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Lamborghini Urus pair completes 4,000-mile trip across Japan

Two Lamborghini Urus crossovers have completed a month-long journey across Japan. Conceived as a marketing stunt, the pair traveled over 4,000 miles, collecting some truly breathtaking scenery along the way. The idea of a long-distance drive to promote a new vehicle has been a long-held tradition in Japan. It was a much bigger achievement back in the 1960s, when Japan's expressway system was just getting underway. Many local roads were still rough, and it was considered uncommon for cars to drive all-out at high speeds for sustained lengths of time. Nowadays, it's not particularly difficult for any modern car to complete such treks, especially when you're talking about a 641-horsepower, 626-pound-foot luxury SUV. In fact, it must be quite the exercise in restraint in modulating the 4.0-liter V8, capable of a 190 mph top speed, since the highest speed limit in Japan is about 75 mph and speed cameras are everywhere. Still, it was a chance for Lamborghini to capture some beautiful photos along the way. The Urus almost looks out of place against ancient shrines and lush bamboo forests. They even paused to shoot at Himeji Castle in Bizen City and Shirakawa village in Gifu Prefecture, both UNESCO World Heritage sites. From snowy mountains to rocky coastlines, cherry blossom-lined avenues to massive steel bridges connecting Japan's islands, the variation in backdrops is something to behold. The two Urus vehicles used in the trip were finished in Giallo Inti (yellow) and Blu Astraeus (dark blue), both featuring a customizable Lamborghini paint option called Pearl Capsule. Created by Lamborghini’s Centro Stile design department, it basically adds a black finish to the roof, spoiler and front air dam. Cabin-wise, Pearl Capsule adds two-tone coloring, hexagon stitching on the seats with carbon fiber and black anodized aluminum details throughout the interior. The option can also be paired with Arancio Borealis (orange) and Verde Mantis (green) exterior colors. The trip started in far western Japan on the island of Kyushu, then traced the country's northern coast along the Sea of Japan up to the northernmost island of Hokkaido. Then it snaked down the Pacific coast to its final destination of Tokyo. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Watch the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ break the Nurburgring lap record

The revolution will be televised. Lamborghini has posted the video of the Aventador SVJ breaking the Nurburgring lap record. With factory-backed race driver Marco Mapelli behind the wheel and a host of Pirelli engineers in support, the kaleidoscope-colored coupe posted a time of 6:44.97. Apparently the only difference between the production-spec SVJ and the record-setter is the tires: The retail SVJ will come with Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber, the lap-flyer got shod with what we expect to be optional P Zero Trofeo R hoops. That's a little more than two seconds faster than the 6:47.3 set by the Porsche 911 GT2 RS — that car having taken the lap record from the Lamborghini Huracan Performante. Since Lamborghini hasn't revealed the Aventador SVJ, and won't until Monterey Car Week in August, we still don't have details on the special-edition car's specs. It is clear, however, that the SVJ is lighter and gets more grunt from its 6.5-liter V12 than the 3,836-pound, 740-horsepower Aventador S. We can look forward to a long list of carbon fiber and whiz-bang materials applications, plus info on the carmaker's tweaked ALA 2.0 active aerodynamics system ported over from the Huracan. For now, though, the unofficial teasers and the official teasers have been proved. We have high-definition video of what the SVJ is capable of on the German track in the right professional hands, and VBOX telemetry information to go with it. Enjoy. Related Video:

Ferdinand Piech (1937-2019): The man who made VW global

Towering among his peers, a giant of the auto industry died Sunday night in Rosenheim/Upper Bavaria, Germany. Ferdinand Piech, a grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who conceived the original Volkswagen in the 1930s, was the most polarizing automotive executive of our times. And one who brought automotive technology further than anyone else. Ferdinand Porsche had a son, Ferdinand (called "Ferry"), and a daughter, Louise, who married the Viennese lawyer Anton Piech. They gave birth to Ferdinand Piech, and his proximity to two Alfa Romeo sports cars — Porsche had done some work for the Italians — and the "Berlin-Rome-Berlin" race car, developed by Porsche himself, gave birth to Piech's interest in cars. After his teachers in Salzburg told his mother he was "too stupid" to attend school there, Piech, who was open about his dyslexia, was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland. He subsequently moved on to Porsche, where he fixed issues with the 904 race car and did major work on the 911. But his greatest project was the Le Mans-winning 917 race car, developed at breathtaking financial cost. It annihilated the competition, but the family had had enough: Amid growing tension among the four cousins working at Porsche and Piech's uncle Ferry, the family decided to pull every family member, except for Ferry, out of their management positions. Piech started his own consultancy business, where he designed the famous five-cylinder diesel for Mercedes-Benz, but quickly moved on to Audi, first as an engineer and then as CEO, where he set out to transform the dull brand into a technology leader. Piech killed the Wankel engine and hammered out a number of ambitious and sophisticated technologies. Among them: The five-cylinder gasoline engine; Quattro all-wheel drive and Audi's fantastic rally successes; and turbocharging, developed with Fritz Indra, whom Piech recruited from Alpina. The Audi 100/200/5000 became the world's fastest production sedan, thanks to their superior aerodynamics. Piech also launched zinc-coated bodies for longevity — and gave diesel technology a decisive boost with the advent of the fast and ultra-efficient TDI engines. Less known: Piech also decided to put larger gas tanks into cars. Customers loved it. Piech's first-generation Audi V8 was met with derision by competitors; it was too obviously based on the 200/5000.