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Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae Roadster ends non-hybrid V12 production

To quote Hall & Oates: "She's gone," the "she" here being the Lamborghini Aventador. The last of the scissor-doored supercars with a naturally-aspirated V12 rolled off the line in LP 780-4 Ultimae Roadster form colored an Ad Personam light blue, headed for a quiet life in Switzerland. That also closed the chapter on the 350 coupes and 250 roadsters made in Ultimae spec. This is a belated end-of-life, the Italian concern restarting production lines after 85 Lamborghinis, 15 of them Aventador Ultimaes destined for the U.S. market, got torched on the cargo ship Felicity Ace in March of this year. The final tally for the latest V12 spreadsheet counts 11,465 cars delivered in 11 years, more than doubling the entire sales count of its predecessor, the Murcielago, and exceeding the combined sales of every one of Lamborghini's V12 models since the 3.5-liter V12 in the 350 GT in 1964.  What began with the 6.5-liter 12-cylinder with 691-horsepower and 509 pound-feet of torque in 2022 ended with that engine making 760 hp and 531 lb-ft in the Ultimae. The official 0-to-62 mile per hour dash came down a tenth of a second in that time, depending on where you look, from 2.9 seconds to 2.8. Top speed rose from 217 mph to 220. Plenty fast then, plenty fast now. Between those yardposts there have been more than 10 one-offs and limited editions. The former group includes the Jota, SVJ Xago, and the SC18 Alston track car. The latter group counts the Anniversario, Veneno, Centenario, and Sian FKP 37. There were also innovations like the enclosed carbon fiber monocoque supported by "flying doctors" that traveled the world to help diagnose and repair damage that benefited owners. There was the pushrod suspension that turned a heavyweight into a flickable canyon runner, benefiting all drivers. There was the Independent Shifting Rod (ISR) single-shift transmission, which Lamborghini says was "chosen for lightweight compactness and the most emotive shift." Given its tidal shifting motion and occasionally clumsy changes under partial throttle or when trying to figure out what the driver wanted in changing conditions, we never figured out who that benefited. What comes next will be a hybrid V12 powertrain wrapped in looks that, based on spy shots, will evolve the latest design language with details like new lights, bladed B-pillars, and high-rise exhaust. Shouldn't be long to wait now.

Ares Design Panther a worthy tribute to the De Tomaso Pantera

Ares Design finally has its Panther ready. Codenamed Project 1 because it launches the Italian coachbuilder's Legends Reborn series, the Panther prowls as a modern interpretation of yesteryear's De Tomaso Pantera. Based on an all-wheel drive Lamborghini Huracan, the Panther does well to mimic the fat-back wedge of the original, and restores pop-up headlights to the 21st century performance cars. The specs go some way beyond De Tomaso's effort. Thanks to an ECU tune, sports catalytic converters and a new exhaust, the 5.2-liter V10 is rated at 650 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. That's 300 hp and 110 lb-ft away from the Ford-sourced 5.8-liter Cleveland V8 in the 1988 Pantera GT5 S. It's also 20 hp beyond the current Huracan Evo. The bodywork's been spun from carbon fiber, yielding a 3,138-pound dry curb weight, which is 91 pounds more than the Huracan Performante, four pounds more than the Evo version. Six-piston Brembos up front and four-piston units in back clamp carbon carbon ceramic discs behind a sweet set of staggered bronze wheels, 20 inches ahead, 21 inches astern. Those brakes will come in handy considering the 202-mph top speed. The interior can be dressed up any way an owner wishes, naturally. The demo model smothers the Lamborghini interior in even more carbon fibers, leather, Alcantara and cross-stitching. Ares Design will build only 21 Panthers, with first deliveries in May. The conversion takes three months, the price opens at 615,000 euros before options, or $696,300 in U.S. specie. None of those figures have any bearing on you, though, because all 21 build slots have already been paid for. So enjoy the gallery.

Lamborghini will unveil an enigmatic hypercar at the Frankfurt auto show

Lamborghini released a dark teaser image that previews a new model scheduled to break cover during the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show. Posted on its official Instagram channel, the teaser shot asks more questions than it answers while giving us one more reason to look forward to the event. "Just open your eyes to the future," Lamborghini instructed its fans in the caption that accompanied the photo. That's not much to go off of, but the blacked-out image looks like it depicts the front of a low-slung supercar wearing Y-shaped LED running lights. The company's logo is the only other visible detail, but we see enough to tell whatever Lamborghini is teasing shares a few key styling cues with the striking Terzo Millennio concept unveiled as a design study in 2017.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.   The resemblance fills in another piece of the puzzle. Developed jointly with MIT, the Terzio Millennio ditched the Aventador's sonorous, naturally-aspirated V12 in favor of in-wheel electric motors fed by supercapacitor energy storage technology. These components aren't ready for production yet, but earlier rumors claimed the Terzo Millennio's strikingly futuristic design and proud emphasis on clean, eco-friendly performance would influence Lamborghini's first road-going gasoline-electric hybrid. We might be looking at the yet-unnamed model. Where it will slot in the Lamborghini range is up in the air, too. It's not replacing the Huracan, and the Aventador S is expected to stick around until the early 2020s. It doesn't look related to the high-riding Urus in any way, either, which hints it's a limited-edition model. Lamborghini has a proven history of previewing new cars with limited-edition models, so the Frankfurt-bound model could give the public an early taste of the car that will replace the Aventador S. We're also not ruling out the possibility that the car is somehow related to Lamborghini's interest in the new hypercar category created for the World Endurance Championship (WEC). None of these theories are mutually exclusive; the car could draw inspiration from the Terzo Millennio, hint at the Aventador's replacement, and give the Aston Martin Valkyrie a run for its money at Le Mans in 2020. The speculation around Lamborghini's next model will end when it makes its debut in Frankfurt 10.