Auto blog
Lamborghini Veneno makes full appearance before Geneva debut
Mon, 04 Mar 2013This is it: The Lamborghini Veneno supercar that will debut later today in Geneva and, along with the the McLaren P1 and Ferrari Enzo successor, give this motor show in Switzerland no less than three world supercar premieres. A number of images of the Veneno have leaked early, which we've assembled in the attached gallery for your slack-jawed, drool-stained perusal.
The Veneno is reported to mark Lamborghini's 50th anniversary, and will be built in a production run of just three, each with a price tag of around $4.6 million and each one bearing a color of the Italian flag (green, white or red). And no, Richie Rich, you can't have one, because all three are already sold.
As for its mechanicals, the Veneno is supposedly based on the Aventador, which makes sense, though it wears a completely different carbon fiber body that's even more extreme than other recent hypercars from Lamborghini, including the Sesto Elemento and Reventon. It will almost certainly be powered by Lamborghini's 6.5-liter V12 producing around 740 horsepower, while a seven-speed single-clutch transmission will carve up that output on the way to the Veneno's reported top speed of 220 miles per hour.
Lamborghini Veneno leaks ahead of Geneva
Sun, 03 Mar 2013Hey, Lamborghini execs... why the long face? Is it because your double-top-secret Veneno hypercar has leaked ahead of its Geneva Motor Show debut?
This unidentified magazine scan has dribbled its way onto the internet, and the single image shows a radically designed coupe - even by Lamborghini standards - powered by the 6.5-liter V12 from the Aventador tuned to produce 740 horsepower, routed through the company's seven-speed single-clutch gearbox. The bodywork features exposed carbon fiber canards, asymmetric wheel wells, a massive rear wing, and all manner of vents and scoops, all combining for an outlandishly brutal look.
What does "Veneno" mean, exactly? It translates to "poison" in Spanish, but if the company's history is anything to go by, it must also be the name of a noteworthy bull in the history of tauromachia. What the car means to Lamborghini, however, is a celebration of the one-time tractor manufacturer's 50th anniversary.
Best bus stop ever makes public transportation way more interesting
Fri, 22 Feb 2013
For all the advantages public transportation offers, relying on your local bus is typically about as entertaining as taking in someone's lint collection. Telecommunications giant Qualcomm set out to remedy that scenario at one stop by switching out the bus schedule on the wall for a URL. Visitors were encouraged to participate and immediately got more than they bargained for. One would-be bus rider got a trip in a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, and that was probably the most predictable result.
We would like to think we'd be more prone to embracing public transportation if it came with this level of entertainment. You'll have to watch the video below to see more about what we mean.
Chinese patent filing may mean Lamborghini Urus closer to production
Sun, 17 Feb 2013The Urus SUV still hasn't received the official green light for production, but that hasn't stopped Lamborghini from protecting its performance crossover in the land of stolen vehicle designs. These patent drawings submitted in China show what appear to be the Urus in the same concept form that we first saw last year at the Beijing Motor Show.
Last we heard, the Volkswagen Group had put development of the Urus on hold even though, more recently, the Bentley EXP 9 F (aka, the Falcon) has reportedly been given the nod. Although the existence of these patent images don't necessarily mean the Urus is going into production, they are at least another excuse to debate the SUV's stealth-bomber-style lines.
2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster
Thu, 14 Feb 2013What Dreams May Come
The Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster left me stupefied. Despite my experience with countless other high-powered exotics on a variety of racing circuits, including nearly all of its Gallardo siblings, the all-wheel-drive, 700-horsepower flagship dropped my jaw to the ground.
Less than 24 hours earlier, I had been sitting on an airplane at 39,000 feet studying press releases about the Italian automaker's newest range-topping convertible. While everything looked spectacular on paper, I was genuinely concerned that its new cylinder deactivation system and open-roof configuration would spoil some of the fun - soften its personality, to be more specific.
Fastest-ever Lamborghini may debut in Geneva
Wed, 06 Feb 2013Lamborghini is headed to next month's 2013 Geneva Motor Show with the brand's fastest car yet. The news comes courtesy of Filippo Perini, Lamborghini's design director, who reportedly dished that the brand will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a new low-volume hypercar. Perini made the comments while at the US launch of the automaker's recent Aventador Roadster in Miami, and he made it clear there will only be 10 production examples of the new model. If you want one, you had better get your wallet to the closest dealer (the designer admits most of the exotics are already spoken for).
Meanwhile, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann has said his company will continue to explore special edition models. As you may recall, the Italian automaker built just 20 examples of its Sesto Elemento, originally penned for the 2010 Paris Motor Show. It promptly sold each one for $2.5 million. Then there was last year's Aventador J, which flew out the door at $2.6 million, including taxes. Stay tuned for more information from the show floor.
Lamborghini Aventador Roadster is sold out
Mon, 04 Feb 2013Well, that happened quickly. The $441,600 Lamborghini Aventador Roadster is, according to reports, already sold out in every market around the world until at least the middle of 2014.
Boasting a 6.5-liter V12 that churns out a heady 690 horsepower, there's little wondering why the cars are so popular. But with its finicky carbon fiber rooflet, $3,700 gas guzzler tax and and an MSRP that sits considerably higher than the hardtop version's price tag, the Aventador Roadster requires a very specific type of buyer. Lamborghini isn't saying how many of the new dropheads have been sold, but we're told hand raisers won't get their keys until mid-summer at the earliest.
If you need a refresher on what makes this particular Lamborghini worth nearly half a million dollars, you can check out the photos and videos from the machine's unveiling in Miami here.
Lamborghini invades Miami with Aventador parade, high-speed runs at airport [w/video]
Thu, 31 Jan 2013Lamborghini is only starting to throttle the engines on its 50th anniversary celebrations. The company lined up fifty of its Italian jobs for a cannonball run down the south runway at the Miami International Airport, the Aventador Roadster breaking 200 miles per hour, then ran them all through the streets of Miami to be properly introduced to one of their most ardent clienteles.
Contrary to the appearance of the image above, no airplanes had to wait to taxi behind the ground-based flyers. Not that any of them would have had to wait long, though, since the 700-horsepower Aventador Roadsters were exceeding the lift-off speeds of commercial airliners by at least 30 mph.
There's a press release and a video below, along with a gallery of high-res photos of the day's events. Enjoy.
Runway Rumble: Nissan GT-R, Ducati 1098 and Lamborghini Reventon Roadster battle it out
Tue, 29 Jan 2013One 2.5-mile runway, three different ways to take off: a Ducati 1098, a tuned Nissan GT-R with 580 horsepower and a launch control upgrade, and a Lamborghini Reventon Roadster. You'd naturally expect the Ducati to assert it's lightweight, high-horsepower authority in these matters, but with more than two miles to run, the ride that gets the jump at the line isn't always the one that gets the win.
That comes in especially handy for the Lamborghini, which suffers from a bad start in the first race and just looks plain ordinary in the second, until it finds redemption. You can see how it all goes down in the video below.
This is Lamborghini's evil-looking new racecar
Tue, 29 Jan 2013As a part of the festivities to launch its Aventador Roadster model, Lamborghini has announced that is returning to racing with the new Gallardo GT3 FL2 and its in-house race team, Lamborghini Squadra Corse. The new race-spec Gallardo, co-developed with Reiter Engineering, will initially compete in motorsports series such as the Italian GT3 Championship, Asia Le Mans Series and the single-make Blancpain Super Trofeo Championship. Additional series will be announced later including races in the US next year - possibly as a part of the new Grand-Am/American Le Mans Series series.
Reiter Engineering has been building racing Lamborghinis since 2000, but this will be the first time it has worked in cooperation with the automaker to create a car.Other than the obvious aero changes such as the front splitter, rear diffuser and massive rear wing, the 2013 Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 FL2 also received some weight reduction, better brakes and engine cooling and, surprisingly, improved fuel consumption. The car dropped about 55 pounds compared to a standard Gallardo, and since it was designed to compete in endurance races, it was given "24-hour" brakes, although we don't actually know what changes were made.
Deliveries of the Gallardo GT3 FL2 will begin in March with a starting price of 320,000 euros, or around $430,000. Scroll down for more details about Lambo's newest racer.