2005 Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe 2d Awd 5.0l V10 on 2040-cars

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1998 Lamborghini Diablo SV Roadster, a unicorn bull, heads to auction

  Lamborghini made only two Diablo SV Roadsters, and RM Sotheby's is putting this one up for sealed auction running December 13-15. It's not only a rarity, it's a throwback to a time just 23 years ago that people who were there have to make an effort to remember. A time when Lamborghinis barely sold; Chrysler put the Lamborghini Diablo on the market in 1990, Audi took it off the market in 2001, Lambocars puts the entire Diablo run over those 11 years at around 2,500 cars including prototypes and factory specials. Today's Lamborghini moved more than double that number in the first half of this year. The products back then also weren't all that good; yes you could enjoy them, but you were going to sweat and work for it, and a yellow example was driven only by a tycoon or the loosest of cannons. This SV Roadster in Giallo over Nero "Torpedo" Alcantara with yellow piping has undoubtedly seen more pearls clutched than Oyster Bay.  In 1995, just after Chrysler sold the Italian outfit, Lamborghini launched the Diablo VT Roadster, a convertible version of the all-wheel-drive Diablo VT, and the Super Veloce (SV) Coupe, a pared-back rear-driver with more power from the 5.7-liter V12 than in the standard Diablo VT. The new Malaysian and Indonesian owners wanted to lure more American buyers, so they funded development of an SV Roadster to be a lighter, lither RWD version of the AWD VT Roadster. Three years later, a Pearl Orange SV Roadster show car went on display at the Geneva Motor Show in 1998. U.S. dealers wanted the car. However, the Malaysian and Indonesian owners sold Lamborghini to Audi the same year, and Audi canceled all rear-wheel-drive projects. A Milanese Lamborghini dealer asked Lamborghini's CEO to make one more example; the CEO agreed. Having created market demand then stiff-armed it, Lamborghini dealers and distributors in various regions removed the AWD system from some VT Roadsters to create something like an SV Roadster. However, the SV Roadster show car and the example for the Milanese dealer are the only two factory-official SV Roadsters in existence.  This one's been in the hands of four European collectors and shows 42,842 kilometers (26,621 miles) on the odo. Its V12 makes 530 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of torque. Lots of spendy options on this one, including exposed carbon fiber for the roof and intake blades, the optional rear wing also in exposed carbon fiber, the front suspension lift system, and the sports exhaust.

Lambo to quarantine twin-turbo V8 to Urus

Lamborghini is planning to slot a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 into the Urus sport utility vehicle. But don't expect the engine to make its way into the Italian firm's supercars anytime soon. According to the latest report, that forced-induction mill will be limited exclusively to the sport ute for the foreseeable future. Speaking with Autocar, CEO Stephan Winkelmann reiterated that the Urus will be the only Lamborghini model powered by the turbo eight. "On the supersports cars we are convinced that the choices we have made with the naturally aspirated engines are still the right ones," said Winkelmann. "We are not saying that future engines will never beat what we have in our cars; we are saying as long as there is nothing that is better, especially at low revs or in terms of the sound that the V10 and V12 have, we stick to them." While its rivals have embraced turbocharging, Lamborghini has been a steadfast holdout for high-revving, naturally aspirated engines with two-digit cylinder counts. Ferrari, for example, has slotted a turbocharged V8 into both the California T and 488 GTB. McLaren uses a turbo V8 in all its models. Lambo's own sister brands Porsche and Bugatti also use turbochargers. But the Huracan eschews forced induction for an atmospheric V10, as does the Aventador for a V12. The Volkswagen Group of which Lamborghini is part employs a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 for both the Bentley Continental and numerous Audi models. We'll likely be looking at a version of this engine to power the Urus, which is also expected to offer additional powertrain options in the future. The last time Lamborghini offered an SUV was with the LM002 of decidedly different orientation, powered by a version of the V12 engine from the Countach. Related Video:

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