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Lamborghini's Centenario Roadster has arrived and it's already sold out

We love a good crazy Lamborghini design. While Pagani and, arguably, Koenigsegg have overtaken Lambo in the crazy department lately, Lamborghini still has its magic touch. For evidence, let us introduce you to the Centenario Roadster. It was unveiled this afternoon at Pebble Beach. Based on the Centenario coupe that was built in honor of Ferruccio Lamborghini's hundredth birthday (if he were still alive today), the roofless version is essentially the same supercar, but with the added luxury of unlimited headroom. Both Centenarios are based on the underpinnings of a Lamborghini Aventador and built around a carbon monocoque with a 759-horsepower, 6.5-liter V12 in the middle. Thanks to the naturally aspirated V12, the Centenario Roadster can sprint to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, which is only a tenth of a second slower than the coupe. Not bad. Only 20 Roadsters will be built, the same number as the coupe, and, according to Automotive News, they've all been sold. While the hardtop went for $2 million, the Centenario Roadster, in all of its roofless glory, will run roughly $2.3 million. To us, even though we can't afford it, the insane price tag somehow makes sense. Related Video: Featured Gallery Lamborghini Centenario Roadster Debut View 17 Photos Related Gallery Lamborghini Centenario Roadster News Source: Lamborghini, Automotive News-sub. req.Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Misc. Auto Shows Lamborghini Convertible Performance Supercars Pebble Beach lamborghini centenario

Why Italians are no longer buying supercars

Italy is the wound that continues to drain blood from the body financial of Italian supercar and sports car makers. The wound was opened by the country's various financial police who decided to get serious about superyacht-owning and supercar-driving tax cheats a few years ago, by noting their registrations and checking their incomes. When it was found that a rather high percentage of exotic toy owners had claimed a rather low annual income - certain business owners were found to be declaring less income than their employees - the owners began dumping their cars and prospective buyers declined to buy.
Car and Driver has a piece on how the initiative is hitting the home market the hardest. Lamborghini sold 1,302 cars worldwide in 2010, 1,602 cars in 2011 and 2,083 cars in 2012 - an excellent surge in just two years. In Italy, however, it's all about the ebb: in 2010, the year that Italian police began scouring harbors, Lamborghini sold 96 cars in Italy, the next year it sold 72, last year it sold just 60. The declines for Maserati and Ferrari are even more pronounced.
Head over to CD for the full story and the numbers. What might be most incredible isn't the cause and effect, but where the blame is being placed. A year ago the chairman of Italy's Federauto accused the government of "terrorizing potential clients," this year Luca di Montezemolo says what's happening has created "a hostile environment for ­luxury goods." Life at the top, it ain't easy.

2016 Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder First Drive

Convertibles get a bad rap when it comes to performance cars. Once, a lack of a roof meant extra performance. Now it means added weight and loss of structural rigidity. This stigma even applies to supercars, maybe more so. In the case of Lamborghini, the Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder is the "lifestyle" version. Which is silly, but doesn't diminish the appeal. Essentially, the Spyder is a Huracan with a fabric roof. Same 602-horsepower V10 inches behind the cabin, same hybrid aluminum-and-carbon-fiber construction, and same all-wheel-drive (though updated across the line for 2016). The performance compromise is a mere one mile per hour drop in top speed, and two-tenths of a second slower claimed 0-62 mph time of 3.4 seconds. (We suspect this is generously slow, to protect the egos of coupe owners). All told, the Spyder adds about 220 pounds in curb weight versus the coupe (Italian "dry" weight numbers are notoriously optimistic, so take the 3,650-pound Spyder claim with a grain of salt). The aerodynamic management on the Spyder is so good that the 201-mph top speed is valid with both the top up and retracted. In detail, the conversion in making the Huracan convertible is extensive. The roof itself is three layers of fabric, with a middle rubberized ply to cut down on interior noise. The design brief was to maintain the Huracan's hexagons-gone-wild theme with the top up and down. Spend 17 seconds waiting for the fully automatic top to lower, and the shape retains the coupe's motif. Part of the top's electronic ballet is a pair of flaps that extend out to preserve the shape of the B-pillar. Those flaps also feature narrow slits that smooth the wind along the side of the car, reducing turbulence near the driver's and passenger's ears. Additional side deflectors keep more wind away from your head. And with the top down the rear window's maximum height is restricted to prevent it from catching air. The aerodynamic management on the Spyder is so good that the 201-mph top speed is valid with both the top up and retracted. Suck on that, coupe aficionados. The Huracan's performance is so ridiculous that few can explore the margin between the two bodystyles. In any case, we didn't get much chance to stretch the Huracan's legs on our press drive in Miami, due a torrential downpour and the fact that South Florida is a terrible place for driving. Maybe that's where the "lifestyle" portion comes in, because Miami is a fantastic town for flaunting wealth.