550 Horsepower Exotic Lamborghini! Like New, Only 1,800 Miles! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lamborghini Aventador spotted with more aggressive look

The Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 has been a huge success for the Italian automaker. The big, burly V12 supercar propelled Lamborghini to record profits a few years ago and the automaker wants to ensure that the Aventador remains relevant with a minor facelift that makes it look even more aggressive. Photographers caught an Aventador testing at the Nurburgring and the vehicle looks like a toned down Aventador LP750-4 SV. At the front, the prototype has smaller air intakes on either side of the front grille, of much the same angular design as the more powerful SV. These replace the unobstructed, larger square-like intakes on the regular model. The prototype still has the same overall profile as the current model. The changes at the back of the prototype are more dramatic. The rear wing is still the same shape and size, but the rear vents, which sit just below the taillights, appear to be smaller and more rectangular. The diffuser, which protrudes out of the prototype's rear end, is closer to the one found on the SV than the more restrained one on the normal Aventador. The exhaust outlet on this test vehicle is also different with a triangular shape that has a three-pipe design instead of the oval-enclosed four-pipe design on the current Aventador. It's also different from the exposed quad-pipe layout emerging from the SV's aggressive hindquarters. We're sure the different exhaust layout will alter the supercar's sound, but rest assured that the revamped Aventador can still spit a massive ball of flame. Rumors hint at the Aventador getting some additional power from its 6.5-liter V12 that currently generates 691 horsepower and 509 pound feet of torque. While the performance increase is up in the air, a dose of additional aggression will keep the Aventador looking fresh as it ages. Related Video: Featured Gallery Lamborghini Aventador Spy Shots View 12 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Spy Photos Lamborghini Coupe Performance Supercars testing

1970 Lamborghini Miura shows why some dreams are worth a wait

It took Dennis Varni over a decade after his first ride in a Lamborghini Miura in the late '60s to finally purchase his own 1970 Miura P400S in 1979. Judging by his story and the V12 engine's sublime sound in the latest video from Petrolicious, the wait was entirely worth it. No matter where you look on a Miura, you find automotive beauty. On the outside, the design is a symphony of gently curving lines. The shapes are highlighted with wonderful mechanical touches like the eyelashes around the headlights or the little strakes that graduate in size just behind the side windows. Popping up the engine cover reveals a transverse V12 that's capable of a sound like thunder during a summer storm. While the interior appears a little cramped, it's really hard to complain with the carbs positioned inches from your ears and visible through the rearview mirror. As usual, Petrolicious does a superb job in capturing not only all of the Lamborghini's visual details but the sonic ones, as well. Everyone should take a moment to listen to this wonder machine climb through the gears just to brighten their day.

Lamborghini's path to the future is paved with forged composites

As far back as 1983, Lamborghini has been researching carbon fiber for automotive use. The automaker felt confident enough in its ability to work with the high-tech material in 1985 that a team led by Maurizio Reggiani, now the Lamborghini Board Member in charge of Research and Development, crafted a revolutionary Countach with a chassis made almost entirely of hand-laid carbon fiber. The result was spectacular in that the car's chassis weighed about half of its all-metal counterpart. It turned out that first foray into carbon fiber was just as spectacular when it was finally tested for crashworthiness, but in a completely different way. Catastrophic would be an appropriate word, according to Paolo Feraboli, who now leads Lambo's brand-new Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory in Seattle, Washington. Proving how far Lamborghini has come since that ill-fated carbon-fiber Countach Evoluzione, Feraboli told us during the ACSL's grand opening that today's Aventador, which boasts a high-tech carbon chassis, aced its very first crash test in 2009. Chalk that success up to high-tech computer modeling and the practical application of lessons learned over several decades of trial and error. The dull red monocoque of that crashed Aventador now hangs on the wall at the ACSL like a functional piece of art, a reminder of Lamborghini's cutting-edge milestones of the past. Lamborghini's future will be hewn from what the company calls forged composites. First seen on the stunning Sesto Elemento Concept from the 2010 Paris Motor Show, the patented carbon-forging process forgoes hand-laid sheets, injected resins, and high-heat autoclaves. Instead, wads of randomly oriented carbon fibers that sort of resemble the kind of dough you'd use to make pasta undergo a three-minute press inside a mold. The resulting parts are just as strong as other carbon-fiber bits, but can be mass-produced at a fraction of the cost. While it's true that cost is often a secondary consideration for high-end supercars, it's still relevant. By reducing the cost and increasing the scale of composite pieces, Lamborghini can then afford to spend more money on other parts of the car. It's not just body panels and chassis components that Lamborghini thinks it can build using forged composite technology. The Sesto Elemento featured forged-composite suspension control arms that haven't yet made it into production, but probably will soon.