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Lambo Urus to stay true to concept, but almost didn't happen

Lamborghini has been making noise about adding a third model line for years, and it's finally going to happen now that the Urus concept has been approved for production. It'll likely be a while yet before all the details are sorted out and revealed to the public, but while visiting the factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Autoblog was able to glean some intriguing details about the Italian automaker's forthcoming crossover and its path it is taking from concept to production. "It's good to have heritage, but the LM002 is not the reference or the blueprint." - Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann We first saw the Urus concept back in 2012, and Lamborghini has been lobbying its parent company Volkswagen ever since for the go-ahead to put it into production. Now three years later, it finally has the green light. A company representative told Autoblog the production version looks "very" close to the concept. (No ground-up redesign here, then, like sister-brand Bentley did with its inaugural crossover project.) Speaking with a small group of journalists in Sant'Agata, the company's chief executive Stephan Winkelmann confirmed that "the SUV could be the [company's] first car with a turbo, and it could be the first car with a plug-in, if we have the opportunity to have more than one engine." The Urus (or however it's ultimately labeled for production) will also be decidedly geared towards on-road performance – unlike the Rambo Lambo on display in the museum next door. "It's good to have heritage," said Winkelmann, "but the LM002 is not the reference or the blueprint" for the new model. As to the question of why it has taken three years to get approval, and why it will take another three to put it into production, Winkelmann was frank: "Basically if you look at our numbers, we are a company which is growing at a fast pace, but we are very small," said the affable executive. "We had to find a way to almost double our efforts, because it's not the exchange of a model line, with the Gallardo and Huracan, it's adding a model line. And not out of 20 to come to 21 models, but from two to three is a major effort, and you have to have a rock-solid business case." "Putting 500 more people inside a company which is now at 1,200, you can imagine what it means. Doubling almost the size of the area here where we are sitting today. Investing hundreds and hundreds of millions.

Felicity Ace sinks with thousands of VWs, Porsches, Lamborghinis

The stricken ship Felicity Ace sank overnight after a week of salvage efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful. The ship, which was carrying up to 4,000 VW Group cars, went to the bottom unexpectedly while a salvage team was attempting to tow it to shore, Bloomberg reports.  "Initial reports from the local salvage team state that the vessel had sunk at around 9AM local time having suffered a list to starboard," Mitsui O.S.K. Lines transportation company (MOL), which owns the Felicity Ace, said in a statement released early Tuesday.    "The last vessel position was around 220nm off the Azores," MOL said. "The salvage crafts will remain around the area to monitor the situation. Further information will be provided as it becomes available." The ship sank after being battered by waves and listing 45 degrees to starboard, the ship’s operator said. “The weather was pretty rough out there,” Pat Adamson, a spokesperson for MOL Ship Management (Singapore), a unit of Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd., said by phone. “And then she sank, which was a surprise.” VW, Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini-branded models were aboard the ship, which was headed to Rhode Island from GermanyÂ’s Emden port when the fire broke out on Feb. 16.  Rough seas and ongoing fires fueled by the lithium-ion batteries of EVs onboard delayed the ship's salvage and recovery operations for the better part of a week. While the likelihood of salvaging the smoke and potentially fire- and water-damaged vehicles from Felicity Ace's hold was slim to none, some had held out hope that their special-ordered vehicles might survive the mishap.  The Panama-flagged Felicity Ace was safely evacuated of its 22 crew members by the Portuguese navy after a fire started in its hold more than a week ago. The ship can carry up to 4,000 cars. European carmakers declined to discuss how many vehicles and what models were on board, but it appears to have been transporting approximately 2,500 cars, including roughly 1,100 Porsches and an undetermined number of Volkswagens.  The cars aboard were on order. Porsche customers in the United States were being contacted by their dealers, the company said. “We are already working to replace every car affected by this incident and the first new cars will be built soon,” Angus Fitton, vice president of PR at Porsche Cars North America, Inc., told The Associated Press in an email. The ship sank in water nearly 10,000 feet deep, the Portuguese Navy said.

Lamborghini Huracan gets incremental upgrades for 2016

Lamborghini is rolling out a series of upgrades for the Huracan. And minor as most of them may be, they'll likely only further the desire among enthusiasts to get behind the wheel. Chief among the enhancements is a new cylinder deactivation system system that drops from ten cylinders to five under light loads. Lamborghini refers to it as the first such system to be implemented on a naturally aspirated V10, though it should be noted that is corporate cousin – the Audi R8 – incorporates a similar setup. Apart from selectively shutting down one of its cylinder banks, the 2016 Huracan benefits from a retuned all-wheel-drive system that promises "a neutral and even more improved driving behavior." The rest principally comes down to trim, including matt-black air vents and more leather inside, along with available cruise control and other convenience features. There's a new ten-speaker Sensonum audio system available, along with the global rollout of the optional sports exhaust, and an extension of the Ad Personal personalization catalog. Finally, buyers will also be able to show off even more than before with new carbon-fiber engine bay trim, a transparent cover, and even LED lighting. Although the options stand to inflate the price significantly, the base price with all of the standard upgrades remains the same. They're being applied to both the coupe and the recently revealed Spyder for the new model year. The Raging Bull marque is also tipped to be preparing a new rear-drive version that's expected to be unveiled later this month in Los Angeles. Related Video: Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4: Model Year 2016 Product Updates Sant'Agata Bolognese, 06 November 2015 -- Following its successful market introduction in 2014 the Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 is now available to order with a number of updates. The new contents focus on efficiency, drivability and luxury and are already available with the 2016 model year. The price of the Huracan LP 610-4 remains unchanged at 169.500 Euros + tax. As standard, both the Huracan coupe and newly-launched Spyder version include cylinder deactivation to improve engine efficiency; the first time this function is included in a naturally aspirated V10 engine. When full engine capacity is not required, five of the ten cylinders are temporarily deactivated by switching off one cylinder bank.