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Lamborghini CEO says Urus brings lots of new customers from Russia and India

The new Lamborghini Urus might turn out to be a golden goose for Lamborghini. The twin-turbo V8 SUV is finding new customers for the Italian supercar manufacturer, and in an interview with CNBC, Lamborghini's CEO Stefano Domenicali says the reception for the $200,000 vehicle has been unexpectedly "fantastic." The outlook for Lamborghini's 2018 sales is projected at 5,000 cars, and the Urus could account for over a thousand of those. By 2020, Lamborghini would be building some 8,000 cars per year, and over a half of those would be Urus sales. Domenicali says that would be a point where Lamborghini would restrict its growth, as does rival Ferrari, to keep its supercar brand exclusive. The head of Lamborghini's Asia Pacific sales, Andrea Baldi also says the manufacturer will "always make sure" that demand for its cars is higher than the supply. If making SUVs turns out to be a success for Lamborghini, the key might be hidden in the nameplate of the Urus. It's indeed Russia that looks to be a fertile land for Urus sales, since it's a country with both demanding roads and demanding customers. Domenicali says Russian roads have made it hard to sell traditional Lamborghini products, but the SUV should find a strong customer base there. India is another significant new market for the Urus, for similar reasons. And as for the influx of new Lamborghini customers: a growing part of them are cryptocurrency investors. It looks like bitcoin bros will only accept a Lamborghini as the token of their newfound success. "These are young people that want to become very rich with a high-risk investment," said Domenicali. "And our customers are young as well, and very aspirational. They are not shy. So I think there is a connection." Related Video: News Source: CNBCImage Credit: AOL/Drew Phillips Lamborghini Crossover SUV Luxury Performance stefano domenicali

One-off Lamborghini Revuelto Opera Unica took 435 hours to paint

Lamborghini turned the Revuelto, its new flagship model, into a one-off art car to celebrate its 60th birthday. Unveiled ahead of its public debut at the 2023 Art Basel show in Miami Beach, Florida, the 1,001-horsepower coupe named Opera Unica was designed in-house. Beyond commemorating 60 years of Lamborghini's V12-powered cars, the Opera Unica showcases what the brand's Ad Personam team is capable of. It was painted entirely by hand. The front end is finished in a color called Viola Pasifae, and the livery gradually fades into a shade of black called Nero Helene. That's just the base layer; Lamborghini then added blue, red, and orange accents to emphasize speed. Getting it perfect was more difficult than it might sound. Lamborghini notes that the livery required 76 hours of development and testing plus around 435 hours (that's over 18 days!) to apply. The finish touch is a 60th Anniversary logo on the hood that's only visible in the right light. That's just the exterior; the interior took 220 additional hours to complete. It's characterized by two-tone Nero Ade and Viola Acutus leather upholstery to echo the paint job's base layer and the 60th Anniversary logo embroidered into the seats and door panels. The color of the thread used matches the color of the brush strokes applied to the exterior. This color combination appears on the start button cover as well. "We wanted to create something purely artistic using brushes and a combination of colors, as if the Revuelto was a canvas. This is what fueled our inspiration for this special livery," summed up Mitja Borkert, the head of Lamborghini's design department, in a statement. It's business as usual under the body, meaning power for the Opera Unica comes from a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain built around a new, 6.5-liter V12. Crucially, the engine is naturally aspirated; Lamborghini resisted the urge to downsize and add turbos. The system also includes three electric motors and a 3.8-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. Its output checks in at 1,001 horsepower and 793 pound-feet of torque, which is enough for a manufacturer-claimed zero-to-62-mph time of 2.5 seconds and a top speed of over 217 mph. Lamborghini hasn't revealed what the future holds for the Opera Unica. It could end up in the company's museum in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, or it might find its way into private hands. Either way, you'll know it when you see it: this is the kind of one-off car you can't miss.

Latest Forza Motorsport 5 car pack leaves us scratching our head (in a good way) [w/video]

As we scrolled down the roster of the latest car pack for Forza Motorsport 5, the Hot Wheels Car Pack, our expression became bemused over the strange mix of vehicles that we now have at our disposal. This is quite unlike any of the other sets of DLC Turn 10 Studios has offered. Sure, there are the typical headliner cars – the Lamborghini Veneno and 2015 Audi S3 – that will appeal to the mainstream racing fan or auto enthusiast. But this latest car pack is so jammed full of nuggets of automotive weirdness that it's hard not to get excited. The Hot Wheels pack has no shortage of racers, with a particular focus on historical offerings. A 1939 Auto Union Type D covers the pre-war era of Formula One, while a 1967 Lotus 49 and a 1952 Ferrari 375 represent post-war racing. For a modern twist, a Mazda USF2000 car slots in below the Indy Lights car from the Nurburgring booster pack. From here, things get vintage and weird. There are a pair of delightfully offbeat coupes, in the form of a 1974 Toyota Celica GT and a 1973 Ford XB Falcon GT (here's hoping we get a vintage Holden Monaro in the future). Those two are joined by a 1956 Ford F-100, which your author already plans on converting into a dragster with vinyl flames down the side (because that's what all vintage pickups should be). The new ride we're most excited about, though, is the 1983 GMC Vandura G-1500. Yes, that's the van from The A-Team, and we're sure it will prove to be an excellent canvas for the artists of FM5 to cover with airbrushed, fire-breathing unicorns and mystical, gray-haired wizards (or just poorly painted letters that read "Free Candy"). This latest car pack is the final monthly car pack for FM5, although Turn 10 is quick to point out that while the monthly updates are over, there will still be new batches of cars made available to gamers. As for the Hot Wheels pack, it's available now on Xbox Live for $9.99. Scroll down for the press release from Turn 10 Studios, as well as a video of the newest additions to Forza Motorsport 5's vehicle roster. Forza Motorsport 5 Hot Wheels Car Pack Now Available Turn 10 Studios is bringing the Hot Wheels® Car Pack to "Forza Motorsport 5," available for download today. The pack features a collection of vehicles built from the ground up for the new generation that car fans can collect and customize while putting their virtual driving skills to the test.