Great Color, Great Miles, 2008 Gallardo Spyder With Carbon Package on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Shuffle at Lamborghini sends CEO to Quattro GmbH

A management shakeup in Volkswagen Group's high-performance divisions will make Stephan Winkelmann (above) the new chief executive of Audi's Quattro GmbH on March 15. On the same day, former Scuderia Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali will replace Winkelmann as Lambo's boss. These changes are necessary because current Quattro chief Heinz Hollerweger is retiring. Rumors of these exact shifts cropped up in Italian media in December. Winkelmann began leading Lamborghini in 2005, and he has been at the helm for massive growth at the company. In 2015, the Italian supercar maker delivered a record 3,245 vehicles, and it had just set its previous best of 2,530 units in 2014. His new role at Quattro GmbH puts Winkelmann in charge of Audi's equivalent to M at BMW or AMG at Mercedes-Benz. The division is responsible for the Four Rings' R and RS production models, the Audi Sport customer racing program, and Audi Exclusive customization service. "In the future, the Audi Sport brand is to be positioned more clearly," the company's announcement said, which hints at one of Winkelmann's duties. Domenicali has been closely associated with Lamborghini rival Ferrari during his career and had years of experience within the automaker's racing team. He started in financing at the Prancing Horse in 1991 and moved to business planning for the Scuderia Ferrari F1 squad in 1993. He held many positions there and eventually ascended to the top as team principal in 2008. Domenicali resigned from leadership in 2014 because of the team's poor performance, but Audi quickly snapped him up as its as Vice President New Business. He now gets the reins of one of Italy's premiere supercar makers. Related Video: Stephan Winkelmann to be new CEO of quattro GmbH As of March 15, 2016, Stephan Winkelmann (51) will be the new CEO of quattro GmbH, a 100 percent subsidiary of AUDI AG, which produces and distributes the high performance R and RS models. Winkelmann was President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. since January 1, 2005. Heinz Hollerweger (62), the current Head of quattro GmbH, is to retire after almost 40 years of successful work for Audi. "With his experience from more than eleven years in charge of Lamborghini, Stephan Winkelmann will be a key contributor to the further growth of quattro GmbH," says Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG.

The Lamborghini Centenario is sold out

Lamborghini is expected to unveil a new supercar at the Geneva Motor Show in a couple of months. Tipped to be called the Centenario, the limited-run special will commemorate the hundredth anniversary of company founder Ferruccio Lamborghini's birth. But before it makes its public debut, the company has reportedly sold every last one. The Centenario (or whatever it's ultimately called) will be the latest in a line of limited-production supercars rolling out of Sant'Agata, following in the footsteps of the Reventon, Sesto Elemento, and Veneno. It's expected to be based on the Aventador, but with unique bodywork and a more potent version of Lambo's 6.5-liter V12 engine. The company is expected to produce 40 examples – 20 coupes and 20 roadsters – all of which have reportedly already been spoken for despite a price tag of nearly $2.4 million. The trend of selling out such high-end machinery prior to their debut is picking up steam at the top end of the supercar market. Manufacturers like Lamborghini, Bugatti, Pagani, and Koenigsegg typically show their most dedicated customers plans for what they have in store behind closed doors and start taking deposits before the vehicle is ever shown to the public. And with such limited production numbers, they sell out rather quickly, no matter how many millions the company charges for the privilege. As Autocar points out, 2016 also marks the 50th anniversary of the Miura – one of Lamborghini's most legendary models. Ten years ago the company marked the model's 40th anniversary with a one-off concept that never saw production. While Lamborghini is more forward-looking than prone to retro throwbacks, we wouldn't be surprised to see some form of tribute resurface this year.

Lamborghini walks us through improvements it made to the Huracan

LE CASTELLET, France — Lamborghini's updated Huracan EVO2 will make its competition debut during the 2022 season of the Super Trofeo one-make series. Visually, it gains a new-look design that blazes the path future models — including production cars — will follow in the coming years. There's more to it than a face-lift, and we sat down with Leonardo Galante, the man in charge of technical development for Lamborghini's racing arm, to get the full scoop on the changes made. "It's a big step from EVO to EVO2, and we focused on three main pillars," Galante told us at the Paul Ricard track. Design is the first; aerodynamics is the second, and it's closely linked to design; braking performance is the third. Customers and enthusiasts will notice design before any of the mechanical changes, so Galante's team worked directly with Centro Stile, the company's in-house design department, to update the Huracan. The lights are thinner on both ends, and the rear units are embedded in a housing that echoes the Countach's back end. Air curtains are now positioned on either side of the front fascia, while a redesigned diffuser dominates the Huracan's rear end. Centro Stile and Squadra Corse had an equal influence on these updates. "We learned a lot in terms of shapes, about how to make a car look beautiful, and designers learned a lot about the principles of aerodynamics," Galante explained. "We worked together to define the best shapes to generate an efficient aerodynamic profile. We want to generate as much downforce as possible while creating as little drag as possible." Sculpting a car's aerodynamic profile isn't as straightforward as merely adding wings, spoilers, vents, and ducts to keep it glued to the ground around a turn. Galante stressed the quality of the downforce generated by the various add-ons is just as important as headline-grabbing figures. His aim was to keep the car as stable and predictable as possible, even when the weight balance shifts under heavy braking from triple-digit speeds. Feedback provided by Super Trofeo competitors since the beginning of the series helped his team dial in the right amount of downforce. Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo 2 View 11 Photos "With my group, I design the car, but I'm also here on the race track listening to the teams. When something is very good, or when something is very bad, I get immediate feedback. This is a very good part of my job," he said. Braking was one of the areas he wanted to improve.