1980 Lamborghini Countach Tube Frame V8 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lamborghini will unveil an enigmatic hypercar at the Frankfurt auto show

Lamborghini released a dark teaser image that previews a new model scheduled to break cover during the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show. Posted on its official Instagram channel, the teaser shot asks more questions than it answers while giving us one more reason to look forward to the event. "Just open your eyes to the future," Lamborghini instructed its fans in the caption that accompanied the photo. That's not much to go off of, but the blacked-out image looks like it depicts the front of a low-slung supercar wearing Y-shaped LED running lights. The company's logo is the only other visible detail, but we see enough to tell whatever Lamborghini is teasing shares a few key styling cues with the striking Terzo Millennio concept unveiled as a design study in 2017.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.   The resemblance fills in another piece of the puzzle. Developed jointly with MIT, the Terzio Millennio ditched the Aventador's sonorous, naturally-aspirated V12 in favor of in-wheel electric motors fed by supercapacitor energy storage technology. These components aren't ready for production yet, but earlier rumors claimed the Terzo Millennio's strikingly futuristic design and proud emphasis on clean, eco-friendly performance would influence Lamborghini's first road-going gasoline-electric hybrid. We might be looking at the yet-unnamed model. Where it will slot in the Lamborghini range is up in the air, too. It's not replacing the Huracan, and the Aventador S is expected to stick around until the early 2020s. It doesn't look related to the high-riding Urus in any way, either, which hints it's a limited-edition model. Lamborghini has a proven history of previewing new cars with limited-edition models, so the Frankfurt-bound model could give the public an early taste of the car that will replace the Aventador S. We're also not ruling out the possibility that the car is somehow related to Lamborghini's interest in the new hypercar category created for the World Endurance Championship (WEC). None of these theories are mutually exclusive; the car could draw inspiration from the Terzo Millennio, hint at the Aventador's replacement, and give the Aston Martin Valkyrie a run for its money at Le Mans in 2020. The speculation around Lamborghini's next model will end when it makes its debut in Frankfurt 10.

Jaguar Land Rover seeks to block U.S. imports of Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini, VW SUVs

You wouldn’t know it was about Jags and Lambos, to judge by its rather dry name: In the Matter of Certain Vehicle Control Systems. But thatÂ’s the complaint Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc filed on Thursday to block U.S. imports of Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi and Volkswagen sport utility vehicles it says are using its patented Terrain Response technology without permission. Jaguar Land Rover, a British carmaker owned by IndiaÂ’s Tata Motors Ltd., said in its filing with the U.S. International Trade Commission that the technology helps negotiate a “broad range of surfaces” and is a key feature in JaguarÂ’s F-Pace and Land Rover Discovery vehicles. “JLR seeks to protect itself and its United States operations from companies that have injected infringing products into the U.S. market that incorporate, without any license from JLR, technology developed by JLR and protected by its patent,” JaguarÂ’s lawyer, Matthew Moore, said in the filing. Representatives of Volkswagen didnÂ’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the complaint. Jaguar wants to block imports of PorscheÂ’s Cayenne; LamborghiniÂ’s Urus; AudiÂ’s Q8, Q7, Q5, A6 Allroad and e-tron vehicles; and VWÂ’s Tiguan vehicles. It said there are plenty of other luxury midsize SUV and compact crossover vehicles to meet consumer demand if the SUVs are banned from the U.S. Still, the premium Porsche and Audi lines provide much of the profit VW is using to fund its investments in technology for electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles and further innovations. In addition to the four brands, Volkswagen Group owns other upscale nameplates, including Bentley and Bugatti. The International Trade Commission is an independent, quasi-judicial agency that investigates complaints of unfair trade practices, like patent infringement. It canÂ’t award damages but does have the power to block products from entering the U.S. Owners of patents and trade secrets like it because it can work faster than the federal district courts -- the typical investigation is completed in 15 to 18 months. But Jaguar also filed patent lawsuits against the companies in federal courts in Delaware and New Jersey, seeking cash compensation for the use of the technology. Those cases are likely to be put on hold once the trade commission launches its investigation. The case is In the Matter of Certain Vehicle Control Systems, 337-3508, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington).

The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio is a brutally fantastic EV supercar concept

Lamborghini isn't known for bowing to convention. Ever since Ferruccio told Enzo Ferrari where he could stick his temperamental cars, and decided to build his own, it's been going its own way. This car, the Terzo Millennio ("third millenium"), built in collaboration with MIT, is very much a Lamborghini approach to the EV performance car. To begin with, it is obviously nothing else but a Lamborghini. Wild concept car touches aside, it's as wedgy and mean as anything to come out of Sant'Agata (and definitely anything to come out of Cambridge, MA!). There's some advanced tech here, too, as you might imagine with MIT's involvement. The most notable is the supercapacitor energy storage technology. Supercapacitors aren't ready for primetime yet, being very expensive and not quite as energy dense, although currently they're used in a few niche automotive applications. But MIT and Lamborghini want to produce one that'll work more like a main battery, but with greater ability to recharge and discharge quickly. That's ideal for brutal, explosive acceleration. If Lamborghini and MIT can make a breakthrough here, it'd let the decidedly conventional Lamborghinis of today (naturally aspirated, non-electrified) take a leap into the future on Lamborghini's own terms. The company is also exploring carbon composite batteries utilizing nanotechnology, which the company claims would reduce weight and increase the discharge capacity of the batteries. So, it seems, the Terzo Millennio might combine the two power storage technologies into the same drivetrain. Of course, like most modern Lamborghinis there's all-wheel drive, although it's in-wheel electric motor-based rather than the conventional mechanical type. It'd be easy enough to leave off the front motors for a Performante variant, perhaps. Or maybe in-wheel electric motors become the norm in the future. It's too early to tell; for now, this concept is AWD. The body is carbon fiber, and this concept previews some technology that can detect degradation in the carbon fiber early and potentially repair it with something called "nano-channels" utilizing a form of the technology that allows carbon composite materials to store energy. This technology deserves more explanation than we have room for here, and we'll get a deep dive on it as soon as we can. Lastly, Lamborghini wants a vehicle like the Terzo Millennio to sound like a Lamborghini. That won't be easy, since there's no V12 or V10 to be found.