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Lamborghini goes from carbon fiber to carbon neutral [w/video]

Draw up a list in your mind of automakers striving to "save the environment," and you might be forgiven for not ranking Lamborghini very high on impressions alone. After all, it only makes supercars with double-digit cylinder counts, displacing over 5.0 liters, and producing in excess of 600 horsepower. Hardly what you'd characterize as "green" modes of transportation, then. And though it recently showed a hybrid sports car concept, it has opted next to build an SUV instead. However the Raging Bull marque is out to rehabilitate its image by changing the reality of its carbon footprint. It's just not about to do so by watering down the supercars for which it is known. "We are not here to please a single customer. We are here to pass this territory unharmed to the next generation." – Lamborghini CEO, Stephan Winkelmann This week the Italian automaker officially opened its new Trigeneration Plant – which is not, lest you think otherwise, an assembly facility spanning multiple eras of production. It's a new power plant, built on the site of the company's headquarters in Sant'Agata Bolognese, that will generate its electricity, heating, and cooling, all from the same source of natural gas. The plant has an installed (potential) capacity of 1.2 megawatts, and will (practically speaking) be capable of generating over 25,000 MWh every year. That'd be enough to power all the houses in Sant'Agata, the otherwise sleepy town which Lamborghini shares with about 7,000 residents. The clean-burning facility is estimated to cut out 820 tons of CO2 every year, and by 2017 is slated to run on biofuel to raise that figure to a claimed 5,600 tons per year. The question is, who cares? Sure, people buying EVs and free-range chickens want to be assured that their buying habits fit their environmental conscience, but does the average Lamborghini buyer really care if their new supercar came from an environmentally friendly factory? "If we are going to do the things only because of the importance first thing for the customer, we would not be here anymore," Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann told us during roundtable discussion at the opening of the Trigeneration Plant. "We are not here to please a single customer. We are here to pass this territory unharmed to the next generation." "It would be ridiculous if you would say we are going to save the world.

2016 Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce First Drive [w/video]

I'm not as fast as Peter Muller. The chief driving instructor for one of the most revered exotic car companies in the world can turn in lap times that would shame my best efforts, all while giving me notes over the radio and steering with one hand. He's quick. And still, I kept catching him, even slowing down for him, on the fast, sweeping Turn 3 at Circuit de Catalunya. On Muller's advice I held a mid-track position just past the halfway point of the corner, then tightening towards a very late apex and flat out acceleration into a short straight section. Muller was leading a $1.5-million pack of Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce supercars, and driving the standard Aventador himself. Forget that the SV has added nearly 50 horsepower and dropped around 110 pounds versus the 'base' model; those are just numbers. The SV makes a hack like me as quick as Lamborghini's top trainer, for at least one glorious corner. This is a special car. It's hard to describe Lamborghini's 6.5-liter V12 masterpiece without using indulgent language. But it's the reworking of this massive engine that starts to explain my Turn 3 pace. The engine drives an impressive set of output and performance figures: 740 horsepower (the eponymous "750" figure of the model name is a metric horsepower quote), 509 pound-feet of torque, 0 to 62 miles per hour in a scorching 2.8 seconds, and a top speed in excess of 217 mph. Lamborghini president Stephan Winkelmann says the use of naturally aspirated engines is "part of our DNA." That dedication makes for a powerful differentiator in our current turbo-sodden area, and a magical experience in the case of the SV. The added output and "enriched torque curve" have been achieved by way of revised variable valve timing and intake, as well as a new lightweight exhaust system. Power comes on with authority even under a few thousand revs, and rises maniacally as long as you're inclined to keep the accelerator pegged. The V12 spins freely and fast, hammering home the need for a ultra-responsive transmission with each run up to the redline. Of course, the bellow of the car is such that I hardly needed the gear indicator on the digital tach to tell me when to shift. The V12 sounds luscious at low speeds, angry at full throttle, and absolutely murderous approaching the 8,500-rpm cutoff. Unless you're deaf you'll quickly learn when to pull on the shift paddle, while keeping your eyes on the blurring road.

Lamborghini shows off beautifully restored 350 GT

It might not look much like Lamborghini's latest creations, such as the Aventador S, but this gorgeous grand tourer is a very important model in the company's history: its first production car. And this is an early one, one of the first 15 examples to roll off the line. It's getting some attention at the Retromobile Show in Paris thanks to its full restoration by Lamborghini's in-house restoration arm, Polo Storico. Polo Storico is a little like the Heritage divisions of Jaguar and Land Rover, and similar divisions at Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and others. The unit, based in Sant'Agata, gives customers the opportunity to have their classic Lamborghinis restored by the company's expert staff. It is, as you might imagine, expensive. Polo Storico has previously restored a Miura, an LM002, and a Countach. This particular 350 GT is chassis No. 0121, and it received 1,150 hours worth of bodywork and 780 hours of mechanical restoration – in particular, the cooling system for the 3.5-liter V12 was thoroughly checked over. The car was repainted with an original-type paint, and recreation Pirelli Cinturato tires were fitted to match what the car originally had. It'll be on display in Paris if you're in the neighborhood. Related Video: