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Lamborghini and Bentley may hold off on SUVs so VW can conserve cash

After surveying the European economic scene, Volkswagen may have decided now is not the time to launch utility vehicles with Bentley and Lamborghini badges. Bentley officials say they will continue to push for support for the EXP 9 F and Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelman has said planning for the Urus will continue until VW tells it to stop.
That decision could come on November 23, when VW's board will vote on the company's budget for equipment, factories and vehicles. With VW's sales slowing and the Euro economy slumping further, some industry watchers say the company is more likely to build its cash reserves than to introduce super-expensive luxury SUVs or crossovers.
"Such vehicles are anything but obligatory during a crisis," says Frankfurt-based Equinet AG analyst Tim Schuldt in a new Automotive News Europe story. "Delaying their launch would be no drama but help save costs."

Egoista concept comes home to Lamborghini Museum

Unless you happen to live in one of the great supercar capitals of the world, seeing a Lamborghini up close is a rare treat. But even in such rarified company, some Lambos stand out more than others. We're talking here about elusive examples like the Reventón (of which only 20 were made), the $3.4-million Veneno (only four made) or this, the one-of-a-kind Egoista.
The Egoista concept was revealed a year and a week ago during Lamborghini's 50th anniversary celebrations. Unless you are a Lamborghini owner who traveled to Italy for the event, chances are you didn't get a chance to see it. But if you're heading to the Bologna region any time in the near future, you'll be able to check it out at the Lamborghini Museum in Sant'Agata.
There the one-of-a-kind single-seater concept with the aircraft-style canopy greenhouse will surely occupy a place of honor, alongside the many classic, racing and otherwise significant models - including the Sesto Elemento, Estoque and Miura concepts. Unfortunately, since Google's crew was there before the Egoista (or before us, for that matter), you won't be able to see it on Street View, so you're going to have to trek to northern Italy to see it for yourself.

Rare early Lamborghini Countach sells for record $1.2 million

Lamborghini may have made headlines with the highly exclusive, $4.5-million Veneno and the even more expensive Veneno Roadster that followed, but when it comes to classics sold at auction, their prices seldom approach the kind of figures attained by rare classics made by arch-rival Ferrari. Early 350 GTs and rare Miuras (like the SV prototype Gooding sold a few years ago for a record $1.7 million) have been known to breach the seven-figure mark, but now the Countach is making its way into the big leagues as well.
Pictured here is a rather exceptional early example sold by Bonhams in Connecticut last week. This 1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400 "Periscopica" - so dubbed for the unique rearview mirror fitted to the first 150 examples made - has just over 10,000 miles on the odometer. With flawlessly retouched Blu Tahiti (read: French racing blue) paint and an immaculate deep tan leather interior, the Periscopica was the subject of feverish bidding before selling for $1.2 million to a buyer present at the auction, beating out a dozen or so telephone bidders.
The record price for a Countach trumps the previous record, also set by Bonhams at the Quail Lodge last August, where another '75 Periscopica sold for $836,000. The rising prices surely reflect the coming of age for the Countach, now nearly 40 years since its introduction - particularly for the generation that grew up idolizing it as the prototypical supercar. Scope it out in the artful gallery of 76 high-resolution images above and the details of the auction below.