2009 Lamborghini Murcielago Lp640 Convertible 2-door 6.5l on 2040-cars

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These were our favorite cars of 2022

Favorite cars is different than best cars. The idea of "best" can speak to value and overall competitiveness in a given vehicle segment. There's lots of objectivity involved and to do a "best" list right, one really must be very thorough and as scientific as possible. This is not that list. This is about our favorites, so objectivity be damned. If we liked a Challenger Hellcat because it made loud noises or a Honda Odyssey because it made for a particularly special family vacation, fair game. These were the cars that most spoke to our collection of editors and the ones that stayed in our minds and hung in our hearts long after they left our driveway. — Senior Editor James Riswick 2022 GMC Hummer EV Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder: I didn't particularly expect to like the new Hummer. I wasn't a fan of the Hummer H2 or H3, so I wasn't automatically enthusiastic about this electric reboot. Fast EVs aren't hard to come by — and, in fact, may be too easy to come by — so its performance specs weren't enough to win me over. Despite videos to the contrary, pickups aren't my favorite vehicular format. And its excessive size and weight turned me off ... until I finally got behind the wheel.  This thing is wildly entertaining to drive. Watts to Freedom launch control is a neat party trick, sure, but the novelty wears off quickly. The novelty of Crab Walk, however, has staying power. The rear-wheel steering makes this behemoth feel much smaller than it is — the maneuverability is incredible, and useful. The air suspension provides tons of clearance, including a ridiculously high-riding Extract mode. I can't wait for lesser versions of the Hummer to make their way to market. Give me less power (for less money), but keep the off-road tricks onboard, and I'll be a happy camper. Senior Editor, Consumer, Jeremy Korzeniewski: If I could afford to put one of these in my driveway, I would. Sadly, I can't, so I won't (What's that, Janet? I got the lyric wrong?). Still, I love the dumb thing. Thankfully, I have another choice down below. 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 Associate Editor Byron Hurd: Yeah, duh, Porsches are good. But there's good, and then there's GT3. This is the feeling every performance-oriented RWD tuner is trying to replicate. This is hard, precise, surgical and immensely satisfying. To begin to explore this car on a public road is by itself an admission that you believe yourself to be above the rules as they apply to normal drivers.

Lamborghini Concept S up for auction in New York

Reach back a decade into your supercar memory banks and you may recall that in 2005, Lamborghini rolled in to the Geneva Motor Show with a dramatic Gallardo speedster concept. That was the Concept S, designed by Luc Donckerwolke long before he shifted over to (and subsequently left) the Bentley design department. It packed all the cutting-edge angular design of the Gallardo coupe that had just debuted the year before, but predated the emergence of the Gallardo Spyder that followed the next. The Concept S featured more radical bodywork that bisected the open cockpit, with a pair of low-profile wind deflectors instead of a single-frame windshield. Sort of like the Aventador J concept from a few years ago, but in a more compact (and relatively more stylistically restrained) form. The original show car wasn't a runner, but it proved such a hit that Lamborghini made a second one – this time fully functional with V10 power – and brought it to Pebble Beach that summer. The static model is still on display at the Lamborghini Museum in Sant'Agata, and we took our time ogling it while in town for the opening of the new Trigeneration plant last week, but the runner was sold to a private collector, and now it's set to cross the auction block as part of RM Sotheby's upcoming sale in Manhattan. The auction house expects that it'll fetch between $2.4 and 3 million, and given this particular model's rarity, we don't doubt it'll command every penny, if not more. After all, the Veneno went for more than that, and as scarce as that crazy hypercar was (and remains still), between the coupes and roadsters, Lambo made a baker's dozen of those. In fact, the Concept S stands to set a new record for the highest amount ever paid for a Lamborghini at auction, which according to Sports Car Market was set in 2009 when a Reventon sold online for $2.5 million. The Reventon was a more dramatically styled version of the Murcielago and precursor of the Aventador, of which 21 were made. So just imagine how much collectors might prove willing to spend on the one-of-a-kind Concept S.

Lamborghini sends off the Aventador with a stunning grand finale

Lamborghini created a 770-horsepower swan song to celebrate the end of the Aventador's production run. Known as the LP 780-4 Ultimae, the final evolution of the firm's flagship will arrive as a limited-edition model offered as a coupe and as a roadster. It's also presented as Lamborghini's last non-electrified V12-powered supercar. The roaring, naturally-aspirated V12 engine has played a significant role in shaping Lamborghini's image since the brand's inception in 1963. It's not completely going away, and it's certainly not about to adopt forced induction, but staying on the legal side of looming emissions regulations requires adding an electrified component. In the future, the V12 will be part of a hybrid system that hasn't been detailed yet. In the meantime, it carries on as a high-octane masterpiece with 6.5 liters of displacement and an output bumped to 770 horsepower at a screaming 8,500 rpm and 531 pound-feet of torque at 6,750 rpm. For context, the same basic engine develops 730 and 759 horsepower in the Aventador S and the Aventador SVJ, respectively. It still spins the four wheels via a seven-speed Independent Shift Rod (ISR) automatic transmission linked to a pair of shift paddles and a Haldex-type four-wheel-drive system. Lamborghini quotes a 0-to-62-mph time of 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 220 mph. With more power comes less weight: The Aventador lost 55 pounds in its transition from the S to the Ultimae. Like its predecessor, it offers enthusiasts a trick four-wheel steering system, huge carbon ceramic brakes, and four different driving profiles. 2022 Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae View 15 Photos Stylists and engineers worked together to update the Aventador's exterior design. Up front, the changes are relatively subtle and made largely to optimize aerodynamic efficiency. Out back, the tweaks are more noticeable. The two round exhaust outlets notably move up to echo the design seen on the aforementioned SVJ and on the smaller Huracan Evo. Buyers can choose from a palette of 18 paint colors, and they can customize accents like the red accents on the diffuser. Alternatively, a 300-color palette is offered by Lamborghini's Ad Personam division. Lamborghini will present the Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae to the public for the first time during the 2021 edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed opening tomorrow, July 8. Production will be limited to 350 coupes and 250 roadsters, and each one will wear a numbered plaque on dashboard.