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Bulls on vacation: Lamborghini Giro 2015

Twenty-one owners were on hand for the Lamborghini Giro 2015, the tenth edition of the exclusive brand's most exclusive event. Hailing from the US and Canada, the small group blazed over some of the best roads in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Luxury accommodations were provided at each stop on the four-day tour in late July. Twenty-one owners may sound like a minuscule showing, but it represents nearly 3% of the yearly American customer base. The colorful collection of Aventadors, Huracans, and Gallardos charged around New England like a high-speed string of Skittles. Challenging drives included the storied climb of New Hampshire's famed 6,288-foot Mount Washington and a mad dash up sinuous Route 17 through Vermont's Appalachian Gap. It all concluded with a police-escorted romp into the heart of Boston. Brilliant as the driving is, the Giro is also an opportunity for the Italian brand to connect with and take the pulse of owners in America, its largest market. Twenty-one owners may sound like a minuscule showing, but consider this: Lamborghini sold just over 2,000 cars globally in 2014, 736 of them in the US. This privileged few represents nearly three percent of the yearly American customer base. For comparison, Ford Motor Company sold 2,480,942 vehicles in 2014. If a similar portion of American Ford owners breezed into New England for a Ford Giro, that would equate to more than 70,000 "Ford-istas." Begun in 2006 in the US, the event is relatively unknown, even among Lamborghini owners. Capped at a maximum of 25 couples/cars, the Giro draws some of the most loyal customers of the Bologna-based icon. Exclusivity – participants mix with top management and are looked after by Lamborghini "concierges" – is what sets it apart from larger yet still select activities for the faithful, including the Lamborghini Esperienza (track events for owners) and Accademia (track and winter driving academies). Given the statistical significance of the participants, we couldn't help but survey the well-heeled swells running their bulls on the 2015 Giro about what they thought of the company's gamble on a third Lamborghini model in the form of an SUV – the upcoming Urus. Will it diminish the flamboyant brand's street cred? Half said "No", citing the celebrated Porsche Cayenne parable. Half said, "What the ****?!" "It's not only a nice drive," says Alessandro Farmeschi, Lamborghini America Chief Operating Officer.

Richard Hammond helps terminally ill girl live pink Lamborghini dream

Emilia Palmer, an eight-year-old from Kimbolton, Herefordshire in England's West Midlands, suffers from a rare lung illness, requiring her to constantly be on oxygen. She made a request through Rays of Sunshine, which is like the Make-A-Wish Foundation, to get a ride in a pink Lamborghini, driven by everyone's favorite Hamster, Richard Hammond. And last Sunday, she got to do just that, escaping from her hospital just long enough to stop home and get a surprise visit.
Within days of receiving Emilia's wish, Rays of Sunshine found someone willing to donate a Lamborghini Aventador Roadster, and let the charity get it resprayed in an eye-searing, matte pink. The charity also managed to get Hammond to fly in for a personal visit with Emilia.
You can take a look at video of the meeting down below. You can also click over to Rays of Sunshine's website and donate, so that they can continue granting wishes for terminally ill children across the UK. Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to step away and get all this dust out of our eyes.

Wild one-off Lamborghini Sogna for sale at $3M [w/videos]

The Lamborghini Countach was the dream car for many teens and pre-teens in the 1980s, but at least one Japanese man thought there was room for improvement. As the story goes, Ryoji Yamazaki had a dream of a supercar as a 13-year-old, and at the age of 41, he used his design studio, Art & Tech, to create the Sogna in 1991.
Yamazaki unveiled the Sogna at the 1991 Geneva Motor Show as a rebodied Countach with intentions of selling it in limited production, but thankfully - or sadly, depending how you look at it - the $1.6 million (1991 price) coachbuilt supercar never made it into production. The Geneva show car was a rolling chassis, and the only other example that was produced was a fully operational version, shown above, which was unveiled at the 1994 Essen Motor Show. This car from Essen is now listed for sale on James Edition for 2.38 million euros, or around $3.25 million USD.
With its oddball styling and kiwi green paint, the Sogna was likely doomed from the start, but it still boasts the Countach's full powertrain including the 448-horsepower, 5.2-liter V12 and a claimed top speed of 186 miles per hour. Check out more images of the 1994 Sogna at James Edition and Enmann, and we also found a couple videos, which are posted below, of the car's early development.