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Lambo to quarantine twin-turbo V8 to Urus

Lamborghini is planning to slot a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 into the Urus sport utility vehicle. But don't expect the engine to make its way into the Italian firm's supercars anytime soon. According to the latest report, that forced-induction mill will be limited exclusively to the sport ute for the foreseeable future. Speaking with Autocar, CEO Stephan Winkelmann reiterated that the Urus will be the only Lamborghini model powered by the turbo eight. "On the supersports cars we are convinced that the choices we have made with the naturally aspirated engines are still the right ones," said Winkelmann. "We are not saying that future engines will never beat what we have in our cars; we are saying as long as there is nothing that is better, especially at low revs or in terms of the sound that the V10 and V12 have, we stick to them." While its rivals have embraced turbocharging, Lamborghini has been a steadfast holdout for high-revving, naturally aspirated engines with two-digit cylinder counts. Ferrari, for example, has slotted a turbocharged V8 into both the California T and 488 GTB. McLaren uses a turbo V8 in all its models. Lambo's own sister brands Porsche and Bugatti also use turbochargers. But the Huracan eschews forced induction for an atmospheric V10, as does the Aventador for a V12. The Volkswagen Group of which Lamborghini is part employs a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 for both the Bentley Continental and numerous Audi models. We'll likely be looking at a version of this engine to power the Urus, which is also expected to offer additional powertrain options in the future. The last time Lamborghini offered an SUV was with the LM002 of decidedly different orientation, powered by a version of the V12 engine from the Countach. Related Video:

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #323 LIVE!

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #323 tonight, and you can drop us your questions and comments regarding the rest of the week's news via our Q&A module below. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
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Details emerge on production-bound Lamborghini Sesto Elemento

The last we heard about the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, Lamborghini had confirmed its production with only 20 examples of the track-only car planned, but now we're finally starting to get some of the details about this knife-edged car. AutoVisie recently had the chance to talk to Maurizio Reggiani, Director of R&D at Lamborghini, who not only confirmed what will power the new car, he also said that the production version will carryover almost untouched from what we saw in concept form at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.
What we now know is that the Sesto Elemento will share the same powertrain as the Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera including the 570-horsepower V10 and the all-wheel-drive system, and it will be built at a new factory dedicated to building prototypes and limited-volume cars like this. Also, the report states a curb weight of 2,200 pounds, a top speed of 320 kilometers per hour (198 miles per hour) and a 0-100 kph (0-62) time of just 2.5 seconds. The only changes made to bring the concept to production were to increase the car's rigidity and its safety. This means the car will still feature all-carbon-fiber construction and unique bucket seats that are actually built into the car's body; driver adjustments coming from the steering wheel and pedals.
The estimated price for the Sesto Elemento is two million euros, or around $2.6 million US, and although the original production date was slated for early 2013, Motor Authority now says that we'll have to wait for another "year or two" to see this car in the wild. Also, it does not appear that this is the mystery car recently teased in a 50th anniversary video released by Lamborghini.