2017 Lamborghini Aventador Lp 700-4 Miura Edition on 2040-cars

Auto blog

ItalDesign Giugiaro Parcour loses its lid

What could possibly be better than a two-passenger, off-road performance coupe built atop the Lamborghini Gallardo platform? A topless version of said vehicle, of course. We've already showed you the ItalDesign Giugiaro Parcour in fixed-roof form, and now we're able to bring you some live shots of the Parcour Roadster.
Honestly, the Parcour's lines probably look better on the hardtop model, but the Roadster's lack of top did give the ItalDesign Giugiaro crew a chance to change up the design ever so slightly. The windshield has been chopped and uses carbon-fiber pillars doubling as the vehicle's rollbars, while the hoops over the seats are also designed with safety and styling in mind. In addition to the roof, the Roadster also removes the separator between the passenger compartment and the engine bay meaning there is absolutely nothing to filter the noise created by the mid-engine 5.2-liter V10 putting down 550 horsepower.

Jon Olsson drives his Lambo up a glacier because why not?

The latest stunt by Jon Olsson has no particular purpose, but we love it just the same. Olsson, a former ski racer, always has a neat car with an equipment carrier stuck on top, and in this video he puts his customized rear-drive Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640 to work at Fonna Glacier Ski Resort in Norway. Makse sense to us. As he says in the short video, the aim is to have fun. He drives the Lambo up the Norwegian glacier aided by monster rear tires with some frightening studs, and then he makes things a little more interesting by creating a giant giant slalom course for the car. Olsson even clips the gates with the mirrors and front tires as he makes the turns, like you would on skis (except replace mirrors with pole guards and tires with skis). Snow is sprayed, there's lots of V12 revving, and it's all beautifully shot. It looks like he accomplished his modest goal. A little more about the car: On his website, Olsson says it took three years to build. One year was wasted by the first guy that offered to build it for free and ended up selling parts off of it to make rent. It then took two years to make things right again and add a carbon-fiber body kit, an IPE exhaust, a suede interior, a carbon steering wheel from a Gallardo, bigger brakes, and convert it to rear-wheel drive. His signature ski box sits on top, supported by a custom rack, and of course the whole car is plastered with logos from Olsson's sponsors, because those winterized supercars cost money, you know? Oh, and Olsson has owned a lot of cars. Mostly Audis and Lamborghinis lately, but his past includes a couple of track-prepped 3 Series and a Mazda B2000. Our kind of dude. Related Video:

Lamborghini Aventador SVJ First Drive Review | Worth its weight in carbon fiber

Relentless. If we were to define Lamborghini in 2018, this is the word we'd choose. Led by the indefatigable head of research and development, Maurizio Reggiani, the engineering team at Sant'Agata Bolognese are constantly iterating current models — futzing, enhancing, testing. Give them a problem and they'll hammer away at it. The Aventador has been one of those problems. The V12 flagship was released in 2011 and shone far more for its sharp-edged Lambo-tastic design than its sharp handling. If we were looking for a word to describe that first iteration, we'd say ... wanting. Which brings us to the Autodromo do Estoril in Portugal on a sunny day in September. We're here to drive the new Aventador SVJ, first shown this year at Pebble Beach. It is the fourth major non-roadster model, following the SV and the S. Lamborghini promises that the SVJ is the ultimate Aventador. The fixed Aventador. Or mostly, says Reggiani. "I'm not that arrogant to say that everything is perfect. There's always something that could be better." He shrugs, then smiles. "But our goal is to synchronize all the improvements and create something unique, something special." The SVJ's naturally breathing V12 makes 759 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque. Top speed is 217 mph, and 62 mph arrives in 2.8 seconds. The price, without taxes or extra bits of carbon fiber or seats in novel shades of purple, starts at $517,770. Reggiani and friends have come to the conclusion that the obvious formula of shedding weight while adding power can only take you so far. (That's what they did with the SV and it's only middling.) Hence the SVJ gets every new trick that the company has engineered as of late, including aero vectoring, rear-wheel-steer and all-wheel-drive. And it's already netted results. The SVJ snatched the production-car 'Ring record from the Porsche 911 GT2 RS with a time of 6:44.97. The track surface at Estoril was resurfaced only weeks ago, and oils from the asphalt are weeping out onto the surface. This has caused great consternation among the Lamborghini camp, as grip is closer to driving on glass than nice stubbly tarmac. On my first set of laps, a pro driver suggests that I leave the car in sport mode, which sends more power to the rear wheels. "Easier to turn in," he suggests, as the front wheels are having trouble gaining traction on the slick surface.