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2023 Lamborghini Sterrato First Drive: Ridiculous obliteration of boundaries

DESERT CENTER, Calif. — Lamborghini knows something about its buyers: They like to be able to appear, and to perform acts that are, ridiculous. Normally, thatÂ’s meant scissor-hinged doors and unhinged performance on pavement. On occasion, though, Lambo has taken its boundary-obliterating show off-road – and not just because stability control spectacularly failed. The legendary LM002 was a V12-powered luxury pickup largely meant from Emirati sheiks to power-slide up sand dunes, while the brandÂ’s best-selling Urus is more than capable of doing silly things in places more rugged than the Starbucks drive-thru. And now, plowing sideways through a dirt track and into the pantheon of LamboÂ’s bat-shit off-road vehicles comes the 601-horsepower, V10-powered, $273,000, limited-edition 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato. It is lifted 44 mm or 1.73 inches for greater ground clearance and suspension travel. The track is widened by 30 mm up front and 34 mm in the rear, enough to require bolted-on fender flares. Its tickly underside is armored with aluminum skid plates. The body is safari-fied with nostil-like driving lights, roof bars to support a gear-toting rack, and a snorkel so it can breathe more readily when drawing lines in the sand. It looks less like a supercar and more like the getaway vehicle for a pair of tomb raiders, looking to sneak out of Giza ahead of the cultural police, and whatever curse the thieves may have uncorked. Just a few weeks before driving the Sterrato through  —  literally, through  —  the Southern California desert, I had been behind the wheel of its slightly-cheaper and alternatively-missioned sibling, the Huracan Tecnica, in twisty Italian mountain roads. With 30 more horsepower, rear-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-steering, a tuned exhaust system, and Bridgestone Potenza Race tires, it was surprisingly delightful and easy to drive quickly, even/especially through technical turns and blasting curves. The Sterrato was a whole different bullfight, but remarkably similar in its capacity to elevate my driving skills. It was so simple to drive well through bounding hairpins, arcing sweepers, and elevation-switching chicanes — usually utilized by dirt bike racers — that it was actually startling. I have driven all manner of trucks and SUVs in the sand, but IÂ’ve never had this experience with a “safariÂ’d” performance car. The Sterrato is a revelation in this respect.

Lamborghini restores two 50-year-old classics to mark their anniversary

Front-engined Lamborghinis are a thing again, thanks to the Urus SUV. For decades, the company built nothing but mid-engined vehicles, perhaps for a good reason. But 50 years ago, Lamborghini introduced two cruisers with front-mounted V12s, and to commemorate the anniversary, the company's historical Polo Storico division has now restored examples of both. Before the era of Diablos, Murcielagos and Gallardos, the Espada was the strongest seller in the Lamborghini stable. Between 1968 and 1978, Lamborghini built 1,226 Espadas, all of them with a 4-liter V12, and some of them with an automatic transmission — a Lamborghini first. Depending on the version, the Espada's power output ranged from 325 hp to 350, and it could exceed 150 mph while seating four. Taking its cues from earlier concept cars, the Espada's Gandini design can be remembered from the near-horizontal rear deck, and the 47-inch tall cars are very low for four-seaters. What about the Islero? For Lamborghini, it was a more conventional approach to a GT, as it was a further development of the earlier 400GT — itself a continuation of Lamborghini's first production car, the 350GT. A handy way to tell the cars apart is that the Islero has hidden headlights, unlike the two earlier models. Compared to the Espada, the Islero's production run was markedly shorter: It was built for only two model years, with a total of 225 cars. The engine was the same V12 as in the Espada, but while the Islero S also had 350 hp, it was notably faster, and able to reach 161 mph. Lamborghini's Espada/Islero celebrations include a special tour of the Umbria region in early September. There's a 400-mile tour of central Italy Sept. 7-11 for Lamborghini enthusiasts, arranged by Lamborghini Polo Storico. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery Lamborghini Espada/Islero 50th Anniversary Lamborghini Classics lamborghini espada

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.