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Lamborghini still working on SUV, no decision yet

If Lamborghini adds another model to round out its supercar portfolio, it will be a sport utility vehicle, CEO Stephan Winkelmann said. "We are working on it, but there is no decision taken," he told Autoblog in an interview in April. The Italian automaker currently has the V12-powered Aventador and V10-powered Huracan in its lineup. Both are two-seat supercars that cater to a niche of sporting-minded enthusiasts. Lamborghini has flirted with several kinds of vehicles in recent years that could add to its volume and customer base, including the hybrid Asterion revealed at the Paris Motor Show last year, and the Estoque sedan that debuted in Paris in 2008. It also showed the Urus SUV prototype at the Beijing Motor Show in 2012. Seemingly a sure thing three years ago – the Urus even had sales projections of 3,000 per year – the project's future has remained uncertain to enthusiasts. "If we do a third model, then it's better to have the SUV as this is a growing segment, a more emotional segment, a segment which is very well-distributed in terms of volume all over the planet," Winkelmann said. And therefore this is a car which is more likely." While Lamborghini has focused on building high-powered, carbon-fiber intense supercars lately, it has also produced iconic grand tourers, like the Espada and 350GT. And of course, it once made an SUV, the LM002, from 1986-1993. The potential new SUV, however, would be different than the Rambo Lambo. The Urus had a contemporary design – more Porsche Macan or Cayenne than military grade – and it would appeal to Lamborghini owners that also have an SUV in their garage. It would also add significant volume for the company, which delivered 2,530 cars in 2014. The SUV offers Lamborghini a logical platform for a hybrid system. "Due to packaging, due to the weight of the entire vehicle, it's more likely that the hybridization is getting in place," Winkelmann said. "It's less a car which is about absolute performance. So this could be an opportunity." Put it all together and it seems likely a hybrid SUV is in Lamborghini's future. We're just not sure when. Related Video:

Actor Eric Bana returning to Bathurst 12 enduro race

Eric Bana joins the field of the 2014 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour race next month, driving for the Australian FXD Workwear team. Bana's done the race twice before, coming in tenth overall in 2009 in his Love the Beast Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo X, posting a DNF in the same car in 2010.
This year he'll be in Class B behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 prepared by Racing Incident, joined by teammates Peter Hill and Simon Middleton. The race happens during the weekend of February 7-9, you can find a press release with the announcement below. You'll want to take the time to get to know it this year, because it's been widely reported that Eric Bana will return next year to share a Porsche 911 GT3 with Mark Webber.

Volkswagen Group names Paefgen head of classics program

You may remember the name Franz-Josef Paefgen. Until recently, the German engineer and executive was head of both Bentley and Bugatti. Before that he was chief executive of Audi, after working for several years at Ford. He technically "retired" earlier this year, but like the cars he helped create, an executive like Paefgen could never really retire. So it should come as little surprise that the Volkswagen Group has named Dr. Paefgen head of its Classic program.
In his new capacity, Paefgen will oversee the historic automobile activities of the entire VW Group, including those of Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Audi, Lamborghini, and of course Bentley and Bugatti. It strikes us as a suitable semi-retirement for the man responsible in no small part for the Bugatti Veyron and Bentley Mulsanne, to name just two, and who was decorated in 2006 by the ACO as the "Spirit of Le Mans" for his contribution to endurance racing. Read the official announcement after the break.