wowed by a Lambo, and we have a pretty fair idea of what the sound and acceleration feel like. We know a Lamborghini is going to be wildly expensive, hopelessly impractical and eye-wateringly thirsty, but the charm that comes with the badge outweighs everything else.
We also recognize that we, as enthusiasts, are in the minority, and that the average joe is likely to be far more blown away by a Raging Bull than the average gearhead. That's what makes this an entertaining video. 60 Minutes explored Lamborghini right in the midst of its fiftieth anniversary, testing a Gallardo at Imola, tearing across the roads of Italy in an Aventador and exploring the Sant'Agata factory where all the magic happens. It's a bit of a long video, but it's a really fascinating look at how the mainstream views something extreme. Take a look below for the full, 12-minute clip.

Lamborghini chief stands by V12s

Despite the push for fuel efficiency and low carbon emissions, the V12 is still a staple of high performance. Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, and yes, Lamborghini maintain fleets of these monstrous dinosaur engines. And for the final entry on that list, that's not going to change. Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali sat down with Autocar and explained in no uncertain terms that his company will continue to offer V12s for the time being. "Our major customers and dealers around the world say: 'Please do not touch the V12'," Domenicali told Autocar. "So we will continue to work in that direction." But there's more than just customer demand driving Lambo's V12 loyalty. According to Domenicali, the company's niche is small enough to weather V12-ruining storms. "In the short term, there is still a lot of development potential in the V12," Domenicali told Autocar. "Of course, we need to understand what the market is doing in terms of emissions and legislation, but I don't see that will be a problem. We are always very open to how the market might evolve." That evolution, lately, has tended toward electrification. The flagship of Lambo's arch-nemesis Ferrari pairs a 12-cylinder engine with a hybrid system for blistering performance. Then there's the stuff happening with the V8-powered Porsche 918 Spyder and McLaren P1. These three hybrids are in an entirely different and more potent performance (and price) class than Lamborghini's hottest model, the Aventador LP750-4 SV. Hybrids are the future of performance, for Lamborghini included... Eventually. "We cannot be disconnected to the world of the future but we want to be balanced," Domenicali said. "We need to make sure that as soon as the technology of electrification is relevant to our car at a cost level, and will add value, we are flexible to shift in that direction." Finally, Domenicali addressed advanced connectivity systems while parrying Autocar's question about autonomous vehicles. "If you own a Lamborghini, you want to have the passion of driving it and we need to keep that. But new technology could have some relevance to the driver. For example, if you are on a race track, you could have a head-up display which shows you how to maximize your performance [around a corner], using the telemetry we have now," Domenicali told AC. "That's an approach where I see that technology could be very useful for our customer." Related Video:

Lamborghini driver revs while Aventador bursts into flames [UPDATE]

UPDATE: The Aventador obviously has a V12, not a V10. It has been corrected below. Listening to an Italian V10 V12 screaming at the limit is one of the true joys of the automotive hobby, especially with the visual accompaniment of little licks of flame are shooting out of the exhaust. There's a time and a place for such an aggressive mechanical display, though. This Aventador owner in Dubai hopefully learned his lesson about being too exuberant with the throttle while stationary after his Lamborghini went up in flames. Several bystanders yelled out warnings, but the driver must have been partially deaf from revving the V10 V12 a little too often. The guy just drove off with flames eating up an increasing amount of the Aventador's rear. He didn't get too far though before the little blaze turned into a full-blown conflagration. While this was an expensive mistake, but the driver reportedly wasn't injured, according to The Telegraph.