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Lamborghini could be sold or spun off from the Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen is reportedly considering a sale or stock listing for its high-end Lamborghini brand. The German automaker is looking to fold the Italian supercar brand into a separate legal entity, reports Bloomberg, which cites "people familiar with the matter" who don't want to be identified "because the deliberations are confidential and no decisions have been made." Any of this sound familiar? The goal of spinning off Lamborghini would be to stockpile more cash and other resources for VW's massive planned push into electric vehicles. Back in March, reports circulated that Volkswagen's "Vision 2030" corporate plan might include plans to focus on the brand's core brands — VW, Audi and Porsche. That means the futures of fringe players like Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, motorcycle brand Ducati and design firm Italdesign (and note this isn't a comprehensive list of brand's under the expansive VW Group umbrella) are up in the air. VW, according to the report, is targeting a market value of $220 billion, which is a big jump from the brand's current $89 billion valuation. Bloomberg pegged Lamborghini's valuation at around $11 billion back in August, buoyed by sales and profits generated by the introduction of the Urus sport utility vehicle. On the flip side, Lamborghini is currently grappling with how best to update its supercar lineup in the face of ever-increasing emissions regulations.

The List #0691: Drive a Lamborghini

The List's tour of Italy continues as Jessi and Patrick visit Sant'Agata Bolognese, the home of Lamborghini. While a museum and factory tour provide a brief distraction, our hosts are champing at the bit to hop behind the wheel of the 691-horsepower Lamborghini Aventador. "The Aventador has all the sex appeal you'd expect from an exotic Italian sportscar," says Jessi. "And this Lamborghini has the updated technology you'll need to keep a previously raw and sometimes frightening driving experience to a pure, unadulterated thrill." Watch as Jessi and Patrick unleash this raging bull on the streets of Italy. Have an RSS feed? Click here to add The List. Click here to subscribe to The List in iTunes. Click here to learn more about our hosts, Jessi and Patrick. Lamborghini Driving Coupe Supercars The List Videos Original Video autoblog black

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.