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Bulls on vacation: Lamborghini Giro 2015

Twenty-one owners were on hand for the Lamborghini Giro 2015, the tenth edition of the exclusive brand's most exclusive event. Hailing from the US and Canada, the small group blazed over some of the best roads in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Luxury accommodations were provided at each stop on the four-day tour in late July. Twenty-one owners may sound like a minuscule showing, but it represents nearly 3% of the yearly American customer base. The colorful collection of Aventadors, Huracans, and Gallardos charged around New England like a high-speed string of Skittles. Challenging drives included the storied climb of New Hampshire's famed 6,288-foot Mount Washington and a mad dash up sinuous Route 17 through Vermont's Appalachian Gap. It all concluded with a police-escorted romp into the heart of Boston. Brilliant as the driving is, the Giro is also an opportunity for the Italian brand to connect with and take the pulse of owners in America, its largest market. Twenty-one owners may sound like a minuscule showing, but consider this: Lamborghini sold just over 2,000 cars globally in 2014, 736 of them in the US. This privileged few represents nearly three percent of the yearly American customer base. For comparison, Ford Motor Company sold 2,480,942 vehicles in 2014. If a similar portion of American Ford owners breezed into New England for a Ford Giro, that would equate to more than 70,000 "Ford-istas." Begun in 2006 in the US, the event is relatively unknown, even among Lamborghini owners. Capped at a maximum of 25 couples/cars, the Giro draws some of the most loyal customers of the Bologna-based icon. Exclusivity – participants mix with top management and are looked after by Lamborghini "concierges" – is what sets it apart from larger yet still select activities for the faithful, including the Lamborghini Esperienza (track events for owners) and Accademia (track and winter driving academies). Given the statistical significance of the participants, we couldn't help but survey the well-heeled swells running their bulls on the 2015 Giro about what they thought of the company's gamble on a third Lamborghini model in the form of an SUV – the upcoming Urus. Will it diminish the flamboyant brand's street cred? Half said "No", citing the celebrated Porsche Cayenne parable. Half said, "What the ****?!" "It's not only a nice drive," says Alessandro Farmeschi, Lamborghini America Chief Operating Officer.

Lamborghini say no to turbos in supercars, for now

Lamborghini is preparing to launch what will not only be its first crossover (discounting the LM002 that was a proper truck), but also looks to be its first turbocharged model as well. But will the upcoming new Urus open the door for more artificially boosted Lambos in the future? That was the question on our minds when Autoblog caught up with Stephan Winkelmann at the opening of the new Trigeneration Plant in Sant'Agata Bolognese. "Naturally aspirated engines are still the best engines which are on the market for super sports cars, in terms of acceleration, in terms of sound," said Lamborghini's chief executive during a roundtable discussion at the factory. "And unless there is [something] better, we are going to keep them." "Naturally aspirated engines are still the best. Unless there is something better, we are going to keep them." "We are constantly looking for alternatives. We are constantly seeing what we can do to make them better," said Winkelmann. "And there will maybe a day when we are introducing turbos, when the turbos are equalizing or being better than naturally aspirated engines." That moment just hasn't come yet, in Lamborghini's estimation. This in sharp contrast to rivals like Ferrari and McLaren (to say nothing of its sister company Porsche) which are wholeheartedly embracing turbocharged engines, as well as hybrid propulsion. Any engine, turbocharged or otherwise, used to propel the Urus would not be so easily slotted into one of its mid-engined supercars, either. "Usually an SUV engine has a different stroke, so usually those engines have to be adapted if you want" to use them in mid-engined supercars, said Winkelmann. "Then they're at the front so you have to turn them, and if this is going to make sense, I don't know. At this time there are no plans to do that, but in general, these engines are not suitable" for models like the Huracan or Aventador. "There would be a day when we think that turbo can be better than naturally aspirated. And that day, we will step into it."

Audi considering turbo option for longer, wider Hurac?n-based R8

The debut of the Lamborghini Huracán was (and remains) big news in and of itself, but equally as exciting is the imminent arrival of the Audi R8, which the Huracán presages. While the two will share a common architecture, don't expect that new R8 will simply be a cheaper version of the Huracán (like the current one arguably is to the Gallardo).
For one, the next R8 will be larger than the Huracán. According to emerging intelligence, Audi will make its sports car both longer and wider than the Lamborghini version. It'll also share the new Lambo's innovative carbon-fiber structure that will replace both the firewall and central tunnel. But to power it all, Audi will get more creative.
The next R8 will, like the current model and like the Huracán, offer a V10 engine at the top of the range. It will also offer the same 4.2-liter V8 as the outgoing model. But that won't be the end of the matter. Word has it that Audi is also working on a smaller, turbocharged engine to offer in certain markets that mandate smaller-capacity engines.