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Watch a Lamborghini change color thanks to thermochromic paint

German artist Rene Turrek went from being a punk kid using spray paint to illegally tag walls to a global celebrity artist working with clients such as Mattel and Nikon. He may have become a little more corporate, but he still finds a way to do some playful work for himself. Recently he has turned his attention to creating incredible paint jobs on some pretty cool cars. Turrek released this video last week of his Lamborghini Gallardo, which at first just seems like a pretty purplish color. But a little bit of water splashed on the hood reveals an awesome tribute to that most awesome of crimefighters, Captain America. Turrek isn't some sort of nerdy witch. The car is coated in thermochromic paint, which reacts to temperature changes. When not activated, the Lambo is disguised as a mild-mannered purple supercar. A cup or two of warm water thrown on the special paint and it becomes translucent, revealing the car's true colors. After a few moments the paint becomes opaque again. Turrek calls the work 'The First Avenger.' We've seen a similar use of the paint on a R33 Nissan Skyline, which allowed the car to turn from orange to black and back to orange again. This isn't the first superhero supercar Turrek has produced. He also created a BMX X6 that looked blue under normal conditions, but revealed The Incredible Hulk on the hood when hit with warm water. Unfortunately the disappearing effect fades once the paint is exposed to too much sunlight, so to keep the paint job safe these cool cars would have to be kept in the dark. And at $400 a pint, Thermochromic paint can cost thousands of dollars to coat a car. It may not be the most cost-effective way to enhance your ride, but certainly one of the coolest. Related: Video:

Lamborghini Hurac?n configurator is ready for your Italian fantasies

The Lamborghini Huracán might be one of the most anticipated cars to come out of Sant'Agata since the launch of its predecessor, the Gallardo. While we're stuck waiting to drive the V10-powered, all-wheel-drive Huracán, we can at least play around with the all-new configurator, which has just gone live.
Now, in terms of other online builders, the Huracán's is rather light. Tweakable features are limited to exterior and interior colors, wheel designs, caliper colors and a few other smaller items. There are also no prices listed, although this is hardly unusual for exotic configurators (Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce all leave pricing info off their configurators).
Despite being rather low on stuff to do, designing one's personalized Lamborghini will always remain a pleasant means of whiling away a slow day at work. Hop over to Lamborghini's website and have a look.

$1.3B worth of classic cars were auctioned in 2014

The collector auto market in the US just continues to expand with the values of vehicles seemingly only growing in the past years, especially if they have a prancing horse on the hood. This year was no different. According to data compiled by classic car insurance agency Hagerty, there were about $1.3 billion worth of vintage rides auctioned in North America in 2014, up just slightly from $1.2 billion crossing the block in 2013. If you want an idea of just how big a role the Monterey Car Week plays in the North American collector hobby, Hagerty's stats illustrate it perfectly. The company recorded $430 million in auction sales during the week – about a third of the entire market for the year. The event also hosted the biggest seller of 2014 when the hammer fell on a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (pictured above) for $38.115 million at Bonhams. In fact, vintage Ferraris in general were among the top buys in the classic auto world in 2014. Eight of the ten most expensive vehicles sold at auction were Prancing Horses (the other two were Ford GT40s). Also, the insurance company's price index for these Italian stallions showed a 43-percent gain in value for the year. The market for another Italian supercar is exploding, as well. The Lamborghini Countach showed a staggering 175-percent growth in auction value in 2014. According to Hagerty, the average price when they crossed the block was $736,599. Judging by Hagerty's numbers, there were still some places to look for those hoping to spend a bit less money. The Aston Martin Lagonda showed a strong gain in value with a 32-percent increase in auction price, but they still averaged $47,078. In addition, the company's index for '50s American cars showed only one-percent growth for these classics. These huge leaps in collector car value might be winding down, according to Hagerty. It predicts growth in the market to slow to an estimated five percent gain in 2015. Maybe a few of these classics might actually become a bit more affordable to fans without such deep pockets sometime in the future. Featured Gallery Bonhams Maranello Rosso Collection: Monterey 2014 View 21 Photos News Source: HagertyImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Aston Martin Ferrari Lamborghini Auctions Car Buying Performance Classics aston martin lagonda ferrari 250 gto Lamborghini Countach collector cars 1962 ferrari 250 gto auto auction