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Lamborghini Lanzador Concept — what it's like to drive an extreme EV vision of the future

MONTEREY, Calif. — ItÂ’s not every day that an automaker gives you the chance to drive a priceless, one-of-one concept car on regular roads. ItÂ’s not every day that the car is LamborghiniÂ’s Lanzador concept, an EV thatÂ’s LamborghiniÂ’s (VOW3.DE) vision of what an electric, Lamborghini hypercar will look and feel like, when it comes out in 2028 — a distant five years from now. Yahoo Finance was one of only a handful of outlets allowed to drive the Lanzador. There are many rules in life, but when an automaker gives you the keys to a one-of-a-kind supercar — you take them. 'It looks like a spaceship' Many industry experts were surprised that Lamborghini even debuted this car, a 2028 model, during last month's Monterey Car Week — let alone allow a few select journalists to drive it, but here we are. At first blush, the Lanzador is unmistakably a Lamborghini. Industry watchers expected the car to be a GT-style sport touring car with two rows, or in this case a 2+2 seating design, but Lamborghini went with a two door coupe setup. WeÂ’ll see if this holds for the production model. The Lanzador sits higher up, with extra ground clearance, giving the car an almost crossover look, though with a much lower roofline. The car has LamborghiniÂ’s shark-like front and strong shoulder line, which flows into sporty, wide haunches and an extremely raked rear windshield housed in the rear hatch door. The car is all hard angles, no curves. “The starting point is a super sports car proportion in a higher position, a pilot position,” said Lamborghini head of design Mitja Borkert to Yahoo Finance. “Lamborghini is always designed with this one single center line — this is our trademark — this is where you recognize a LamborghiniÂ… So if I'm doing this and if I'm doing the sculpture already, you've got a beautiful Lamborghini because it looks like a spaceship, and something really innovative.” Inside, the Lanzador is even more “concept car,” with a floating dash and center console, featuring sharp angles you might see in an alien starcraft. The seats sit low in the cabin, though higher than in a sports car, and feature impossibly thin cushions giving it a stark, futuristic look. My first thought was, "Does the interior, with its amped up and dramatic vibe, give the EV the emotion it needs, given the fact an EV drivetrain usually subdued?" Rouven Mohr, LamborghiniÂ’s chief technology officer, thinks so.

Audi R8, Lamborghini Huracan could get twin-charged five-cylinder

Engine downsizing and forced induction are some of the biggest trends in automotive powertrains today because. They offer the chance to reduce emissions and boost fuel economy, while possibly maintaining power. The shift is already happening to performance cars with turbocharged four-cylinders finding their way into the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and future Porsches. Now, there are rumblings of a tiny chance for a similar change coming for the Lamborghini Huracan and Audi R8. Why the new powertrain? China. While the market there might have slowing growth, it's still a major country for auto sales. The annual taxes on cars there also happen to be based on engine displacement, and there's a 40 percent rate on those over 4.0-liters, according to Car and Driver. The obvious answer to this conundrum is to build a smaller displacement, forced induction engine for the R8 and Huracan. Car and Driver points to the new turbocharged and electrically supercharged, 2.5-liter inline five-cylinder from the recent Audi TT Clubsport Turbo concept as a possible solution. Audi's e-turbo technology runs off a 48-volt electrical system and lithium-ion battery to produce a total of 600 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque in the prototype. With this mill, horsepower would barely shrink compared to the R8 V10 Plus and Lambo, but it actually makes more peak torque than their 5.2-liter V10s. While this is all theoretically feasible, take the possibility with a big grain of salt for now. According to Car and Driver, Quattro GmbH's Stephan Reil says that there's no work currently underway to fit the twin-charged five-cylinder, "but it has been talked about." That means such a vehicle is likely years away, if ever. In the meantime, a diesel version of the e-turbo setup is on the way the in the SQ7. Related Video:

Lamborghini restores ultra-rare one-off Miura SVR

This is the one-of-one Lamborghini Miura SVR. It's a racing development of the already rare Miura SVJ, and its 19-month factory restoration has just been completed. It could very well be the most desirable Miura ever built. The SVR is one of 763 Lamborghini Miuras built by the factory between 1966 and 1972. In addition to "regular" Miuras, there was a limited-number run of "Jota" specification cars, or SVJs, developed by factory test driver Bob Wallace. The specific car here was originally a green Miura S with the chassis number #3781, built in 1968 and displayed at the Turin Motor Show. In 1974, it was acquired by a German customer, who brought it back to the factory to be reborn for the first time. During that 18-month rebuild, it was converted into special, created-for-the-occasion SVR spec, a notch above the vaunted 440-horsepower SVJ cars. In 1978, #3781 was sold to Japan, where it became an actual hero car, making it into manga comics and serving as a basis for toymaker Kyosho's SVR model car line. It certainly takes something for a single car to be so breathtaking that it creates its own niche and following. After 40 years, the SVR was deemed to need restoration, and it arrived to the factory already in pieces. It wasn't a rotten shell, as it was sold as a complete car in Japan in 2015; however, the gold leather interior seen in this Petrolicious post didn't make it to 2018. The head of Lamborghini's factory restoration division Polo Storico, Paolo Gabrielli, says that the factory wasn't really able to use the same approach as Polo Storico restorations usually require. "The original production sheet wasn't of much help, as we relied mostly on the specifications from the 1974 modifications," said Gabrielli. The only ways where the restored SVR differs from the original 1974 build is that it now has 4-point safety belts, better racing seats and a removable roll bar, as the car sees race track use and these modifications were requested by the car's current owner for safety's sake. Now that it's finally finished, #3781 was shown at the Nakayama Circuit in Japan. Related Video: