2001 Lamborghini Diablo Replica Project Kit Car on 2040-cars

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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.

Actor Eric Bana returning to Bathurst 12 enduro race

Eric Bana joins the field of the 2014 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour race next month, driving for the Australian FXD Workwear team. Bana's done the race twice before, coming in tenth overall in 2009 in his Love the Beast Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo X, posting a DNF in the same car in 2010.
This year he'll be in Class B behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 prepared by Racing Incident, joined by teammates Peter Hill and Simon Middleton. The race happens during the weekend of February 7-9, you can find a press release with the announcement below. You'll want to take the time to get to know it this year, because it's been widely reported that Eric Bana will return next year to share a Porsche 911 GT3 with Mark Webber.

1963 Lamborghini 350 GTV still looks fresh on Pebble's Concept Lawn

We already brought you a gallery of Lamborghini's latest rockstar, the Veneno, from it's vaunted spot on the lawns of The Quail here in Monterey. Apparently the Italian brand didn't want the Pebble Beach crowds to feel left out, so it brought the supercar along to the Concept Lawn here as well. Not to miss out on the classics action Lamborghini has matched the Veneno with the car that started everything for the company: the original 1963 350 GTV prototype.
With 50 years separating the Veneno from the debut of the hip 350 GTV at the Turin Motor Show, Lamborghini cheekily mentions that it has stuffed "100 years of innovation in half the time." We'll leave the judgments of historical significance in the capable hands of the Pebble judges, but will agree that the original Lamborghini still looks amazingly hot, decades after its reveal. Apparently the classic 350 GTV doesn't travel a whole lot either, so we're happy to have a chance to lay eyes on it here.