2020 Lamborghini Aventador Svj Roadster on 2040-cars

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Lamborghini Urus ST-X will race in on- and off-road series in 2020

The Squadra Corse division at Lamborghini gave birth to fraternal twins over the weekend. First came the customer-commissioned, one-off SC18 Alston, an Aventador-based track-day coupe racier than the Aventador SVJ. Then, at the Vallelunga circuit hosting the 2019 Lamborghini World Finals, the motorsports department revealed the Urus ST-X concept. This monster of Sant'Agata will serve a different kind of customer — namely, those who want to enter an FIA-approved one-make race series in Europe and the Middle East in 2020. Lamborghini has supported various one-make series since it produced the 1996 Diablo SV-R. With changing times come changing ride heights and track surfaces: Lamborghini says the "single-brand championship combines racetrack and off-road track." We don't know yet if that means a single track will include asphalt and dirt, or if the overall series will include both kinds of tracks, but we hope for the former. To make the ST-X — which could stand for Super Trofeo X, based on the automaker's other current series' — ready for racing, Squadra Corse amputated a bunch of weight and bolted on competition bits. The matte Verde Mantis concept gets a steel roll cage, fire suppression system, and FT3 fuel tank. Quick release latches on the hood and modified rear hatch replace traditional locking mechanisms. The front end loses the production car's grille and aero aids, becoming a gaping angular void of mesh. A trim rear wing hovers above the backlight, and center-lock wheels fasten the 21-inch, 10-spoke wheels. The simple rear diffuser omits exhaust outlets, because the pipes have been moved to just in front of the rear wheels. The package weighs 25 percent less than the retail Urus, or about the same as an Aventador. Although the hood gains two intakes, the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 remains unchanged, putting out 641 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. The company will put the Urus ST-X on track at some point during the six-race, 2019 Lamborghini World Finals. The mixed-surface series will host arrive-and-drive races, providing "driver-customers maximum flexibility and support during weekend events." If you got it, this seems a fine way to flaunt it. Related Video:

Lamborghini and MIT to debut new supercar concept next week

Today, Lamborghini released a teaser of what it's calling the "vision for the super sportscar of the future." The new concept will debut next week in a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and there's buzz that it might employ a nontraditional type of battery to boost performance. MIT is, after all, working on solid-state lithium batteries with greater energy density and perhaps a lower failure rate. More energy density could mean either lower weight per unit or greater energy storage overall. Both would be excellent attributes for a high-performance Lamborghini. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. EmTech 2017 is a tech conference hosted each year at MIT. It may sound strange to reveal a concept outside of an auto show, but this really isn't all that much difference than a new debut at CES in Las Vegas. And if MIT is lending a hand with some of the tech this car will use, and if it's as groundbreaking as we think it might be, even more reason to debut it at this conference. We don't know exactly what the concept will preview. It could be an advanced technology demonstrator, or it could preview a replacement for the Lamborghini Aventador. We'll know more next week. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Watch a Lamborghini get torn apart by the Taiwanese government

We've all heard tales of the R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R that somehow made it to American roads with questionable registration, only to be confiscated and crushed by officials for being illegally imported. The United States isn't alone in strictly punishing regulation-skirting importers. Just ask the Taiwanese owner of this matte-black Lamborghini Murcielago, or what remains of this Murcielago after it was mauled by a industrial-strength claw. The description on the video gives no clues as to what specific import infraction this Murcielago violated. What's clear is that the government wanted to make an example of its owner, so rather than simply confiscating and crushing the car, they set up shop in the middle of a street, gathered a crowd, and set about tearing the car to bits. The video shows every bit of the destruction, which is at once both rushed and meticulous. The non-stop onslaught reaches every panel, leaving an open, matte-black and Italian tricolore husk. Hopefully the point was made and we won't have to watch anymore beautiful and innocent cars suffer the same fate. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.