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Undamaged 'Wolf of Wall Street' Lamborghini Countach sells for $1.66M

The tale of the two Lamborghinis from "The Wolf of Wall Street" took another turn this month. Two genuine examples of the 1989 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition in Bianco Polo saw screen time. One made it through filming unscathed. The other, used to demonstrate how not sane and sober protagonist Jordan Belfort was during a drive home, ended up beat to pieces and undriveable, more art installation than car. The soap opera began back in August, when RM Sotheby's announced it would auction the pristine example this month, December. At the time, we didn't know where the other car was. Not far into November, Bonhams solved the mystery in announcing it would auction the wrecked car at the end of that month during the season-ending Formula 1 race weekend in Abu Dhabi. Given the same pre-sale estimate as the working Lamborghini of $1.5M to $2M, the high bid came in at $1,350,000 during the Abu Dhabi auction. The consigner turned that sum down, the car didn't sell. The clean RM Sotheby's car did sell, and on schedule, fetching $1.65M after fees on December 8 in New York City. Not bad for a vehicle Hagerty values at $780,000 in concours condition. Lamborghini only made about 660 of the Silver Anniversary coupes for global sales, 12 came to the U.S. in Bianco Polo.  As for the car itself, RM Sotheby's says the Maryland owner drove the car to New York for filming, and that this car was specced a bit differently than the second Lamborghini; this one wore the smaller European bumpers and its cabin had a black-and-white steering wheel, for instance. The owner had also removed the rear wing, which was put back on for the film. What the two cars shared was a With a 5.2-liter V12 making 449 horsepower and 370 pound-feet of torque, bolted to a five-speed manual transmission. The owner sold the coupe sometime after the film made its mark, the new owner — the consignor for the RM Sotheby's auction — reinstalled a larger U.S.-spec bumper and kept the rear wing. Now that the bar's been set, we're waiting for the second Countach to appear in an auction catalog. We suspect that consignor won't turn down $1.35M a second time. Related Video This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2022 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 revealed

Lamborghini and Bentley may hold off on SUVs so VW can conserve cash

After surveying the European economic scene, Volkswagen may have decided now is not the time to launch utility vehicles with Bentley and Lamborghini badges. Bentley officials say they will continue to push for support for the EXP 9 F and Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelman has said planning for the Urus will continue until VW tells it to stop.
That decision could come on November 23, when VW's board will vote on the company's budget for equipment, factories and vehicles. With VW's sales slowing and the Euro economy slumping further, some industry watchers say the company is more likely to build its cash reserves than to introduce super-expensive luxury SUVs or crossovers.
"Such vehicles are anything but obligatory during a crisis," says Frankfurt-based Equinet AG analyst Tim Schuldt in a new Automotive News Europe story. "Delaying their launch would be no drama but help save costs."

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.