Silver Metallic Over Black Hide Extremly Well Equipped... Must See on 2040-cars

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Lamborghini Miura and Countach driven back to back in bid to make Autoblog staff jealous

For the Autoblog staff, we're in the honeymoon phase following the Monterey car week and Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. In terms of big, huge, labor-intensive events on the horizon, we're free until the beginning of October, when we'll ship off to Paris for its annual motor show. That means we're free to look back on the beautiful metal out in California, which included more than a few classic Lamborghinis, including the Miura and Countach.
Unfortunately, we never had a hope of getting behind the wheel (believe it or not, asking exceptionally wealthy car collectors to borrow their meticulously maintained, extraordinarily rare vehicles doesn't elicit immediate cooperation). Considering this grave injustice, we're left taking solace in the latest video from Car, which sees the British outlet taking spins in both the Miura and Countach. The pair of vehicles served as forbearers to the modern supercar, with the former's early mid-engine layout and the latter's aggressive, wedge-shaped styling.
Take a look at the latest video from the lucky bastards team at Car.

Is this the new Lamborghini Huracan?

All aboard the Leak Train! While we know that all the official images and details are coming soon, the Lamborghini Huracan (if that is its real name...) is showing up all over the internet (Automobile Magazine Hong Kong's Facebook page, for instance) in a dashing yellow paint scheme. While we're not presently able to confirm or deny the accuracy of these seven leaked images, when compared to the spy shots we've already seen, we can say they look convincingly real.
If they're legit, what we're looking at is the replacement for the Lamborghini Gallardo, which first went into production way back in 2003 and has gone on to sell an astonishing 14,022 units, a record for the Italian brand. Put another way, the Huracan has very large shoes to fill. Judging by its badge, which reads LP610-4, it will be doing so with 610 horsepower and all-wheel drive.
Take a look at the seven images above, and stay tuned for the full official floodgates to open in very short order.

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.